The Extra Years

   We're in the eighth month of the year and it's been unusually full of doctor appointments in our family. Everything was going smoothly until March 17 when Leroy had a heart attack and wound up in the hospital getting three stents put in an artery that was 100% blocked. Fortunately, we caught it in time and there was no damage to his heart. But he had a month of therapy and months of getting his glucose under control with diet and medicine.

   The next day (March 18) our oldest son was hurt at work. His index finger was smashed, a hole slashed in the top of his right hand and a tendon torn. The hand was pinned together in surgery and immobile for weeks. After it healed, he had months of therapy to regain the use of the hand. He was finally able to go back to work at the end of July but is still doing therapy at home twice a day to regain strength in the hand.

   I was having trouble with a tingling weak leg and right arm, so I went for a month of therapy in May. I had good results but am still doing the therapy at home.

    An eye exam in June showed that my cataracts had grown to the extent that my vision could no longer be corrected with glasses. It was time to have the cataracts removed. I had the first one done yesterday and the second one will be done in September.

   Our second son is also having a cataract removed this month. About twenty years ago his eye was injured at work and he had surgery on it. That injury may have contributed to the cataract growing before he is an old man. He will have his surgery done the same place I did.

   We also have two brothers-in-law who are recovering from major surgeries. One had a serious infection after surgery and is wearing a wound vac to keep the wound clean. The other, who had been on dialysis four years, received a kidney transplant this week.

    A lot of things have gotten worse in this world during my lifetime, but medicine is one thing that has improved with the passing of time. The medical help we got this year was not possible years ago. God has allowed man to learn things never known before. People with the conditions mentioned above either died or were crippled for life. The medicines I take for rheumatoid arthritis were not available and people with RA were confined to a wheelchair with constant pain.

   Much as I enjoy history and old things, I'm glad I'm living in this era rather than hundreds of years ago. The aches and pains that go with old age can be treated. With the advances in the medical field, people are living longer than they used to. The challenge is to be sure we make good use of the extra years we are given. Sure, we lose strength as we age and can no longer do what we once did, but we can be just as active in Kingdom work in different ways.  Retirement years should not be spent in pleasure seeking and entertainment. There is always something we can do for the Lord. Ultimately, He is the One who gives life and healing.