I am sorry to not have tended to this blog over the last several days.
I had been feeling not too well over the last several weeks and it was getting worse for me to the point I finally decided to visit my doctor.
I was experiencing a fatigue that would come upon me at the slightest exertion with a corresponding loss of breath and a pounding of my heart to the point I really began to be alarmed.
Without going into much detail, I had a condition which caused a loss of blood over the last month and a half to two months.
In getting blood samples at Quest Diagnostics, my doctor, upon receiving the results the next day summoned me to his office and told me to head immediately to the Emergency Room and be admitted for an immediate blood transfusion.
I received the blood(I was measured at having 6.2 units in my body, the normal and necessary amount should be about 13 units- I had less than half the needed blood in my body and was informed by the doctor as to how fortunate I was to be there without experiencing the inevitable complications awaiting me if I should have waited longer to take action; heart failure, liver damage, etc.).
After receiving 4 units of blood I was then further examined to ascertain the ultimate cause of the blood loss and what could be done about it.
Sunday morning the 6th of July at approximately 7:15 a.m. I underwent surgery and later that evening I was discharged under my own power.
I am very grateful to all my loved ones and friends who visited and called me over these last few days.
I am also grateful to our Lord and the Holy Virgin with all the Saints for my healing and for the valuable lessons I learned during this ordeal.
I will resume posting the news tomorrow.
I also have been working on an essay responding to Dr. Scott Carson for his essay "Real" Catholics which he wrote after reading my post regarding Jay Dyer's decision to remain in the Roman Catholic Church. My stay in the hospital interrupted this work but now, through the circumstances generated by my ill health, I will be off work for the next couple of weeks to recover and heal. This will give me much time for wonderful reading and to work on my essay.
I will release my response in parts because it is longer than I expected it to be.
As well, I have been contemplating a change of direction for this blog in that I would like to post much more regarding Orthodox spirituality. If I indeed decide on this course, the posting of news will either cease or be limited.
11 hours ago
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6 comments:
Goodness! I am glad you sought help and the doctors were able to repair you so quickly. Happy to know you are on the mend.
Don't worry about the blog...you are entitled to a blog vacation...two weeks per year...although other slackers like me take many two weeks per year!
I don't know, my blog boss told me to get back to work-or else! Glad to hear from you, Dixie and thanks for the well wishing.
Sophocles:
My goodness--you really dodged a bullet (figuratively speaking, of course)! Thank God you will be okay! I will pray for a swift and full recovery.
By the way, for what it's worth (probably about what you are paying for it)--I would hate for you to change the format of your blog. This is my favorite source for Orthodox news. I understand your desire to write on spirituality, but could you not just add those articles to this already excellent blog (or maybe start another one)? You really have a great thing going here, and I'd hate to see it go away. As we say in Texas, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
May your recovery be peaceful and complete.
Father bless,
Thank you for your prayers and also for your continued encouragement on the work I do on this blog.
This is something I have been mulling over for sometime.
When I first began blogging I intended to write more original essays with my viewpoint on various matters dictating the course of the blog.
About this time, I felt a certain apathy about merely adding my opinion on various topics enunciated by so many others and I was much more shy about expressing myself and add to that I felt a real kinship with our Lord's warning that for each idle word I would give account and I really had to examine my motives for my essays.
Ironically, Andrea Elizabeth and I communicated more often then because I did post original stuff. Thanks Andrea for your wellwishing. Its always good to hear from you.
This is how I exclusively began posting the Saints and Feasts as well as Orthodox News. I "hid" behind these things in a sense and now feel more ready to flex my "viewpoint muscle" as I have notice a gain in dispassion in my utterances and have also come to feel ok with letting more of the unique way God has created me express itself.
Why possibly limit the news or eliminate it?
It takes alot of time to read and post it and it is very mechanical.
I just completed "Orthodox Spirituality" by Father Dumitru Staniloae and I spent months on it with dictionary besides me making sure I did not simply gloss through it but that I would absorb it.
Reading it helped cement many free ranging thoughts and impressions on the Life in Christ. I am still not certain how I would even attempt to do an online study of it and I may not.
I have so many ideas and they are difficult to express in words but I think it would be beneficial for me and perhaps others
I am still working on a large essay in response to Scott Carson from "An Examined Life" but my work was interrupted as a result of my recent health problems.
So if God permits me the time and leisure, I would love to do both the News and Spirituality.
Andrea,
In case you didn't read the above address to Father James, thank you for you concern.
To both of you,
In Christ with love,
Sophocles
Sophocles,
I read all of the above with interest. I have missed your essays and look forward to your resuming them.
I am so glad you got half your blood replaced just in time and have taken care of the cause. My first hope is that nothing happens to repeat the incident - in other words, please take care.
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