Morning Cuppas With Glenys : heart disease

Showing posts with label heart disease. Show all posts

Mirror image all the way!

My twin sister Julie and I are not only identical, but we are mirror image twins. Mum said we were placed in a cot side by side and the mirroring was quite noticeable..

We have our natural hair parting on opposite sides, our teeth prior to dentures were mirrored, in fact our dentist put one X-ray of each of our mouths over each other and it was a perfect match!

I have a small mole on my left hand mouth edge and Julie has one on the right. Our profile is perfectly symmetrical when overlapping each other.

We have been known to throw a kidney stone from opposite sides at the same time as well.

We still play the game if someone has an ailment, we know immediately which hand the other twin has a trigger finger problem with- always we guess the opposite to the one we are experiencing ourselves. And we are right!

Mirroring each other has been a part of our life since we were quite young and it seems that it will be until our life finishes... and even in death, we will be mirroring..

Julie is sadly terminally ill with lupus and I have to have more heart stents which I have refused. As in life, so it will be in death... opposites.

Unless the LORD raptures us both, Julie will have a drawn out passing and typically opposite, I will drop like a stone with a heart attack, going very quickly.

It has been fun to be a twin, particularly a mirrored identical one. It is and has been a source of both amazement and amusement. We joke about it and how it will be- mirror image all the way!

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well-Psalm139:14

Cooking is a ministry

Lately with diabetes and heart failure causing Chris to lose his appetite, it has become more important than ever to prepare food for him that he enjoys.

Illness makes one's taste buds change and so the menu I prepare and the ingredients I buy constantly change.

I have to ask him on the day what he fancies to eat and I literally have to coax him to have some food. It can be very challenging.

In order to keep abreast of Chris's changing tastes in food, I keep a whiteboard on my fridge, jotting down things that he enjoyed and I glean Pinterest for ideas on meals. If Chris says he would like to try a recipe I find, it goes on that list too.

When my uncle lived with my mother, and later on my step-father, both of them lived beyond what the doctors expected (cancer and emphysema), and I credit that to Mum's good and plain cooking.

Chris knows this and forces himself to eat sometimes, but he never finishes a meal. Because a large plate of food nauseates him, I serve them in smaller plates. You learn as you go along.

I can well remember my ailing step-father Max sitting eating without obvious enjoyment and I asked him if he liked the meal. His answer has stayed in my mind to be implemented now in Chris's time of illness.

He said nothing was wrong with the meal, but his appetite was gone and he only eats because he knows he has to. And so I tell Chris when he refuses to eat. I remind him of what Max said. So he eats.

Nutritionally, all of Chris's blood tests come back normal. So he's getting enough iron and so on..

With cutting carbs and sugar as well as lack of teeth thrown into the mix, it can get frustrating at times. I make it a priority to include these needs into my prayer time each morning along with a request for necessary spoons (energy) with my fibromyalgia.

Apart from wisdom in meal preparation, God's been teaching me patience, kindness and endurance... and because nutrition is so important to us, I know the Man Who cooked breakfast for His disciples doesn't mind at all... cooking is a ministry!

"When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus told them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many, the net was not torn.

“Come, have breakfast,” Jesus said to them. None of the disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are You?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and He did the same with the fish." -John 21:9-12

Bother to lift us up and not tear us down

It amazes me how many people are uninformed about something yet feel compelled to give an opinion or advice about it.

When I got fibromyalgia everyone told me it was in my head. I pushed myself physically to get through it but the emotional toll was so bad. Guilt. Failure. Self loathing. Exacerbation of it all. In the end it was all for nothing: fibromyalgia is real.

How one talks to a chronically ill person is important as often they can take those words and apply it to themself, even if that person really doesn't understand about their illness.

Quite often speaking erroneously and negatively can damage a person so much that they actually feel worse. Those words have the propensity to cause so much emotionally destructive thoughts that cripple a person worse than the disease or ailment they suffer does.

Unsolicited advice such as starting exercising, dieting, positive thinking, all sound great for most maladies, but alas, not so great for chronic illness such as heart failure, osteoporosis, spinal stenosis, lupus and fibromyalgia.

Taking this on board for the person already grieving for their lost health can lead a person straight to the Pit of Despair. And it achieves nothing.

A little kindness would go a long way to helping the chronically ill retain self respect and accept their illness quicker. But most times those who give advice are anything but kind, sounding judgmental and arrogant. Which just expounds on how truly unhelpful they really are- or try to be.

Being kind and gentle to those suffering is Christ's way- so if you think you have enough knowledge and love to impart some wisdom and instruction to a chronically ill person- do so gently and kindly.

God Himself knows we have enough to contend with already as we walk the sad and lonely path of illness. We need less words and more acts that impart sympathy and compassion.

Pray for us and comfort us and be one of the few who bother to lift us up and not tear us down.

And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. Matthew 14:14

Always His!

I have had some times in my life where I have thought I would die. Surgeries for my heart, illnesses wherein I couldn't breathe, and an incorrect diagnosis of a terminal illness have seen me glimpsing death and had me question if I am ready to be with the LORD.

In facing death a few times, I have experienced immense peace in knowing that Christ has me in the Palm of His Hand and that should He call me Home to Him, that it would be instantaneous.

Alive or not, we are His. We belong to the LORD Who also numbers our days. It is a great comfort to remember that when my health continues to fail.

I am afraid of the manner in which I will die, but not of death per se. I have been the LORD's since before my birth and I will be even after my last breath.

His sacrifice has paved the way for us to not be afraid of Hell or with dying. We are forever His as soon as we accept Him as LORD and Saviour.

So in keeping with that, we do not have to fear world events either as we await for Jesus to come back for us. The Rapture will be instantaneous, should He take us Home with Him through that means.

Let us not give in to fear with current events and pandemics, but live in peace and security. That security and peaceful assurance is yours too, if you accept Christ as your Saviour.

We are loved by God and are His Children forever. Eternally His. Instantly. Dead or alive.

For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. Romans 14:8

Forever His