FOUR MONTHS AT HOME – May 27 to September 27

My physical therapist said to me this morning, “Considering where you have come from, you are making a remarkable recovery.” I praise God for this every single day.

THANK YOU. I want to thank again the hundred or so people who took time from their day on May 27 to come down to Sapphire Street to welcome me home. I was looking at the video and pictures this month, and I was reminded of the friends and family that God has placed in my life. Thank you. I appreciate you and the time you took to pray for me, to support Mary, and to welcome me back from the “almost dead.”

This month, I heard two statistics, one from a nurse and one from a physician’s assistant who have been on the front lines of the Covid battle. Related to Covid-19, one said that 8 out of 10 persons on a ventilator dies, and the other stated that 9 out of 10 persons on a vent die. That means that the odds of my survival was somewhere between 10% and 20%. These are not good odds, but the Creator of heaven and earth answered many, many prayers for my healing. All praise to Him.

I am so grateful to God for being able to come home. I thank God every day for this. Everything around me is growing and blooming and beautiful. In my four months at home, I have made an amazing recovery. It is a continuing part of the healing that started when I reached my lowest point on a ventilator. I can talk, I can balance myself, I can swallow, I can eat anything I feel like eating, I can breathe normal southern California air (That, in itself, may be a miracle!), I can still play guitar, I can sing to some degree, I think logically, I can still write songs, I can go for a walk for a little more than a mile.… Last week, when I felt really good, I operated a weed eater in the backyard. Another day, my grandson Koen and I assembled a compost bin and placed it in the garden. He did most of the hammering. More to come….

FLOATERS & FLASHES & BLURRY VISION. I developed spider web floaters and flashing lights in my right eye. My initial visit to the doctor said that these are not cause for concern if there was no pain or loss of vision. They may just be part of aging. A trip to the ophthalmologist is scheduled to ensure that my eyes are all right. Then, new glasses are in the plan so I can read without a magnifying glass.

FATIGUE. Fatigue is such a curious thing. I want to do all the things I used to do pre-Covid, but simply get too tired to do it. I am constantly light-headed or dizzy. I am attending (co-leading a table group) a Bible study in Daniel on Wednesday nights for two hours. In order to do that, I must take an extended nap in the afternoon.

NO FEELING. The other curious side effect of my Covid experience is the numb sensation in my feet and portions of my legs and arms. There is definite nerve damage and all doctors have said the nerves grow extremely slowly. No one has promised that all the feeling will return. So, for now I continue to use a cane when I am around people so I don’t topple over like a sleeping cow.