A 12-year-old Michigan boy is battling illness after being infected by flesh-eating bacteria that caused him to lose most of his left leg.
Dakarai Moore, Jr. was an active child until August 11, when he developed a fever and a greenish-colored rash on the bottom of his feet…
Please keep Dakarai Moore in your thoughts and prayers. You can read about him here: Detroit boy loses leg after contracting flesh-eating bacteria | Fox News… Read the rest
I suppose it’s fitting I write a review of Matt Perman’s book What’s Best Next (WBN) toward the end of a day that I’ve spent piddling, getting very little done, on the way to working myself up to settle down to watch a movie.
My cousin Nancy pointed me to What’s Best Next, while discussing our recent retirements. For Type A personalities or those of us who obsess over how much time we’re wasting, our first impulse is to prioritize and jump right into finding more time. That’s universal and, if you don’t believe me, just scroll through the thousands of productivity products and strategies on the web.… Read the rest
I’ve been struggling over the past year and a half, trying to get a routine down — to optimize my time and get some real work done. I am essentially self-employed now, even if I’m not earning a living by my efforts. Nearly forty years with the US Postal Service and twenty-four years as a bi-vocational pastor kept me working and focused, so there was an imposed structure to my day with objectives and goals to meet, as well as work to be done. Now, I have to plan my own workday, thankful that years of working for the USPS, Denise’s years of contracting and employment, the generosity of others, and personal planning have provided the financial foundation for labors of love that don’t necessarily pay.… Read the rest
I completed my acrylic painting class about two weeks ago and this was my final project: Olive At Seven. I’m generally pleased with it, although it gave me a bit of trouble in combining white with raw umber and, then, glazing and going to a gray. After encountering that problem, I created swatches and learned that raw umber has some blue in it, evidently. I found that by mixing in a little burnt sienna, it “warms” a bit and will go to a creamier tint. Oh, well. That’s why I’m taking these classes.
Next up are a couple of portraits and then on to my current fascination: urban scenes.… Read the rest
My first acrylic painting class is drawing to a close. This is the first time I’ve put serious energy into painting since high school, over 40 years ago. I’ve learned a lot from our excellent instructor, Sandra Miller, at Sierra College. And, I can’t say enough about the wonderful color theory course I had with Linda Byrne two semesters ago.
One of the most enjoyable projects was a mixed media assignment. I decided to parody (not mock) this familiar Paul Delefsen print, Serenity. Denise found it at the thrift store, heading out to the garbage. We displayed it in our patio each summer, in order to capture the feeling that we were in a cool redwood grove, on hot afternoons.… Read the rest
It’s great to see someone battle back after their ordeal with necrotizing fasciitis and a brush with death.
Haxton had been an elite rower in high school at Upper Arlington and for months after his illness, Blake had no plans to try adaptive rowing. But with some urging, he discovered the sport and quickly realized he was a natural. He was soon among the best in America.
We share a similar perspective, which may come from extended time unconscious or in a coma: the ordeal is worse for family and friends, watching this disease devour us in real time, while we are “off somewhere.”… Read the rest
Well, it’s been over a month since my last post. A few things have conspired to keep me away from writing.
First, a friend of the family was hit by necrotizing fasciitis, the flesh-eating bacteria. It’s so rare, I never thought I would know someone, personally, who would be stalked by this deadly foe. He is a young man, received a timely bit of advice from his pharmacist and a quick diagnosis by his first surgeon and, then, he was off to an excellent hospital. He’s come through with flying colors. Today, he just learned that his grafts had taken very well and he’ll be going home Friday, after a month in the hospital.… Read the rest
I used to tell people, jokingly, that I spared them from necrotizing fasciitis because, statistically, it’s so rare that they will only meet one person with this disease in their lifetime. Well, I can’t say that again as a personal family/friend has just passed through the worst of a bout with that nasty, cruel bacteria. His elbow and arm were affected and he has made it through the worst. It looks like the infection is under control and his surgeon has just grafted his affected area and the grafts took. So, he’ll be going home this Friday.
