JC's helper: A "spot" that needs investigating.

Friday, September 13, 2013

A "spot" that needs investigating.

Theodore my cute grandson.

Over four weeks ago I had an MRI scan. On Wednesday after our visit to Christchurch I rang the hospital Urology Department to see if there were results. They told me to ring my GP. I phoned the medical centre and a nurse got into the information on the hospital computers. She looked at it and said she would get a doctor to explain it then phone me back. I eventually received a phone call from a nurse giving me a medical explanation. As far as I could understand, most of my prostate enlargement looks like "just" benign enlargement. (There was a fancy medical term) There is, however, a spot or area that they are unsure about and they are contemplating an ultrasound guided biopsy of this. I was disappointed because I had thought that the MRI would give a definitive statement on whether or not I had cancer. I am left with another period of feeling uncertain.
My sensitivity is heightened because I visited a friend who has terminal cancer that began as prostate cancer. I had not seen him for two weeks and I was disappointed because, in spite of some treatment his symptoms had deteriorated in just two weeks.
This morning I was doing things to hopefully improve the starting and running of my van. While I was working I was thinking about my friend (My form of prayer) and also about my predicament. I finished up by putting some tools away in my workshop. I became aware that I have built up a very handy collection of tools because I have always said, "Tools are an investment." Many of my tools have paid for themselves several times over, but others await more free time to be fully utilised. As I came out of the workshop I wistfully said to my wife, "I hope I live long enough in retirement to really enjoy my tools?"
I am sure I will be fine, I have had enough doctors poking and prodding in recent times. The funny thing is that at this stage of life I do have a sense of completeness. I have had a happy family life and my children are off my hands and doing well. I have enjoyed friendships and related to a great variety of people. I have made a difference through my career, and while there have been frustrations, it has caused me to grow in my abilities, in confidence and as a person. I have had a life full of rich and varied experiences which I have enjoyed. So if I died tomorrow I could still look back and say, "I have had a very fortunate life." I could not complain. But... I still have creative energy itching to express itself. I will appreciate a few more years of healthy living to explore the uncharted territory of "free time".

My recent birthday present I hope to enjoy more fully.

An engraver/shaper thingy yet to be enjoyed - I want to try bone carving.

This electric meter has had 35 years of use, and was used again this morning.

1 comment:

Bricky said...: If as you say, Dave, thinking is praying, then you are in my prayers.; September 14, 2013 at 12:00 AM

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The Blog's title

I am a Workplace Chaplain to the NZ fireservice.

At the firestation every time one man sees me he yells, "Here comes JC's helper!". I guess I am happy to be called just that... "Jesus' helper". I am a follower of Jesus.
A a quote from Dave Andrews in his book, "Not Religion but Love".
"Being a devotee of Jesus is not a matter of subscribing to a certain set of dogmas, obeying rules and regulations, and getting others to subordinate themselves to them.

The essence of being a devotee of Jesus is to live in sympathy with God as Jesus did; feeling the throb of God's heartbeat, and teaching our hearts to learn to beat in sync with the love that sustains the universe.

It means developing our capacity to sense intuitively what causes love pleasure, and what causes love pain, and doing everything we can to enhance the pleasure, and diminish the pain."

I love this charter.

The Charter for Compassion

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensable to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.