Healthy Again

To  my loyal readers, to that very small group who for some reason actually pay attention to these occasional words of mine, I am back once again. The reason for my extended absence was a bout with the flu that came on sometime around the first of the year. Despite having been inoculated by the flu vaccine several months ago, I was still struck by this nasty bug. I won't go into details, but will say only that I was out of commission for several weeks. I am now healthy once again although I'm trying to slow down a bit and not compromise my somewhat weakened immune system.

Of course Dear Diane was the perfect care-giver during all of this. She fed  me lots of her restorative homemade chicken soup and let me complain and whine without comment. The folks at our local urgent care quickly diagnosed the problem and prescribed a bunch of meds that eased the worst of the symptoms and speeded my recovery. As I'm sure you have heard, this particular strain of influenza is very dangerous and has taken the lives of many, especially among the young and the elderly. I suppose at 73 I fall into the latter category. So I offer a prayer of thanksgiving that God has for some reason decided I should stick around for a while longer.

In the midst of all this, Maddie, our little 10-year-old Bichon was also diagnosed with a problem. She suffered a typical football injury and tore the ACL ( the anterior cruciate ligament) on her left, hind leg. We knew something was wrong when she started walking on three legs. But unlike us, she suffered pain without complaint and merely adapted.

We took her to the vet who immediately recommended surgery to repair the tear. I won't discuss the cost of this procedure except to say it 's forced a modest change in lifestyle.

An unhappy Maddie the day after surgery

Maddie underwent the surgery about two weeks ago, and believe me she went home with us that afternoon very unhappy. In fact that first night the little thing cried until dawn when I was finally able to get to swallow a pain pill. Since then, however, her recovery has been remarkable. The vet removed the stitches on Friday and Maddie's been testing her repaired leg a little more each day. I am amazed at the toughness of these little creatures, and how quickly they recover. They seem to know exactly how to conduct their own rehabilitation and physical therapy, something we humans have to hire smarter people to do for us. Anyway, it's good have her back, almost to her former bouncy self.

And thanks to all those parishioners and the many others who have kept me (and Maddie) in their prayers. Prayer does make a difference, folks, all the difference in the world!

God's peace...