He’s pretty beat up, but rallying back.… Read the rest
I’m back in school again, taking an acrylic painting class and a publication design course, learning Adobe InDesign. The strategy at this point is to take courses I need to move forward in my new career: writing, designing, laying out, and publishing books that hardly anyone will read, aimed at niche audiences, interested in obscure subjects. Doesn’t that sound super-bohemian?
the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic, or literary pursuits. In this context, Bohemians may be wanderers, adventurers, or vagabonds.
I’m feeling hipper and groovier by the moment.… Read the rest
Back in October, I wrote about an injury to my reconstructed left leg that left a hole over my superior and inferior retinaculam (top of my foot, at the ankle), which revealed my tendon, sliding back and forth, as I moved my foot (shivers). As a necrotizing fasciitis survivor, one becomes something of a wound care specialist and, though I’ve gotten along treating myself for nearly 20 years, this one required more expertise than I have.
So, I visited my general practitioner to get a referral to a plastic surgeon, because I felt a graft may be required. But, the wound began coming together by that time and my GP was able to really help it out with some minor surgery in his office.… Read the rest
For example, the author of The Peacemaker proffers this modest sounding, yet crucial piece of advice: “Provide leaders with regular performance evaluations. Candid performance evaluations conducted in the spirit of Ephesians 4:15 and 4:29 can provide encouraging affirmation of strengths and successes, and address weaknesses or failures in a positive manner instead of waiting for problems to build to explosive levels.
Yesterday, I began in earnest to bring my latest writing and publishing project to life. I created an outline and plan for a book titled The Baha’i Faith: An Introduction for Christian Readers. Why an introduction to the Baha’i faith, you ask? Because there still aren’t nearly enough resources out there for popular consumption on the subject, since I first encountered the Baha’i faith back in the 80s. Sources tend to be partisan and there is very little dialogue between opposing groups, who share an interest in the Baha’i faith and its roots in Babism, Sufism, Twelver Shi’ism, and Islam. Of course, Baha’is will accuse me of being so biased, that I can’t possibly add anything helpful to the discussion.… Read the rest
As I sat down to make resolutions for 2016, I remembered this sobering quote by John Goldingay from the book, I (Still) Believe: Leading Bible Scholars Share Their Stories of Faith and Scholarship. He reminds me that I’m seeking a “better country,” beyond 2016 and this life.
Here it is and it’s not for the squeamish:
… Read the restAmericans like to believe in legacies; I expect to be forgotten, in fulfillment of Ecclesiastes’ warning. I know that individual students gain from classes I teach and from books that I write… but in general my work makes no significant contribution to the life of the church or to the purposes of God in the world.
Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with a friend, who lives in constant pain from a degenerative back ailment. We were discussing how often God blesses us through the curse: our fallen, broken, mortal bodies. If Jeremy Linneman is correct, 40 percent of Americans suffer from chronic pain. I’m one of them. Here’s why chronic pain and the suffering that goes along with it can be a gift from The Paradox of Chronic Pain:
… Read the restIn this, chronic pain is a perfect illustration of the Christian life. It is a constant and demanding journey; it is supremely complex and often seemingly meaningless; and there is no cure for the hardship or hope for restoration in this world itself.
I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens, last night, in 3-D.
I am not a Star Wars, Sci-fi or fantasy geek. I have been an audio geek and a Bible nerd, but I don’t know if geek or nerd are appropriate labels, if you are enthusiastic about one of the most popular and lucrative entertainment franchises in the history of the world. I tend to associate geeks and nerds with outsider movements. Anyway, I’ve been pretty hard on hardcore Star Wars fans in the past (see my take at Star Wars: It Really Matters What You Believe). But, I’m no hater and have the greatest love and respect for the franchise. … Read the rest
Many men wish their handwriting was better and I’m one of them. This primer, How to Improve Penmanship, at The Art of Manliness, “will teach you everything you need to know about improving your cursive penmanship.” At least, that’s their claim. I have this notion that by training my mind, eyes, and hands to improve my penmanship, other skills I’m cultivating will follow. There are indications that writing by hand improves your cognitive abilities, but I’m hoping my art and creative writing will also benefit. We shall see. One specific writing skill I would like to acquire is the draftsman or architectural style of writing.… Read the rest
This past week, I came to the realization that I’m probably not a coffee drinker. I like coffee drinks or drinks made with coffee, but not coffee by itself… black. Denise roasts beans for us and does a great job. We have electric and hand burr grinders, a french press outfit, a pour-over device, an Aeropress, and a Cuisinart drip coffee maker. Until recently, we had a Krupps espresso maker. So, there’s no excuse for my not being a true coffee drinker — I have only my own taste buds to blame.
