Three and a Half New Jobs

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marriage, fatherhood, family, relationships, personal, surgery, writing, life, health, lessons learned

It’s been a week. Exciting. Challenging. A bit exhausting. Routine buster.

Contrary to what the blog title says, I have not left my job. Let’s face it, I can’t afford to let go now, what with roughly two years left before retirement. With Lisa retiring at the end of next month, she is going to be added to my health insurance. My company provides an excellent health plan at a good, fair price. There is opportunity for me to add value to my team as well, with one young man leaving last week for greener pastures. I already am a strong contributor, with by far the strongest metrics, and I don’t have to extend my ego to know what my leadership provides. My leadership extends to my boss, who also depends on me to enhance his capabilities. Our relationship hasn’t been great lately, and conflict created a division between us for a while, but that has been restored. He is backing me up now, support something I have voiced concerns over, and that includes giving me grace through my recent health challenge — prep for knee surgery.

Prep for knee replacement surgery is proving to be a job in itself. December and January had me following the protocol required by insurance and my doctor — gel and cortisone injections, rehab 2-3 times a week. At the beginning of this month I had the follow up visit with the ortho doctor. He declared me healthy, not requiring surgery, issued a letter stating so. Lisa saw the letter, disagreed with the assessment. She made an appointment for us both to see the ortho, and after listening to her, he agreed that knee replacement was necessary. Sooooo, it’s going to happen. Surgery was scheduled for March 13 (Friday….), then last week was rescheduled to the morning of the 11th. This week has had me in a joint surgery prep class on Monday, followed by a MRRSA swab. Tuesday was a preop surgery physical check up, with an ECG. Yesterday was preop with the surgeon, as well as chest x-rays and a quick physical exam by the ortho. Today was bloodwork and urine test (I passed, even without studying). Somehow I have managed to make all the appointments while keeping up with work. Keeping up with work meant starting work early each day. My shift always starts at 7 AM, so starting early was a little bit of a strain even when I worked from home. Tuesday, I went in to the office, started work at 6 AM so I could make a 3:45 appointment 40 miles away. My office is 70 miles away from home. Tomorrow has no surgery related events, but I have to meet in office requirements for the week (two days this week, on a 2 day/3 day a week schedule) so have to brave the commute.

My second new job? My car. The dealership has had my car for 2 1/2 weeks, only diagnosing the issue this past Tuesday. They called me last Thursday while I was out of town, told me they still couldn’t figure out what is wrong with the car. The tech was driving my car home, but weather has been warm, so the car wasn’t acting up. It acts up when temperatures drop below freezing. When the tech called last Thursday, he said it was time to give up. I told him I would come see him on Monday, when I returned from my trip (Naples, FL — and I have the sunburn to prove it). When I showed up Monday morning, I asked him if he had driven my car since the weather had turned cold last week. He said he had not. I told him to drive the car again, then call me in two days. He called me the next day — to tell me the car had experienced the problem I had described. He was putting in a warranty claim for a replacement turbocharger and intercooler. Yesterday, he called back with partially good news. Warranty is covering the turbo, but not the intercooler. Hyundai would extend a 50% courtesy discount. I asked the tech to ask for more discount. I bought the car last September, for crying out loud, and the issue was likely already existing. Hyundai is now extending a 65% discount for the intercooler, and I accepted that. I want my car back.

My third new job? GRANDPA!!!!!! My daughter delivered a healthy baby boy this past Tuesday. I am excited beyond belief. He had a bit of trouble adjusting to the altitude, but is fine now. My daughter and her husband live in La Paz, Bolivia. That’s very high altitude. I got pictures of him tonight. Elliot looks very healthy and handsome. This summer, I get to see him. I can’t wait.

Finally, my half new job is something I have wanted to do for quite a while. Preach. I received a text from our church pastor last week, with a list of Sunday scriptures for the next few months. Would I want to preach on a Sunday morning? Oh yeah. It’s a bit scary thought. It’s been a while. There are two service, with several hundred people at each service. But I want to do it, and I feel God encouraging me to do it. That makes all the difference. I selected March 22. That might be a bit of a challenge due to my new knee, but that date is 11 days post surgery, and I can sit on a stool to preach. More excitement.

I think I have had enough excitement for a while. Last night, I told Lisa it’s time for things to settle down a bit. I am very thankful for her. She supports me in so many ways, is kind, considerate, thoughtful, loving, caring, and even helps me with money. All the excitement lately has taken a huge chunk out of my savings!

So, there you go. No rest for the anti-wicked.

Reverend Steve

Tags

bible, Christianity, faith, family, jesus, lessons learned, life, marriage, personal, preaching

The event was low key, around 60 men gathered for breakfast and bible study, separated into tables of ten. I am still a relative newcomer — my wife and I moved to the area a year and a half ago, started attending the church shortly after we moved. Someone casually mentioned to the church staff member who organizes the men’s breakfasts that I might be a prime candidate to speak/teach/preach. So, here I was, standing in the background as the church pastor introduced me as that morning’s speaker.

I wasn’t terrified.

Instead, a calmed relaxation took over when I stepped up. That should have been a surprise to me, but I was prepared (over prepared) to speak, and a lot of prayer preceded my time to speak. I’m not sure how many times I asked God for the words that would bring his message to someone who needed it, and for the humility to speak in a way that glorifies God. Way back when, when I used to preach on a weekly basis, I don’t recall ever praying for humility before I spoke. For that matter, I don’t remember a time when so many people prayed for me before I spoke. I received numerous text messages the week prior to the breakfast, specifically to encourage me as I prepared. When the morning came, one friend pulled me to the side to pray for me, then a few minutes later three others prayed for me with our church pastor. No wonder the anxiety of speaking melted away. The format was scripture mixed in with teaching and discussion questions. Time flew by. I was having fun. And I felt that awesome touch of God while speaking.

