Mín Englisc Blog

Three hours left until next year.

Today, frankly, has been quite boring...we watched somewhat of various college football games, while I used the computer and read, but that's nearly it. I didn't do absolutely nothing; the only activities included ordering next semester's textbooks and (rather more significantly for my health) going with Mom to the post office and walking around the village more than I have since the surgery.

Today my appearance changed: late this morning we went to our family doctor's office to have the sutures removed. I don't feel any different, but when I gingerly feel the area, I know why most of the area didn't hurt — it's rather numb. I didn't really know what it would feel like, as I've never before had to have sutures or even stitches for any reason.

Finally, today I was able to go to church: it's so much better to worship than to spend time alone!
Dad preached from Isaiah chap...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I missed part of the first service: I hadn't slept too well last night, and with permission I had taken my pillow to church. Falling asleep in the reading of the sermon text, I ended up (with Mom's encouragement) going and sleeping on a pew in the basement. It felt good to rest, but getting up and leaving (carrying a pillow!) felt rather awkward.

Happy Christmas!

On Christmas night all Christians sing
To hear the news the angels bring.
On Christmas night all Christians sing
To hear the news the angels bring.
News of great joy, news of great mirth,
News of our merciful King's birth.

Then why should men on earth be so sad,
Since our Redeemer made us glad?
Then why should men on earth be so sad,
Since our Redeemer made us glad,
When from our sin he set us free,
All for to gain our liberty?

When sin departs before His grace,
Then life and health come in its place.
When sin departs before His grace,
Then life and health come in its place.
Angels and men with joy may sing
All for to see the new-born King.

All out of darkness we have light,
Which made the angels sing this night.
All out of darkness we have light,
Which made the angels sing this night:
"Glory to God and peace to men,
Now and for evermore, Amen!"

These are the words of the Sussex Carol, one of my favorite Christmas carols. Tomorrow is Christmas night, and we should rejoice at the coming of Christ. As we know, it most likely wasn't almost exactly 2,008 years ago, whether with the calendar being messed up or the unlikelihood of shepherds pasturing their flocks by night in early winter, but that's beside the point. Christ came, and as such we should rejoice. Of course, there's no command, example, etc. in the Bible of a specific time being celebrated in the church, so we shouldn't take it as some warranted topic of worship, church calendar, etc. Nevertheless: it's surely not wrong to read, hear, think, sing, etc. of the birth of Christ, and why not do it at the traditional time of year? Let's rejoice, for the birth of our merciful Redeemer did lead to his gaining our liberty!

Little of import happened today. The main exception was late morning: I went with everyone else to Springfield (a drive of about a hour each way), to the local Scouting council's offices. It was a boring drive, and I didn't do much of anything there, but the reason I wanted to go is that I wanted to leave the house for the first time since coming back from Cleveland. I had been hoping to go outside today anyway, but Mom and Dad actually encouraged my going. I'll probably not go out again on Wednesday, but Thursday is different: we're going to my uncle's house, south of Columbus, on Christmas Day.
I'm just thankful to be far enough in my recovery that a single good day isn't that remarkable :-)

Monday has been nice and relaxing, nothing impressive going on but nothing boring. I've been busy getting various things done on the computer primarily, although reading somewhat. It's mostly been routine things — i.e. the stuff that I wanted to do over break, as I didn't quite have time during the schoolyear. In other words, I've not done anything exciting, but today has been useful.
Weather today has continued freezing cold: it's not quite as bad as yesterday, but nearly. There was a report of a large construction project in Columbus burning early this morning; there was nobody there at the time, of course, but the firefighting must have been extremely difficult. I actually felt the outside weather for the first time since Friday. This afternoon, we had a visitor, the interim pastor at the Presbyterian Church; when the pastor left, the breeze came inside for a minute. It's of course not much, but I'm glad to have a little contact with the outdoors :-)
The main contrasts with today's routine business were two (overall) rather pointless-except-for-enjoyment things: building a puzzle and playing the computer game Age of Empires II. These are fun, but the main reason I did them was to test my eyes: the surgery I had can sometimes impact my visual perception, including perception of color and movement such as are needed for puzzles and video games. Thankfully, both went quite well; as the surgeon told us that any disabilities would show up quickly, today's activities are strong evidence that I'll not face any vision problems of this sort.