How did I come to this shocking realization? A couple of weeks ago, I decided to start drinking my coffee black and enjoy the essence of the bean without admixture or adulteration of the ebony nectar by dairy products and sweeteners.… Read the rest
This week I’ll be heading back to the Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine Center to consult with a plastic surgeon on the skin ulcer over the tendon on my foot. A couple weeks ago, I was leaning toward a full-thickness skin graft to cover the area and get some more tissue over the tendon. Now, the wound is healing well and I’ll be surprised if the plastics man will suggest a graft. It’s looking good.
For those of us with extensive injuries from necrotizing fasciitis, this is part of a life-long process that can often be discouraging or downright depressing.… Read the rest
Here’s another inspirational story about a young man, who just wouldn’t quit.
Giancarlo Gil, 14, began feeling sick Sept. 19, and doctors later had to amputate his right leg up to his hip to stem the spread of necrotizing fasciitis. He underwent 11 surgeries and was listed in critical condition until late last month, according to the hospital.
Source: Boy battling flesh-eating bacteria close to going home | FOX5 San Diego – San Diego news, weather, traffic, sports from KSWB… Read the rest
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a wound I have on my tendon. I visited my GP and he did a bit of minor surgery and wound care on the hole over my tendon. It’s looking really good. But, he’s consulting with a plastic surgeon to see if I may need a full-thickness graft over the area. If I do have surgery, it would be the first since I left the hospital back in 1998. I had amazing results in the reconstruction of my leg and didn’t have to return to cover problem areas or releases on the keloid scarring around my joints.… Read the rest
I have to concur with the writer, that “racking up mile after mile is difficult, mind-expanding, and hypnotic—just like putting words down on a page.” But, it’s also energizing and freeing to be out on the road, around town or through the woods, working out ideas and problems, step by step, mile by mile.
… Read the restFreedom, consciousness, and wildness: Running offers writers escape with purpose. When confronted with “structural problems” in her writing as the result of a “long, snarled, frustrating and sometimes despairing morning of work,” Joyce Carol Oates would ease her writing blocks with afternoon runs. For Oates and many other writers, running is process and proves especially useful for the type of cloistered, intensive work they do.
Denise has always wanted to visit the garden island of Kauai, in the Hawaiian Islands. So, we flew over earlier this month. I thought I would try paddle-board surfing while we were there and Hanalei Bay is ideally suited for a first timer. However, a day or so before we went north, I put on my fins to swim around Salt Pond Beach Park near Port Allen. When I left the water and pulled off my bootie, I found that the scarring over the tendon at my ankle had torn and I was trailing a lot of blood. This had never happened before while swimming, body-surfing or sponge-riding. … Read the rest
Surviving the flesh-eating bacteria is an ongoing process. Once you make it past the initial 72 hours and find yourself still in the land of the living, dealing with the sometimes devastating effects can be challenging, whether the wounds are great or small. Often, I’ll post stories about those who have overcome incredible loss from this disease and, in light of their challenges, I see my wounds as being on the small end of the spectrum.
Denise has always wanted to visit the garden island of Kauai, in the Hawaiian Islands. So, we flew over there earlier this month. I thought I would try paddle-board surfing while we were there and Hanalei Bay is ideally suited for a first timer.… Read the rest
Someone posted this bizarre video of Benny Hinn on the Triune nature of God…
Which reminded me of a mathematics instructional video a friend pointed me to years ago.
Then, I recalled a bit of advice from Beautiful Eulogy
One of the advantages of my defective and desultory education is a lifetime of discovery and learning! Kudos to the California educational system of the 60’s, leftist news organizations of the 70’s and the vacuous popular culture of the 80’s. (I suppose I should admit that I wasn’t a very enthusiastic learner in those days — it’s not like I was a total victim)
Along the way, I learned that , contrary to nearly everything I was ever taught on the subject of race or saw editorialized in the pop-press, that in the 26 major civil rights votes since 1933, Democrats opposed civil rights in 80% of votes, while Republicans joined the majority in favoring civil rights in over 96% of the votes.… Read the rest