IT IS WELL, IT IS WELL, WITH MY SOUL
-My experience of being sick, on drips and all right again.
It started 2 weeks ago on a sunny Thursday morning. I normally walk to the school in the mornings as it’s only about 25 minutes away from my home and it’s a good form of exercise. To go home in the afternoon, I take a bus or get a lift. Sometimes, I walk. On that Thursday, the minute I arrived at the school door, I felt so weak and dizzy, although I had a good breakfast (bread and sausages & milk), but tried not to show it. I just took something sweet and had a drink. The feeling became less intense but it did not completely go. I continued teaching and scoring till recess. During recess, I bought some fruit juice and a piece of cake. Right after devotion, the terrible feeling of weakness and dizziness returned with greater intensity, and I could feel ‘bubbles’ in my stomach. I figured that it might be caused by gastric, which I thought was already okay. Maybe it was something I ate…
(I really thank God for keeping me well while I was walking to school…I can’t imagine how it would have been if I felt dizzy and weak while crossing the roads on my way to school! I would have been disastrous if I had collapsed on the road)
The feeling grew with more intensity and one of the teachers noticed that I was looking very pale and the school arranged for me to be sent home. Several minutes upon reaching home, I vomited. After that, I felt much better and took my gastric medicine before my next meal. My next light meal, lunch, went alright. I felt a little weak, but I was ok.
(I also thank God that I didn’t vomit in school…Being sick at home makes a great deal of difference...I’m sure you know what I mean…Having mummy to care for me and rush and get me a plastic bag…and making me a glass of glucose drink , milk etc..)
I had a 2nd interview to attend that particular day and did not wish to postpone it. So, I attended the interview that afternoon. It went very well, for more than an hour. The manager seemed to have a good impression of me and asked if I could start working the next month itself. But since I made my commitment to serve at the Christian learning centre and I know that the centre would be very shorthanded if I were to leave suddenly, I explained my situation to them. The manager said that she would have to talk to her boss and would get back to me soon. Throughout the interview, I felt very good. Praise the Lord!
After 10 minutes of reaching home, I vomited again! After vomiting, I felt much relieved in my body but still a little weak. I was all right that night and even the next day.
(Thank God he saved me from vomiting during the interview! What a terrible impression I would have made of myself, otherwise!..God really is so good.)
….But the next night was a terrible nightmare! I took my food and medicine as usual…But this time, right after I swallowed my medicine, my head started spinning like never before in my entire life! The whole house seemed to be going in circles, my body felt very cold, and then suddenly warm again…I asked my mother for a glucose drink…I couldn’t walk on my own...I turned as white as a ghost…My family was really panicking and my dad wasn’t at home…. We didn’t even have the transport to go to any clinic and it was already around 10.30 at night. As my condition didn’t seem to improve, my mother finally called her brother, who’s also the pastor of my church, for help.
Since it was already late, my family doctor’s clinic was closed. We had no choice but to look for a 24-hour clinic. And we found one. The doctor diagnosed me as having bowel infection and prescribed me 2 types of antibiotics and medicine to stop the vomit and prevent dizziness. The doctor asked me to come back the next day if my condition didn’t improve. I was a little better that night in the sense that at least I did not vomit…but the next morning I felt weak again and a little dizzy even after taking the medicine. All I could do was sleep or just sit down...eat and then rest, and sleep again.
(But throughout this time, 1 hymn which I learnt and loved in the Baptist church kept playing in my ears, offering me a lot of peace and comfort despite my circumstances…The hymn ended something like this: “ Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, it is well, IT IS WELL, WITH MY SOUL.”)
So I went to the doctor again…I mentioned to him about my history of gastric and all that I was feeling. This time, he said it might be appendix and said I needed a blood test. I was even put on one bottle of drips as I didn’t seem to have any energy in me (the total amount of food I consumed in a day was only about half of 1 plate of meal…no wonder, right)
It was the first time in my whole life I was put on drips. I wondered what it would be like...to have that needle go through my little vein and have that tube attached to me till all the Dextrose with Saline from the bottle flows into me…..Hmm…it wasn’t too bad…Just a sharp little pain when the little thing ( whatever it is called) was inserted into my vein, it think.