Little update: I wasn't aware earlier of today's weather, but now I'm glad I didn't face that. Apparently the temperature is something like 5º, and there's a strong wind, so the windchill must be horrid; Isaac looked up something that says that frostbite would begin on exposed skin in just a few minutes. Today might be the first day of winter, but it sure feels like a bleak midwinter, and the frosty wind is definitely making moan.

My second night at home last night: it went well, as I slept at least as much as normal. I rolled over and slept somewhat on my right side (grrr....), so when I woke up the affected areas ached somewhat; but I'm glad that, even with that irritation, the pain has never been more than quite minor today. Bring in the Tylenol and the "quite minor" is decreasing :-)
Today I'll be staying home from church. I want to go, and I think I could go (worshipping doesn't take tons of effort; it's not like we're Pentecostal!), but Mom and Dad fear infection — after all, we can never be sure that no person is contagious. In my still-somewhat-weakened condition, it would be easier for me to become ill, and a little infection would be more serious than in most situations — you know, when your head has been operated on, a head cold is rather more significant than normal. In short, I wish I could go to church, but I agree with my parents that it would be rather foolish to go today. It's good that God wants us to worship him in spirit and in truth, wherever we may be.

Today has been nice and calm and quiet: nothing going on, but I've been able to rest and relax. Overall, I feel the best that I have at any point since the surgery: although I've had a little pain in my head, it's been less than in previous days, and the pain is partly because I lay on my right side while sleeping. I'm thankful for Tylenol :-) Not everything that needs to be healed is on the head's right side, but what isn't is minimal: the IV and anasthesia incisions on my hands and arms and a few scabs on my head (I forget the details, but I was told that they had something to do with the procedure during the surgery) still feel a little odd, but they're improving and obviously will be fine soon. They're all like normal cuts: get a paper cut or have a mosquito bite that bleeds, and you'll something just as "bad" as these spots are. Of course, the sutures where the operation was conducted are larger, and they'll heal a little slower, but the fact that they're healing is better :-)
In the mail today were this semester's grades, all pleasing; I ended up with a higher grade for my political theory class than I expected. Isn't that always nice, getting better than you expected? I was slightly confused at the grade for my Russian literature class ("AU") until I realised that it meant "audit", as I'd audited the class. I knew it wasn't "gold", as Dad jokingly suggested, but it took me a moment — see I'm not totally recovered yet.

I post this from at home: today I was released from the hospital and told that I could go home. I'm not fully recovered, to be sure — try having a hole put in your skull :-) — but I'm doing better, and (according to the surgeon) well on the road to recovery. It's going to be some weeks until I'm fully recovered — it might not be until late January — but we can be confident that I'm doing well. Aside from the news of health, and from seeing my parents and Isaac throughout the time that I was in the hospital, the best part of the time was yesterday, when I had a surprise visit from Pastors Charles Brown and Micah Ramsey (Rose Point and Eastvale): their presence, especially as it was completely unexpected, gave me more energy and reminded me of God's care for me. This is one reason that God gives his church elders! Since being released, I've been able to talk to plenty of people whom I've not been able to see — and again I'm thankful for telephone and email, as I can be in contact with those whom I rarely or never see.
As I said to many people whom I called and/or emailed, remember part of Psalm 34:

"O magnify the LORD with me; Let us exalt His name. In all my fears I sought the LORD; From Him deliv'rance came...O taste and see the LORD is good; Who trust in Him are blessed. Fear God, His saints; none that Him fear Shall be with want oppressed. The lions young may hungry be, And they may lack their food; But they that truly seek the LORD Shall not lack any good."

