Tag: health

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Halli’s Father’s Day Reflections

It has been about 6 months since I have posted anything. I tend to write the most when I am sad, and I have to say, I haven’t been sad enough to put pen to paper in a minute, and praise God for that. But journaling / blogging did truly help me process a lot of dark stuff, and I appreciate those of you who followed along. Today I am posting, not my own words, but the words of my oldest daughter Halli, and I wanted to share them here, albeit a little over a week past the time she penned them.

Happy Father’s Day to the Best Father there Was

It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost two years since he left us, but the time without him has allowed me to realize and more fully appreciate just how great of a dad he was. When he first passed, many people warned me that the first year of losing someone would be the worst, especially during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and birthdays, when at first you forget that they won’t be there. Although those times were difficult, the hardest part for me came later, when I stopped forgetting, and I already knew he wouldn’t be there for the times I needed or wanted him there most. The reason moments like these were harder is because instead of thinking he was still there, I remembered thinking how much he would have wanted to be there too. And I was not only sad for myself, but in some ways, sad for him too.

But now that even more time has passed, my perspective has changed. I know I am lucky to have had a dad who loved me and knew me so well. Now those sad moments also serve as a reminder for me that whenever I needed him, he not only was, but also wanted to be there for me when he could. While he can no longer give advice, encourage, or listen to me, I still know what he would say. I can imagine his words, and so I have realized that though gone, he is still with me through the example he set. To me, this shows that he was an even better father than I realized because, in his limited time, he was able to teach me how to be there for myself even when he can’t be now.

“Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. “ Proverbs 1:8-9

“Start children off on the way they should go and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6 

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Hysterectomies & Colonoscopies

So, I know that I’m always evangelizing the importance of early detection and screenings via colonoscopies, but tonight I’m going to hop over to a different soapbox, but a soapbox that looks very similar to my colonoscopy box, but this one is about other screenings and other  early detection procedures. 

It was during a routine exam, almost a year ago, that it was discovered that I had pre-cancerous cells in my cervix and that my uterus was rather enlarged and filled with fibroids, and this is after I had an ablation procedure probably six years ago. While  not imminently life-threatening, though definitely annoying and uncomfortable and disruptive to life, I did not want those pre-cancerous cells to turn into cancer. My girls are already a parent down, so I feel even more compelled to take care of me now too. So, as a gift of love to my girls & of course to myself too, I went under the knife for a near total hysterectomy today. And while I will continue to preach the importance of colonoscopies, I wanted to take a moment to stress the importance of gynecological exams as well. Cervical cancer, I believe,  is the fourth most common cancer in women in the United States. So, while I lie in the hospital tonight,  dosed up on OxyContin and Toradol, with a belly all swollen up my like I’m 6 months preggers, and sore as all get out, I know I did the right thing, and not just the right thing for me, but the right thing for my girls too. Taking care of yourself & doing all the preventative things like mammograms, colonoscopies, gynecological & dermatology exams should not be luxuries you try to squeeze into your life. They should be more like changing the oil on your car every 3,000 miles, or  putting air in your tires, just regular maintenance for the human body, for it too is just a machine, albeit a glorious machine created by the All Mighty Himself, it is not indestructible. So, take care of it. If you don’t have some, go get yourself some good insurance, & do right by your body, for it is a temple for the Lord, & you only get the one.

Now I know we all just showered our loved ones with gifts and presents during Christmas and Hanukkah, but consider the greatest gift you can give to anyone whom you love or who loves you, is a clean bill of health, so you can be there for them long into the future. So make 2024 your year of health & preventative care.

O.K. Stepping down for now, & probably closing my eyes, for the pain meds make me sleepy. Also, I’m going to go ahead & blame all typos & run on sentences on my current dosed up state at St. Vincent’s hospital, and it’s St. Vincent’s not UAB, because I’m not sure I’ll ever be able step into UAB hospital again. (Trigger place for me for sure.)