PAIN x4

A while back, I wrote an article about my experience with three different pains over the last several years. I was going to update it because of some new developments in my health situation, but I decided to just write a part two. If you haven’t read the other blog post, I called it Pain x3, so I’m calling this one Pain x4.

In the last post, I discussed 3 major pains I’ve suffered from in the last twenty-four years, with each one accelerating in intensity. Starting with terrible back pain from Deteriorating Disc Disease, to toothache pain, and a kidney stone. In my blog post, I said the stone was the worst pain I had ever felt. But, little did I know that the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life was not from that kidney stone as I thought.

I had never had a kidney stone before, so I really didn’t know what kind of pain they caused. All I knew was that other people were saying they were really painful. After about seven weeks, I passed a small stone, but the pain didn’t get any better. In fact, it was getting worse.

I was going to work every day, and doing my best to do a good job, but I was hurting constantly. Even though I was taking the two pain medications prescribed by my doctor, plus some over-the-counter pain medicine, the pain would never completely subside. In fact, on several different occasions, I was in so much pain I was actually bent over, and couldn’t straighten up completely.

Finally, the night before my next doctor’s appointment, I was in the shower and decided to push in on the knot in my lower abdomen, and it popped back inside. That was it. I was convinced it was a hernia. I had been telling the doctors I thought I had one, but I thought it was higher up, around my belt line. Sometimes it felt like butterflies in my stomach and I could feel, and sometimes hear a gurgling in the right side of my abdomen, and the pain was so bad. Then, I started to feel a knot in my front pelvic area. Sometimes it was there, and sometimes, it wasn’t. When I sat and relaxed it was inside, but when I was walking at work, or when I ate something, it would come out, and it would hurt pretty bad there and also in my stomach and abdomen. My doctor visits were always early mornings, after I had been resting, and hadn’t eaten anything for 12- 15 hours, so that’s why my doctor couldn’t find the problem.

One day, I finally convinced her to send me to the hospital for a CT scan. The diagnosis was an Inguinal Hernia. It was actually a Direct Inguinal Hernia. It was not in the Inguinal Canal, but in the connective tissue in my pelvic area; the white stuff that connects the muscle to the pelvic bone. I had to get it fixed. It was so painful, I could barely function anymore.

My doctor contacted a good surgeon she knew and made me a pre-op appointment. It took a few more weeks to actually get the surgery. By then, the pain was so bad that I was actually looking forward to the surgery, but I had no idea what kind of pain I would have to suffer through after the surgery. If I had, I don’t know what I would have done.

After the surgery, I was in so much pain I could barely function. They gave me some very strong pain medicine, but I was still in misery. Initially, the surgeon had said I should be able to go back to work in a week or so, on light duty. He said, Two weeks at the most. When the week was up, the incision was healing very well and I got the stitches out, but I was still in a lot of pain, I was very weak, and the swelling still had not gone down.

The pain in my abdomen was still there, and I was still getting sick almost every time I ate anything. It was a whole month before I was able to go back to work and I still had to be on light duty. I couldn’t pick up anything over ten pounds the first week, then it gradually increased each week.

I finally got over the surgery, but my stomach was still hurting and I was still getting sick almost every time I would eat anything. The pain would radiate all around my stomach from my abdomen up to my lower chest. It was still almost unbearable at times. I was more convinced than ever that I had a hernia in my right lower abdomen, but the doctor thought it was my gallbladder.

She sent me back to the hospital for an ultrasound, which found multiple stones. By then, I was in so much pain that I didn’t hesitate when she said it needed to come out. Again, the time it took to get the pre-op appointment, and the surgery took forever. It was almost another month.

I think it was two weeks after the gallbladder came out before I could go back to work, but guess what. I still had the same symptoms I had been having. It was going on for about a year and a half at that point, and I was getting worse. Somewhere around this time, I got COVID and was down for a while.