Although God doesn't always give us what we ask for, he always is good and gives us what we need. It's easy to see that part of what I needed was a successful surgery — for this reason, praise God with me!
By the way, please forgive me if I repeated something that Dad posted in previous days; I read through those posts quickly earlier today, but I don't remember everything that he said.

One final note, unrelated to the rest of this post:
In on covienet today was a note about the death of the Rev. J. Paul Wilson, the oldest living RP minister. A minister of the gospel for seventy years, Rev. Wilson was a lifelong Christian, serving God in a way that we should seek to emulate. Although death is of course the result of sin in the world, let us remember that God works even through death for the good of his servants: Rev. Wilson is now delivered from his sins and "satisfied to wake and see [Christ] face to face," as we read in Psalm 17. Death may be the last enemy, and in some ways it is difficult, but God provides for his faithful ones in everything. Rev. Wilson has died "in sure and certain hope of the resurrection into eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. They rest from their labors, and their works follow them."

Dad again. Big day today. Nathaniel walked a bit, sat in his chair several hours, had an MRI, had a fantastic visit from the Revs. Micah Ramsey of Eastvale RPC and Charles Brown of Rose Point RPC, ate solid food (turkey and mushroom something-or-other, mashed potatoes, green beans, milk, cookies), and napped.

He's exhausted now. Between all this, the physical shock to his system, a bit of pain meds, and being awakened hourly, he's shot! We expect, in some ways, a yet better day tomorrow. Today was great in many ways. Again, thanks for your prayers!!

A neurologist was in today, along with the neurosurgeon who did the operation yesterday. They're both very pleased with how things are going.

He was supposed to get into a regular room today, but one couldn't be cleared out. Looks like this will happen probably tomorrow, but we'll see. The doctors are thinking maybe of a Saturday release. Again, we'll see.

I forgot to mention a very good new from yesterday. My middle brother, Nathaniel & Isaac's Uncle Charlie, came up to be with us during the operation. At supper, before he left for home, he mentioned that he has been totally cured of an arthritic condition that he's had since he was 16 or so. He's 50 now. It's called ankylosing spondilitis. Look it up. Anyway, his rheumatologist says that the arthritis has "burned out" and it will never return. What a blessing!!

Guess that's it. Maybe Nathaniel will be able to wrest back control of this by tomorrow.

Dad P, NOT Nathaniel!

Labels: Hole In Head

Thanks to all of you for your prayers for Nathaniel. His surgery today went well at the Cleveland Clinic. The problem lesion itself was removed, as well as some other damaged areas on and near the right temporal lobe of his brain. His surgeon said that they got all they needed, with no blood transfusion or anything, and that there is a good likelihood that Nathaniel will be entirely cured of his epilepsy.

We visited with Nathaniel in the step-down room this evening. He seems to have good muscle control and good memory from what we can see. He is very tired from the morphine they have given him for pain and from the physical shock he has had, but was not terribly uncomfortable. We imagine that will come tomorrow, if Judy's and my experience with surgery are any guide.

We still crave your prayers for his full recovery, freedom from infection, and for full liberation from his epilepsy. We give thanks to King Jesus for allowing this mercy, and for your love to us.

Oh. One interesting thing that happened today. We saw another family in the pre-surgery waiting area who seemed to be a little interested in us. They got called to their family member a minute or so before we did. When we headed to Nathaniel's pre-surgery room, they were just outside the room before his. As we passed by, the younger of the two ladies tentatively called Mom P by her first name, then her maiden name. It turned out the lady was a high school classmate of Mom P's, and they'd not seen each other since graduation 30 years ago! As well, the other lady has a daughter going to Geneva. Funny providences!

Dad P

ps -- Despite what it says just below, this is posted by Dad P, not Erudil. Nyah.

Labels: Hole In Head.