As I was asked to lie down on a little bed in the clinic itself, I was actually marveling at the discovery of drips, the knowledge of medicine and how it saves lives… How much God has blessed human kind with knowledge of so much that my mind could never ever fully comprehend….And when the doctor came to remove the drips, I was so amazed at how God has created the human body and its specific functions…that blood does not gush out of the body after the drips is removed…
After that dose of drips, I was alright for a few hours. The doctor said he would call me if I needed urgent treatment after the results of the blood test was out. But the feeling of weakness returned. I picked up a pencil to write a poem, but I couldn’t write. I attempted to draw a cute little goldfish but I just didn’t have the energy to do so. I could only read Psalms 23 for a few minutes and after that I feared that I might have a headache so I stopped. But it felt so terrible not being able to do anything. Just getting up, eating, taking my medicine and sleeping the whole day. Every time after I took my antibiotics, I began to feel so drowsy and would be in bed after an hour. My waking hours were so few in a day!
My mother was earnestly praying for me. My dad was very sad. My whole family was terribly worried about me as I had never been that sick before. And even when I do fall sick, I am not in such a feeble state. I would still have the energy do keep myself active. I felt extremely terrible being like a sick patient at home…I needed aid to go upstairs and downstairs and almost everything had to be done for me… Even when I went to the loo or bathroom, I wouldn’t lock the door, and ask someone to wait outside for me, because I was so afraid that I might faint inside!
That night my dizziness returned…This time, I decided not return to the same doctor. Furthermore, the doctor said that if my condition did not improve, he would give me a letter of referral to the hospital. It was Sunday night and my family doctor would be closed. And I realized going to the doctor only gives me temporary relief. When I get home again, my condition does not improve much.
The doctor gave me 3 antibiotics tablets to eat. I decided to take only 1. Even my parents said that the medicine might be too strong for me. And my mother kept saying that if I go to my family doctor, he wouldn’t even ask me to take a blood test. He would know what is wrong with me. My mother strongly believed that it wasn’t appendix and that her heart would only be satisfied after I visited my family doctor.
That night was not an easy for me. I was just praying and took the additional antibiotics. But I didn’t take my 3rd antibiotic tablet. Eventually, I fell asleep and the dizziness went away. However, the feeling of weakness did not leave me, as my appetite was so poor. Throught the night, my mother kept coming into my room to touch my forehead to check my temperature and to ask if I was allright. I think she made her visit every 15 minutes until I eventually fell asleep….How much love God shows through Mummy that He has given me!
I took sick leave from my school. I slept very well that night. On Monday morning, when I woke around 8 am, suddenly I felt a gush of energy in my body. A song started playing in my heart and mind…”Don’t worry about anything. Because every little thing is going to be allright..” and I just felt a great sense of peace. When I looked at my handphone, I saw a sms from the principal of my school saying that the staff had prayed for me during the time of devotion before school started… I smiled to myself, knowing the power of God at work.
When I got up from bed and went to wash up, I felt the weak feeling returning but the positive song in my heart kept playing stronger. When I went downstairs, my mom said we should visit my family doctor, and that after that, I would be fine.
So we made a visit to my family doctor, and he said it was caused by gastric. He told me to cease taking all my other medication and to take his. He gave me no antibiotics at all nor mention appendix. Neither did he ask me to take a blood test nor say anything about sending me to the hospital. He didn’t ask me to return if I did not improve. He said I would fine after taking those medicine and the right food – only steamed food for a week.