After I recovered from that, I asked my regular doctor to send me back for another scan and focus on the area where I thought the problem was. I was afraid it was colon cancer because my dad had that several years back. She didn’t find anything on the scans, so in my desperation, I made an appointment with the surgeon who had fixed my hernia. This time, I ate breakfast before I went to the appointment so I would be affected when the doctor saw me. He examined me and immediately said, “Yep, it’s a hernia. We need to get some fresh scans to see exactly what’s going on, then we can fix you up.”

Finally, after more than two years, I got some relief. I was back to work in 2 weeks, on light duty, of course, but I was feeling so much better very quickly. Praise the Lord. That was over two years of CRAZY!!!

So, in conclusion, I have suffered severe back pain, terrible pain from a toothache, gallstones, and a kidney stone. I have pain from deteriorating disc disease, a deteriorating hip, and Arthritis. I’ve had two bad car wrecks, and 5 surgeries, but none of those things have given me nearly as much pain as that hernia in the lower right part of my abdomen. That was some kind of pain and I hope, and pray that I never, ever have to suffer that kind of pain again.

I’m so thankful to God for giving me the strength to make it through those two years of terrible pain and frustration, and I’m so thankful for my wife, Linda, and for her prayers and patience, and all she had to do for me. I love her so much. She’s a true blessing from God.

So, whatever you’re going through, whatever you face, and whatever pain you have to suffer, just remember that “God is with you if you’re with him” (2 Chronicles 15:2). Stick with him, love him, praise him, and trust him. Things are not always good, and we will suffer at times, but God has promised to be with us in whatever we go through, and remember that the pain won’t be forever. So have faith, and hope. Never give up. Keep looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, and for Joy in the Morning.

———————————————–
My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2021 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6

LEARNING FROM A GREMLIN

I remember buying what I think was my fourth car. It was a Gremlin. It was yellow with black trim. It was different and unique in shape from most cars on the road at the time, so I guess that’s what attracted me to it. I found out quickly that the fuel gauge was very accurate. Thankfully, I was almost home when it hit E and stopped in the middle of the road. I had to push it the rest of the way. That’s the car I was driving when I almost went off the embankment because a girl fell over on the stirring wheel. If you missed that story, you can read all about it in the post called, *3 Girls, 3 Guys, And A Gremlin.

I loved that car but it was used and I didn’t have it long. I was driving down a two-lane highway one day and the car in front of me was going a bit slower than I wanted to go, so I decided to go around it. I had seen people drop their gear shifter on automatic cars down a gear in order to get up more speed to pass another car. They called it passing gear. Well, I needed some more speed so that’s what I did. I wish I hadn’t, though, because when I did, the car down-shifted hard and started vibrating really bad. I heard a terrible noise like pieces of the motor falling off onto the road. I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw those pieces sliding all over the highway behind me.

What a mess. What a disappointment. I only had the thing for a few weeks. I stopped as quickly as I could on a little gravel road. To my surprise, the car was still running so I drove just a bit further to the gas station and went in to call my uncle. He came and looked at it and confirmed that the car had slung a rod. I told him it was still running when I made it to the store, so he told me to start it up and see if it would still run. I did, and it did, so he followed me as I drove it to his house. That was a sad day. I miss that car sometimes and on the rare occasion when I see a yellow Gremlin, I’m reminded of those thrilling days.

I have had so many used cars over the years that I doubt I could remember them all. I do remember at least ten cars and a truck from the time I was sixteen until I was twenty-three, though. Some were used, some were more used than others, and some were really used. Some had been well maintained, but some had not. The ones that had been taken care of were in better shape, of course, and they lasted longer. The ones that had been neglected were in bad shape and didn’t last long at all. I’m sure all of them would have lasted longer if I had taken better care of them myself, but I didn’t. I was a young man with a heavy foot and I drove too fast and was hard on my cars. I didn’t have the oil changed regularly and I didn’t really check it regularly. In short, I neglected them.

