Treasures with a capital “T”

It has been awhile since I’ve blogged about my medical issues.  In “real life”, I rarely discuss them because there are so many more creative things to talk about!  But this is a site for “Mining Treasures in Illness and Pain”.   And I believe with all my heart that modern medicine is a Treasure with [...]

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Another Form of Legalism!

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.”  Romans 14:17-18 In his letters to the Romans, Corinthians, and Galatians, Paul addressed the sin of [...]

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Side Effects

I have a friend who suffers terribly from fibromyalgia, and cannot take any kind of medication to relieve her discomfort.  Pain is written across her face and in her every movement, yet all the pain meds she has tried have side effects as severe (if not more so) than the misery she endures most every day. I have [...]

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A Lighter Head, and Other Observations! :)

Soon we’ll be inhaling the fragrance of lilacs!  Although my sense of smell has (thankfully) never been significantly compromised by a lifetime of cement sinuses, I’m anticipating smelling the flowers with a much lighter head from now on—as 3 days ago I had sinus surgery.  It’s expected that my asthma will be greatly alleviated by [...]

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The Big Picture

“Where would we be, without taking time out to rest when we are weary? Would our quality of life improve? Would we be more useful to others, if we were to grit our teeth and soldier through times of exhaustion without respecting our bodies enough to slow down?” Margaret L. Been

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I love Italian food, but . . .

  My last post on this blog had to do with the success of an epidural steroid.  The area where the steroid was injected is still comfortable.  But now a hearty dose of pain has settled into the other side of my back. It’s borderline funny, this body!  There’s joy around me everywhere I turn, and I’m determined to keep a sense of humor [...]

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Another milestone . . . .

Two days ago I had an epidural steroid, and I cannot believe the difference in my back already.  Now I can get through a day without being sick with pain.  I can walk without a cane most of the day, with just a bit of support from the ever faithful stick at dinner time.  I just took [...]

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Affirmation but please, no pity!

Months ago I wrote about what we need and don’t need when we live with chronic pain and illness.  I specified that we do need affirmation.  Friends who deny the fact that we have medical issues might mean to be helpful, but they definitely are not!  Facts must be faced, and there is strength in learning [...]

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Minding the Meds

There’s a concept afoot that prescription medications are okay for a few people who have diabetes or coronary issues–but for the rest of us, if we take meds we are either wimps or just not “with it”. This prejudice comes from the alternative health camp, ever swelling in numbers.  Years ago I was strongly influenced by the “no [...]

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