Tim’s mom is here for the week, and while she is cooking dinner I am blogging about our day. It smells great! She is making hash brown supreme, a dish she used to cook when she owned her own restaurant. We are all happy to have the company, as well as someone to help out with the chores (and cook fantastic food). I caught her sweeping our floors earlier. She’s a sweetheart and easy to get along with. She brought a book full of memories she had written for Tim to read, and there are some hilarious moments from his childhood. Maybe we can convince her to stay longer. 🙂
We all went for a drive for my appointment with the physical therapist, and then ran some errands together. Not exactly the tour of the century, but at least it got us out of the house for a few minutes. And it gave me a reason to put on some make-up and attach my cranial prosthesis.
Helga was much nicer to me today. In fact, she gave me a light massage and it was relaxing. It’s called manual lymphatic drainage. If you’ve ever had a Swedish or deep tissue massage, that is not the same. This is a very light touch intended to stimulate the lymphatic system to reduce the risk of lymphedema (swelling) by directing the fluid away from the affected area. Since I will live with these techniques daily, she taught me how to do the massages (way too much information to retain) and showed Tim how to massage my back and arm. All in all it was a productive visit. It was nice until the last fifteen minutes when she pulled and tugged and straightened my arm again, working on releasing the cord I described a few days ago. I am showing improvement already, and the stretching did not bring tears to my eyes this time, although it was still quite painful. My range of motion is returning, and she was pleased with the results so far. The exercises and visits to PT are worth it. It will take some discipline to keep this up “forever.”
As we wait for dinner, here’s some food for thought. I was reading this morning about discipline as it pertains to our spiritual life. When Jesus was about to be betrayed, He went to the garden to pray (Matthew 26:36-46). He took the disciples with him, who fell asleep. He said they should watch and pray to avoid giving in to temptation. Even though He was filled with sorrow, He submitted willfully. Prayer and a watchful eye are disciplines we must undertake daily if we are to stay strong spiritually. I have often wondered if Peter would have denied Christ if he had stayed up and prayed. We shouldn’t just wait until things are bad to throw up a prayer and hope someone is listening. Just as these light massages will prevent swelling and lymphedema, daily prayer will prevent infection of the mind and spirit.
Up next…
Starting tomorrow I will start each weekday for the next 7 weeks with the radiation team. Tomorrow is a “dry run” and then the real radiation begins on Thursday. Whenever possible we will ride down on the bike, to save on petrol as well as give me something to look forward to rather than dread. I am embracing the time I will spend waiting and lying, and I plan to use this time to further my memory of Scripture.
À la prochaine (Until next time) …