I did the same thing with my body for years. I ate what I wanted. I drank what I wanted. I drank alcohol and used drugs. I partied and I stayed out all night. I took drugs to stay awake. I took drugs to help me sleep. I gained weight, then starved myself to lose it. I took laxatives and weight loss drugs. Even after I stopped drinking and doing drugs, I spent lots of late nights playing video games, reading comic books, and organizing baseball cards. All that abuse to my body, plus the wear and tear from several strenuous jobs and two car wrecks have taken a toll on me. Now, my body is worn out and I’m in constant pain.

I’m thankful to God for helping me to give up those bad habits, but the damage is done. What bothers me the most is that a lot of it could have been avoided. If I had been more concerned about my health back then, I would still have a lot more good years left in me. The Bible says our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us (1 Corinthians 6:19). We need to take care of his temple. Our bodies are like machines. Just like those machines, if our bodies don’t have regular maintenance they don’t last near as long as they will if we take good care of them.

Our bodies can’t live without WATER so that would be a good place to start. We need to drink plenty of water. REST is very important as well, so we need to try to get eight hours of sleep each night. We need to get plenty of fresh AIR, so walking outside and doing other kinds of EXERCISE outdoors is a great way to kill two birds with one stone.

Another very important thing we need is SUNSHINE. Not all, but many living things need sunshine to be healthy. Of course, too much sunlight can be harmful. We need it in moderate amounts. Too much of anything can be bad for you, so we need to practice MODERATION in every area of our lives and we need to avoid putting things into our bodies that will harm them. We need to develop good eating habits and eat only foods that will promote good health. Good NUTRITION is imperative to maintaining both physical and mental health. Both of those are connected to our spiritual health. Usually, if we are lacking in one of these three areas, the other two will be affected. We need to round it all out by TRUSTING GOD to provide for all our needs and following his instructions in the Bible. All these things will help our bodies and minds to feel better and last longer.

Just like regular maintenance on a car can prevent costly repairs or even the death of the car, regular maintenance on our bodies can help keep us from getting sick and dying at an early age. Being healthy is very important, so we need to take care of our bodies so we can be as healthy as possible and enjoy life while we live here on this earth.

*3 Girls, 3 Guys, And A Gremlin

———————————————–
My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2018 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6

SELF-DISCIPLINE

The Oxford Dictionary says that the definition of Self-Discipline is “the ability to control one’s feelings and overcome one’s weaknesses; the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it.”

Self-Discipline doesn’t come easy, and sometimes it’s not much fun. Especially if you’re dealing with some area where there has been no discipline at all, or at least, not for a long period of time. It’s a lot easier to be undisciplined because there’s no work involved, and let’s face it, a lot of us are just plain lazy.

Self-Discipline is a very important thing to have in our lives. It’s important in our work, in our play, in our families, and in our thoughts as well because our thoughts become our actions, and our actions become our character.

Self-Discipline is essential to achieve any vision we may have for the future. If we want to buy something really expensive, we may have to save up the money to buy it. In order to do that we have to be disciplined enough not to spend our money on other things. It takes discipline to get up and go to work every day to make that money. If we want to lose weight, we have to discipline ourselves and not eat too much, or too often, and avoid certain foods and drinks, and don’t skip our exercises.

If you’re working for God, and we all should be, then it’s very important to have self-discipline in our toolbox. Let’s look at just one example of how important this is to God.

Job 36:8-12
8 If they are bound with chains and are caught in cords of affliction; 
9 Then he shows them their work and their sins that they have exceeded. 
10 He also opens their ear to discipline and commands that they return from sinning. 
11 If they obey and serve him, they will spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. 
12 But if they do not obey, they will perish by the sword, and they will die without knowledge.

