Dealing With Chronic Illness

I am not sure I have ever used my blog to link you to another's blog, but this post today from Dr. Charles Fielding, M.D., struck a chord.

Multiple Myeloma and heart disease are treated as chronic diseases (see my previous post for recent news). His words are insightful, but not easy.

By the way, the doctor who accompanied the Apostle Paul was Luke.

It is a short read.

https://lifeuntangled.org/2020/01/20/living-with-chronic-illness-or-the-pride-down-pride-up-paradox/

Pastor Tom

Just A Clay Pot

Superman was said to be the “Man of Steel.” I remember watching those “Adventures of Superman” episodes back in the fifties and sixties and seeing bullets, fists, and other objects bounce off Superman’s body. Of course, this man of steel could fly, use his x-ray vision, and do whatever he wanted to do. (There was one thing he couldn’t be around, and that was kryptonite, which would render him weak and whimpering, but that is not my point here.)

the Apostle Paul says we are not men or women of steel. He is speaking to Christ followers about the treasure of the gospel, and the weakness of he, his co-workers, and, well, all of us. The whole passage I am considering here is found in 2 Corinthians 4:3-11 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+4%3A3-11&version=NLT), but my focus today is verses seven through twelve.

7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.[b] This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

In 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 (NLT), Paul gives us some encouragement amid what must have been great adversity. He starts off with the truth that we are just earthen vessels, jars of clay. You know, Genesis 2:7 (NIV) “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground…”

But those circumstances (vv 8-9) do not crush or destroy. Why? Not because of some inner strength but because of God’s strength, available to every believer. Paul’s “threat of death” was likely due to persecution. We face adversities and even death (life is terminal, you know) from a myriad of possibilities. 

Over the last few months, I have faced some health issues that underline my “clay-potted-ness." Let me try and give you the Reader’s Digest version. If you would like details, just let me know.

Fall, 2019

• By mid-summer, we knew the clinical trial I was in treating the Multiple Myeloma was not being as effective as we had hoped, and knew a change was coming. 
• September 26, had a heart catheterization and I received two stents. Chest pain relieved!
• October 11, with approval from my cardiologist and oncologist, went to Peru. 
• October 27 - Came home really sick. Visited ER the day I got home. Next day, went back to ER, and stayed in the hospital for fifteen days. Treated for Pneumonitis / Pneumonia.
• After the Hospital stay, ten more days in rehab, then home, November 22, under the watchful eye of home health 
• Visited family during Thanksgiving week. Over the next couple of weeks made a couple of short visits to the office, saw some doctors, worked at home some, and finally returned to the office on December 16.
• How could I have gotten so sick? We are not sure, but it probably goes back to a really suppressed immune system. We are going to watch that much closer in the future. 

January 2020

• I started cardiac rehab. It will be good for me for both the heart and the lungs. 
• I have also begun cancer treatment again. This is the first cancer treatment I have had since the heart stents on September 26.  Treatment runs on four week cycles, and involves an infusion (carfilzomib) twice a week the first three weeks, a good amount of a steroid (dexamesthasone) once a week for three weeks, and then a pill (pomalidomide) that I will take daily for twenty-one out of twenty-eight days. (I have learned these by generic names, since the folks at Emory use them and the folks here recognize them.) If the treatment is effective, I will be on it at least a year. 

Remember, first, that you are a clay jar, not a person of steel. You need the Lord Jesus living in you (by the presence of the Holy Spirit) 

As you pray for me, please pray that 1. God would be glorified, 2. That the treatment works, and 3. That side effects are minimized. 

Blessings,

Tom