Thankful Thursday

This has been a challenging summer for my immediate family and extended family in regards to health issues.  It's seemed like every week someone has had a problem come up that required a visit to the doctor, convenient care, emergency room, or even a hospital stay.  Normally we are a fairly healthy bunch, but not this summer.

Today I am very thankful that my Aunt G is home from the hospital.  Aunt G is still fighting a serious salivary gland infection, but at least she is doing well enough to be released so she can recuperate at home.  It will probably be a few more weeks before she's infection-free and feeling 100% again.  As happy as I am that she's home, I'm sure she and Uncle R are even happier.

I'm also incredibly thankful that my son-in-law N had a good report from the contrast dye procedure he had done on Monday.  N had an IVP (intravenous pyelogram) to determine if he had more kidney stones or other kidney damage or abnormalities that could explain why he is still having kidney pain almost three months after a kidney stone episode.  While it would be best to know why N still has pain, it's a relief to know that there was no sign of kidney disease.

I am also thankful that my father is healing nicely from the surgery he had a few weeks ago to remove skin cancer lesions from his ear and cheek.  My dad was concerned about how he would look after the surgery.  Obviously his first concern was the surgeon's ability to remove all of the cancer and enough of the surrounding healthy tissue to insure a "clean" border.  But my dad is also human -- even though he's 74 years old, he still wants to look good and he was worried that the surgery and potential scars might be disfiguring.  We are all thankful, my dad especially, that the surgery went well.  In fact it went so well that anyone who didn't know better would be hard pressed to notice the incision spot on his cheek.  His ear was a little trickier and the doctor did have to take away more tissue and cartilage than he would have liked, but the little notch in his ear isn't readily noticeable.  I told my dad that I still thought he looked pretty on the outside, but what mattered the most was that he was "pretty" on the inside too.  : )

It is so tempting to take good health for granted.  I hope that my family's experiences this summer will remind me to always be thankful for both the good health and the healing from illness that the Lord provides.