And he was right…drastic changes were seen right after my return from his clinic. As I ceased taking the antibiotics and consumed the gastric medicine in table form, I was did not feel sleepy the whole day. And the quiet little figure that hardly spoke that week started talking and singing a lot. Previously, I didn’t even have the energy to hum or sing as I usually do. My sister jokingly complained to my mother to stop me from being so hyperactive…humming and singing, and talking so much. My mother was very happy to see me going up and downstairs, and talking and asking for extra food! My cousin said he even feared that I might lose my life and prayed for god not to take me when I was sick!
I was just so happy…tunes of praises to God was continually on my lips…I just finished the last tablet of my medication today and I am truly very much better.
I don’t really know what caused me to fall so, terribly sick. I did consume oily food that I should not have. But most of the time, I was maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle. But it doesn’t matter, I allright now. And I certainly will try my level best to be more watchful over the food that goes into my body. The doctor never called me for treatment after the blood test and I am back to my self, talking, writing, humming, singing and drawing.
Throughout my time of sickness, I felt that Jesus had dealt with me emotionally more that just physically. Do you remember the time when a guy and I had fallen in love and my parents totally disapproved of it? Well, eventually, I did leave the guy and things have become kind of back to normal at home. But the scar of the terrible times I went through at home when I refused to leave the guy I loved still remained in my heart and mind. The hurtful words and actions of my parents, especially my mother often haunted my mind. She did apologize to me before and I know that my parent love me a lot. But those thoughts would still occasionally come into my heart and mind and hurt me, often leaving me in tears when I recall the whole episode.
However, Jesus has such an amazing way of dealing with hurts. He allowed me to be in such dependence on my mother. And my mother showed me so much love and care that I am eternally grateful for. Although I knew in my heart that she loves me as she always has, her care during this time of my sickness seems to just wash away the painful memories of my forbidden love. Each time those hurtful memories invade my mind, the picture of my mother coming into my room every 15 minutes to touch my forehead, of her steaming food especially for me, of her making sure I was alright etc…just overshadows those painful memories and makes me smile in my heart.
I have experienced the love and goodness of Christ in such a marvelous way throughout this whole time and I can only look back and say…”Holy Spirit, you were there. All along…just as you have always been and will always be….Whatever circumstances we may face, eventually it will be all right…..Indeed, it is well, with my soul.
Verses for the day:
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
- Isaiah 41:10, The Bible.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
-I Thessalonians 5:16-18, The Bible.
It started 2 weeks ago on a sunny Thursday morning. I normally walk to the school in the mornings as it’s only about 25 minutes away from my home and it’s a good form of exercise. To go home in the afternoon, I take a bus or get a lift. Sometimes, I walk. On that Thursday, the minute I arrived at the school door, I felt so weak and dizzy, although I had a good breakfast (bread and sausages & milk), but tried not to show it. I just took something sweet and had a drink. The feeling became less intense but it did not completely go. I continued teaching and scoring till recess. During recess, I bought some fruit juice and a piece of cake. Right after devotion, the terrible feeling of weakness and dizziness returned with greater intensity, and I could feel ‘bubbles’ in my stomach. I figured that it might be caused by gastric, which I thought was already okay. Maybe it was something I ate…
(I really thank God for keeping me well while I was walking to school…I can’t imagine how it would have been if I felt dizzy and weak while crossing the roads on my way to school! I would have been disastrous if I had collapsed on the road)
The feeling grew with more intensity and one of the teachers noticed that I was looking very pale and the school arranged for me to be sent home. Several minutes upon reaching home, I vomited. After that, I felt much better and took my gastric medicine before my next meal. My next light meal, lunch, went alright. I felt a little weak, but I was ok.
(I also thank God that I didn’t vomit in school…Being sick at home makes a great deal of difference...I’m sure you know what I mean…Having mummy to care for me and rush and get me a plastic bag…and making me a glass of glucose drink , milk etc..)
I had a 2nd interview to attend that particular day and did not wish to postpone it. So, I attended the interview that afternoon. It went very well, for more than an hour. The manager seemed to have a good impression of me and asked if I could start working the next month itself. But since I made my commitment to serve at the Christian learning centre and I know that the centre would be very shorthanded if I were to leave suddenly, I explained my situation to them. The manager said that she would have to talk to her boss and would get back to me soon. Throughout the interview, I felt very good. Praise the Lord!