The encouragement continued, with questions and appreciation. This afternoon, the church pastor reached out to thank me, told me the message was phenomenal, told me that many guys commented about how God was clearly speaking through me. I am truly touched. Yesterday, the pastor gave me several shout outs during the sermon, including using my biking as an illustration, then closed the service by reading from the John 10 passage I used for Saturday’s breakfast.

It’s been quite a while since I was a preacher — nearly 40 years. Preaching as a 64 year old was a different experience than as a 24 year old. It was fun in a different way, the purpose maybe a little more clear than it was then. For that matter, I can see the difference in how people listened to and responded to the older me.

Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag. I have already been asked to consider preaching on a Sunday morning. I asked Lisa what she thinks about that, mainly because she had to deal with me while I prepared for Saturday. She said yes, but any future sermon prep needs to be in my basement office. Let’s just say I get a little grumpy when my thoughts are disturbed! Also, Lisa is not used to seeing me lose sleep over anything. Normally I am out for the count within seconds of my head hitting the pillow. The nights immediately before Saturday found me retreating to one of our spare bedrooms, my thoughts swirling with ideas for the sermon. I probably preached it a 100 times in my head. Saturday, when I got home, Lisa knew what to expect. I slept for a few hours Saturday afternoon.

When the next opportunity comes, I have to remind myself to remain humble. There is nothing worse than a preacher who is full of himself. But it does feel good to have done a good job!

Hyun-dead

I like my car. I really do. It’s the nicest car I have every owned — leather seats, spacious, airy and bright due to the panoramic roof, stylish. But boy has it been a vehicle that requires patience. Since I purchased the car last September, I have lost count of how many times I have had to take it in for service.

Last Tuesday looked like the ultimate. When Lisa and I pulled out of the parking space at the doctor’s, following our consult with the knee surgeon, the car wouldn’t accelerate. The check engine light came on last Sunday morning, and I had an appointment scheduled to have it looked at. We made it around a mile before the car completely shut itself down. I called the dealer, then called the number they gave me for roadside assistance. Long story short, the car had to be towed to the dealer.

They gave me a loaner, told me they would as soon as I called. I had issued a complaint to Hyundai corporate, and they have contacted the dealer. The dealer is handling me with kid gloves.

Diagnosis is a bad battery. My Santa Fe is a hybrid, so it has two batteries. The car has been shutting down and showing hybrid system failure messages for the past two months. The dealer could not diagnose the issue. Today, the accessory battery, the non hybrid battery, was completely dead and was replaced. That wasn’t a warranty repair, and the battery my car uses is an AMG battery, so a little more expensive. I picked the car up today after work. I am praying I don’t see the dealer’s service techs for a while now, except for necessary maintenance. They now know me by first and last name. The techs both laughed when they saw me Tuesday.

We shall see.

Do you knee to know?

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exercise, fitness, health, life, marriage, personal, relationships, writing

I am proud of that pun.

Protocol required by insurance before a knee replacement will be approved has been completed as of last week. Where does that leave me?

It depends on who you talk to.

Last week presented me with three knee related appointments. Tuesday and Thursday were therapy appointments, my final two. My therapist, Sean, really hoped he could bring my knee into alignment. Over the course of the 8 week therapy regimen, it became clear that the goal of therapy was not to prepare me for knee replacement. The goal was to get my knee as close to normal function as possible. I am a good candidate. Cycling has left me with very strong legs, and Sean was very impressed with what my knee was capable of. Oddly, the bad knee leg was stronger than the healthy side. All the compensation required by my body to keep that damaged knee stable has also left the ligaments rigid, so therapy focused on releasing the tension and strengthening my core muscles. Knee flexibility never really improved beyond the 5-10 percent range during therapy, though, and it was discouraging. Closing out therapy, my knee is still bent when I walk, and I can’t straighten it out when I walk.

What did my doctor say?

I visited him last Wednesday. He looked at my report, focused on how I answered the questions about the pain I experience. Those questions were difficult to answer. Does my knee hurt? Am I in pain? Not really. It’s very uncomfortable 100% of the time. I can’t stand for any extended period of time. I limp. But the doctor said that he wouldn’t approve a knee replacement because I am not experiencing pain. He issued a letter declaring me clean and not in need of knee replacement.

How do you think Lisa took that news?

I really wish you could know my wife. It’s very nice to have a spouse who genuinely cares for me. Rather than tell her everything the doctor said, I instead left his letter on our dining room table for her to see. Does that sound like the chicken’s way out? It might be, but I know my wife. She knows I don’t ask the right questions during doctor appointments. She knows I avoid any diagnosis that might require my experiencing pain. I know she asks the right questions. I know the doctor would respond to her much differently than he does to me. Lisa called the doctor, set up another appointment for the both of us. We went to see him together this past Tuesday.

It’s amazing how my doctor’s demeanor changed with Lisa in the room. Suddenly, after listening to her, knee replacement became the solution. My life would be changed so much for the positive, he assured us both. Bike riding, activities, would all be possible after knee replacement. If knee replacement happens by next month, I’m not going to miss out on summer activities. I will be back on the bike in time to enjoy a full season of riding.

I’m getting my knee replaced. The doctor’s assistant will be contacting me soon to schedule the surgery.