When we’re doing something wrong, the Holy Spirit tells us. He brings it to our attention so we will stop, and get back to doing what’s right. He commands us to stop sinning, and return to discipline. Sometimes we just don’t listen. Sometimes we don’t want to stop what we’re doing, but these verses tell us that we SHOULD listen, and OBEY his voice. It means the difference between prosperity or failure, and life or death.

It takes Self-Discipline to live a Christian life. It takes discipline to spend time with God each day in prayer and Bible study. It takes Self-Discipline to get out of bed, and get ready, and go to church.

As you can see, Self-discipline is a much-needed, must-have tool. If we fail to have it in our lives, then we will fail to live life to its fullest. This is one of the traits that make a big difference between those who are successful in life, and those who are not. Every single act of progression in life takes Self-Discipline. Never let anyone convince you otherwise.

———————————————–
My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2016 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6

THE KEY TO A LONG, HAPPY MARRIAGE

This year, 2025, my wife and I will celebrate Thirty years of marriage. To some, that may seem like a long time. To others, it may seem like just a blink of an eye, but in today’s society, staying married for thirty years is not that common anymore.

Recently, several of my Facebook friends have celebrated being married between Twenty and Thirty years. Congratulations guys. I recently heard of one couple who was about to celebrate their eighty-first wedding anniversary and another couple who had been married for eighty-three years. According to Wikipedia, the record for the longest marriage in modern times is almost ninety-one years.*

When I hear couples share their secrets to a long marriage, it’s never a cookie-cutter answer, but what they all say always boils down to the same thing; Commitment.

Sadly, these days, marriages are getting shorter and shorter, with some lasting only a year or so, while others have ended after only a day. I read about one that lasted only 15 hours. That's sad.

I was watching a Christian movie called COURAGEOUS and one of the characters said, “Divorce comes with the territory.” Another character said something like, “Only because we make it an option.” I totally agree.

My first marriage ended in divorce, so I understand there are bumps, valleys, hills, and mountains in every relationship. That’s why, when I married again, my wife and I both vowed that divorce would never be an option. We had our share of problems, and yes, our marriage was tested. Humans are selfish creatures. Times change, and so do people. Sometimes we get caught up in the cares of life and lose sight of the big picture.

That’s where Commitment comes in. We have to be committed, not only to the marriage but to each other as well. Some people with bad marriages stay married for the children, but if both people are not committed to each other, the marriage can’t be a happy one.

When two people get married, they vow before God to “have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward, until death parts us.” Then, quoting Jesus in Mark 10:9, the minister says, “Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one put asunder,” which means to separate.

In the previous verse, Mark 10:8, Jesus said, “the two will be one flesh: so, then they are no more two, but one flesh.” No wonder divorce is so painful. It’s unnatural. After being joined together by God, splitting “One Flesh” into Two again is devastating to both people, and neither of them can ever be the same again.

To prevent this unnatural split, it’s vitally important to be committed to the One who created marriage in the beginning; the same day he created Adam and Eve. (Genesis 2:21-24)

I’m sure there have been long-lasting marriages where God was not put first, but, I’m sure those relationships would have been awesome if they had put him first. God wants to see long-lasting marriages, but he also wants those marriages to be happy ones. He loves us, and he’ll work with us as much as we allow him to.

Time and time again, I’ve heard, “Marriage Takes Two,” but really, marriage takes three. The Man, the Woman, and God. I’ve also heard, “In A Marriage, It’s Give And Take; 50/50,” but actually, each person has to give 100% to make it work. God will definitely give 100% if we allow him to be part of our marriages. So think about that for a minute. That’s 300% effort being put into it. A marriage like that will stand the test of time. It'll be a happy marriage, and it will last until death separates the couple.

So the secret to a long and happy marriage is Commitment. Commitment to God first. Then Commitment to our spouse. Commitment to the union, and Commitment to the vows we made before God. Simple? Maybe; Maybe not. But, “With God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_with_the_longest_marriages

———————————————–
My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2015 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6