After 10 minutes of reaching home, I vomited again! After vomiting, I felt much relieved in my body but still a little weak. I was all right that night and even the next day.
(Thank God he saved me from vomiting during the interview! What a terrible impression I would have made of myself, otherwise!..God really is so good.)
….But the next night was a terrible nightmare! I took my food and medicine as usual…But this time, right after I swallowed my medicine, my head started spinning like never before in my entire life! The whole house seemed to be going in circles, my body felt very cold, and then suddenly warm again…I asked my mother for a glucose drink…I couldn’t walk on my own...I turned as white as a ghost…My family was really panicking and my dad wasn’t at home…. We didn’t even have the transport to go to any clinic and it was already around 10.30 at night. As my condition didn’t seem to improve, my mother finally called her brother, who’s also the pastor of my church, for help.
Since it was already late, my family doctor’s clinic was closed. We had no choice but to look for a 24-hour clinic. And we found one. The doctor diagnosed me as having bowel infection and prescribed me 2 types of antibiotics and medicine to stop the vomit and prevent dizziness. The doctor asked me to come back the next day if my condition didn’t improve. I was a little better that night in the sense that at least I did not vomit…but the next morning I felt weak again and a little dizzy even after taking the medicine. All I could do was sleep or just sit down...eat and then rest, and sleep again.
(But throughout this time, 1 hymn which I learnt and loved in the Baptist church kept playing in my ears, offering me a lot of peace and comfort despite my circumstances…The hymn ended something like this: “ Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, it is well, IT IS WELL, WITH MY SOUL.”)
So I went to the doctor again…I mentioned to him about my history of gastric and all that I was feeling. This time, he said it might be appendix and said I needed a blood test. I was even put on one bottle of drips as I didn’t seem to have any energy in me (the total amount of food I consumed in a day was only about half of 1 plate of meal…no wonder, right)
It was the first time in my whole life I was put on drips. I wondered what it would be like...to have that needle go through my little vein and have that tube attached to me till all the Dextrose with Saline from the bottle flows into me…..Hmm…it wasn’t too bad…Just a sharp little pain when the little thing ( whatever it is called) was inserted into my vein, it think.
As I was asked to lie down on a little bed in the clinic itself, I was actually marveling at the discovery of drips, the knowledge of medicine and how it saves lives… How much God has blessed human kind with knowledge of so much that my mind could never ever fully comprehend….And when the doctor came to remove the drips, I was so amazed at how God has created the human body and its specific functions…that blood does not gush out of the body after the drips is removed…
After that dose of drips, I was alright for a few hours. The doctor said he would call me if I needed urgent treatment after the results of the blood test was out. But the feeling of weakness returned. I picked up a pencil to write a poem, but I couldn’t write. I attempted to draw a cute little goldfish but I just didn’t have the energy to do so. I could only read Psalms 23 for a few minutes and after that I feared that I might have a headache so I stopped. But it felt so terrible not being able to do anything. Just getting up, eating, taking my medicine and sleeping the whole day. Every time after I took my antibiotics, I began to feel so drowsy and would be in bed after an hour. My waking hours were so few in a day!
My mother was earnestly praying for me. My dad was very sad. My whole family was terribly worried about me as I had never been that sick before. And even when I do fall sick, I am not in such a feeble state. I would still have the energy do keep myself active. I felt extremely terrible being like a sick patient at home…I needed aid to go upstairs and downstairs and almost everything had to be done for me… Even when I went to the loo or bathroom, I wouldn’t lock the door, and ask someone to wait outside for me, because I was so afraid that I might faint inside!