Nathaniel posting:

Today is surgery morning. I'm thankful not to be very nervous, getting up after a good sleep, as I look toward the rest of the day. Just thinking...I'll never be like this again. Even if something goes wrong, I'll be different...but assuming all goes well, as it does for the vast majority of patients, I'll be without seizures of all sizes permanently :-D

This is Nathaniel's dad. We're up in Brooklyn, OH, a suburb of Glorious Cleveland. Mom P, Isaac, and I will be staying at the Extended Stay hotel here.

Nathaniel's to be at the Cleveland Clinic tomorrow at 1030. That's 10:30 AM for you not into 24 hour format. The surgery itself will be late morning. All God willing, of course!

Many of you who read this will be getting email notification of how things are going, but I'll be doing this blog the next few daze until Nathaniel is feeling up to it.

And now for something completely different. A seasonal joke. Why does a cat in the desert remind one of Xms? Because it has sandy claws!! Yurk, yurk. Seeya tomorrow.

Dad P for Nathaniel

Labels: Hole In Head

Well, we're up in Hudson, having had a good evening and a safe trip. Busy in the morning...

Sorry for no posts for a good while; after finishing my take-home test on Thursday, I was simply relaxing the rest of the week at home, either doing nothing or doing things that I really had been wanting to do for weeks :-)
Yesterday, we celebrated the Lord's Supper here at Belle Center — the first time I'd participated here since before college. I've taken this sacrament at three different churches — Eastvale, Providence, and Southside Indianapolis — since beginning college, but the scheduled times here have always fallen when I'm gone until now.
Today, we leave for northeastern Ohio, staying tonight with friends in Hudson. Tomorrow morning begins the hospital time: we have appointments in the late morning through early afternoon, and tomorrow afternoon we find the schedule time for Wednesday's surgery.
Keep watching my blog this week: my parents will be posting updates as the week goes on.

U.S. Requests U.N. Authorization to Hunt Somali Pirates on Land

Given that the internationally-recognised government of Somalia has long been asking for this kind of help, this is clearly the right decision. We've been seeing such an increase in piracy lately that something must be done, and seeking to destroy pirate bases is surely a simpler choice than converting all merchant ships in the area into armed merchant cruisers. It won't be as easy, say, as the First Barbary War, but it is What Is to Be Done in this situation.

Church Law and Discipline

I've just turned in my senior paper for History Senior Seminary. Concentrating on the law of the RPCNA as it's been applied and changed over the centuries, it was the longest paper I've ever written: twenty pages of text, twenty-nine of text, title paper, endnotes, and bibliography. Combine this with the two final exams that I took this morning, and all I have to go for finals is a takehome exam (8-10 pages) for Twentieth Century Russia.

Today's attendance at church was normal: an impressive thing, considering that illness and transportation difficulties kept away several of our people, including two married couples. Along with seven of us students, we had (from what I understood) eleven people from the community worshipping with the rest of us. Micah preached from a passage in Mark 12, where Jesus asks his listeners, "Whose son is the Christ?" (12.35-37, if I remember the verses right).
One excitement at church was the announcement of a betrothal between two of our members! Seeing how the congregation includes a high percentage of older people, it must have been a long time since any member of the congregation — let alone both — were engaged; but these two people are college students who joined the congregation a couple of months ago. What a blessing to see their marriage planned: truly is it said that man is not meant to be alone!

Quote from a conversation with my roommate and me, in which we both were agreeing on government spending:

Bill: "I have to think of the government as a nonprofit organisation."

Me: "Yes: in fact, you get tax credits for giving it money!"

Thanksgiving break went well: Thanksgiving was good, and I spent most of the break from classes writing. I was assigned five papers for this week (plus two for next), and have just in the last few minutes finished the last of the five. This heavy workload (it's 38 pages between all of them) was the reason I've not posted this week. Next week's papers are about thirty pages, but the difference is that I've already written nearly twenty of the pages.