4/25/201 – The devil LIES!!!!!

At my pre-op on Tuesday, I asked the nurse how soon I could resume my walking and breathing exercises . He said there are no restrictions other than heavy lifting after 24 hours. He said I could go the concert in Lakeland on Saturday night. I told him I could only walk 50-60 yards at a time since I had this onset of shortness of breath and I could only get 1250-1500 cc of breath on my respirameter. He replied, “I’m amazed that you can walk that far with such a large pleural effusion! And to get so much breath! That’s unreal!” So I’m thinking to myself, “Well, my philosophy has always been if you act, sick you’ll feel sick and you’ll be sick; if you act well, you’ll feel well and you’ll be well! I guess it works!” I also thought of the Bible verse that says the devil lies to us. And my healing scripture book that says don’t believe the medical tests, trust in the truth of God’s Word. Works for me!!!!!

The next day the procedure went well. The Doctor said he drew .8 liters of fluid from around my lung. I asked to see it. Now think how big a 2 liter bottle of soda is. The doctor brought a jar that was just as wide as a 2-liter soda bottle and half as tall, filled almost to the top with black fluid. WOW!!! No wonder the pre-op nurse was so impressed with my abilities!!!!!! Thank you, Jesus!!!!!!!!

I was home by the early afternoon. By Friday when the anesthesia had worn off, I was having trouble sleeping because every time I lay down or leaned back, I coughed uncontrollably. I could not take a deep breath, my coughs were weak, and I was still short of breath. I had been led to believe I would get instantaneous improvement, so I felt disappointed! I started thinking the worst! What if I had waited too late and the alveolar sacs in the left lung were totally collapsed beyond repair?? And I could almost feel the devil sitting on my shoulder, laughing and saying, “HAHAHA!! You waited too long!! You’ll never get any better!!! You’ll always be miserable!! And you brought it on yourself!! HAHAHAHA!!” Then I would hold onto what the pre-op nurse had said, and think, God will work it out; He has to!

Saturday I wasn’t feeling much better, but we went to Orlando to see my sister Christine, meet DC and Q, and all go to the concert that night. I wore my turban and a mask and kept my hospital armband on. You see, when we bought the tickets, I wasn’t having this problem so we didn’t ask for wheelchair assistance. I wanted to look pitiful so the management would have sympathy on me and give me a wheelchair. Well, it worked! Dorothy talked to them and got a wheelchair while the guys were parking the car. They relocated our tickets from the top rear tier to the floor so I could keep the wheelchair and not have to climb any stairs.

The concert was given by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) and the story was called “Beethoven’s Last Night.” Now if you have never heard of or seen the TSO, they are a 1980’s heavy metal band that decided to merge rock music and classical music in the 1990’s. Several of their members had classical/jazz backgrounds (as do many of the rock stars of today). The 3 main characters were Beethoven, Fate, and Mephistopheles (the Devil – hmm, an omen, perhaps?). A storyteller narrated it, weaving the story around the songs. Briefly, the story starts with Fate visiting Beethoven one night and telling him this will be his last night on earth. Then Mephistopheles comes and says, “You have not been a good man and I own your soul! It doesn’t take much to lose your soul to me, an unkind word, a cruel act. But I will make a deal with you. If you give me all your music, I will give you back your soul, but all your music will be erased from the mind of every person who ever heard it! You have 1 hour to think about it.” After an hour, he returns but Beethoven does not agree. The devil haggles and finally settles for 1 symphony. Beethoven agrees and writes the contract down with the help of Fate. But there’s a loophole in the contract and the devil loses! He descends into hell in a fit of fiery rage, leaving Beethoven on earth. Beethoven asks Fate, “I understand why Mephistopheles didn’t get the symphony, but why didn’t he take me to hell with him if the contract was no good?” Fate answers, “Mephistopheles never owned your soul.” Beethoven: “But he said he did! He said I had done bad things, hurt the people close to me, and ignored the oppressed in front of my own door!!!” And Fate replies, “My dear Beethoven, He’s the Devil! HE LIES!!”

Now that was something I needed to hear right then! Two days before the procedure the pro-op nurse confirms to me that the devil lies, 2 days after the procedure, it’s reaffirmed at the concert! Sunday morning I woke up and was able to take deep breaths again! That morning my son-in-law Q (who is a trained CNA) took a 50-yard walk with me and monitored my breathing and my pulse. Everything was fine! Praise God, I’m on the mend! Thank you, Lord!

If anyone is interested in learning more about the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, here is the link to their official website. Al and I go the their Christmas show in Jacksonville, FL every year.

http://www.trans-siberian.com/

Pictures show Al and I at the autograph session after the concert with the singers/actors and musicians. Everyone was very open and attentive to what the fans wanted (ie, signatures/pictures). Specifically there’s me with Mephistopheles, hamming it up (Jeff Scott Soto); –me and Al with Roddy Chong, the violin player; – me with Bryan Hicks, the Storyteller; and – some of the girls waving to Al!