That night my dizziness returned…This time, I decided not return to the same doctor. Furthermore, the doctor said that if my condition did not improve, he would give me a letter of referral to the hospital. It was Sunday night and my family doctor would be closed. And I realized going to the doctor only gives me temporary relief. When I get home again, my condition does not improve much.
The doctor gave me 3 antibiotics tablets to eat. I decided to take only 1. Even my parents said that the medicine might be too strong for me. And my mother kept saying that if I go to my family doctor, he wouldn’t even ask me to take a blood test. He would know what is wrong with me. My mother strongly believed that it wasn’t appendix and that her heart would only be satisfied after I visited my family doctor.
That night was not an easy for me. I was just praying and took the additional antibiotics. But I didn’t take my 3rd antibiotic tablet. Eventually, I fell asleep and the dizziness went away. However, the feeling of weakness did not leave me, as my appetite was so poor. Throught the night, my mother kept coming into my room to touch my forehead to check my temperature and to ask if I was allright. I think she made her visit every 15 minutes until I eventually fell asleep….How much love God shows through Mummy that He has given me!
I took sick leave from my school. I slept very well that night. On Monday morning, when I woke around 8 am, suddenly I felt a gush of energy in my body. A song started playing in my heart and mind…”Don’t worry about anything. Because every little thing is going to be allright..” and I just felt a great sense of peace. When I looked at my handphone, I saw a sms from the principal of my school saying that the staff had prayed for me during the time of devotion before school started… I smiled to myself, knowing the power of God at work.
When I got up from bed and went to wash up, I felt the weak feeling returning but the positive song in my heart kept playing stronger. When I went downstairs, my mom said we should visit my family doctor, and that after that, I would be fine.
So we made a visit to my family doctor, and he said it was caused by gastric. He told me to cease taking all my other medication and to take his. He gave me no antibiotics at all nor mention appendix. Neither did he ask me to take a blood test nor say anything about sending me to the hospital. He didn’t ask me to return if I did not improve. He said I would fine after taking those medicine and the right food – only steamed food for a week.
And he was right…drastic changes were seen right after my return from his clinic. As I ceased taking the antibiotics and consumed the gastric medicine in table form, I was did not feel sleepy the whole day. And the quiet little figure that hardly spoke that week started talking and singing a lot. Previously, I didn’t even have the energy to hum or sing as I usually do. My sister jokingly complained to my mother to stop me from being so hyperactive…humming and singing, and talking so much. My mother was very happy to see me going up and downstairs, and talking and asking for extra food! My cousin said he even feared that I might lose my life and prayed for god not to take me when I was sick!
I was just so happy…tunes of praises to God was continually on my lips…I just finished the last tablet of my medication today and I am truly very much better.
I don’t really know what caused me to fall so, terribly sick. I did consume oily food that I should not have. But most of the time, I was maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle. But it doesn’t matter, I allright now. And I certainly will try my level best to be more watchful over the food that goes into my body. The doctor never called me for treatment after the blood test and I am back to my self, talking, writing, humming, singing and drawing.
Throughout my time of sickness, I felt that Jesus had dealt with me emotionally more that just physically. Do you remember the time when a guy and I had fallen in love and my parents totally disapproved of it? Well, eventually, I did leave the guy and things have become kind of back to normal at home. But the scar of the terrible times I went through at home when I refused to leave the guy I loved still remained in my heart and mind. The hurtful words and actions of my parents, especially my mother often haunted my mind. She did apologize to me before and I know that my parent love me a lot. But those thoughts would still occasionally come into my heart and mind and hurt me, often leaving me in tears when I recall the whole episode.
However, Jesus has such an amazing way of dealing with hurts. He allowed me to be in such dependence on my mother. And my mother showed me so much love and care that I am eternally grateful for. Although I knew in my heart that she loves me as she always has, her care during this time of my sickness seems to just wash away the painful memories of my forbidden love. Each time those hurtful memories invade my mind, the picture of my mother coming into my room every 15 minutes to touch my forehead, of her steaming food especially for me, of her making sure I was alright etc…just overshadows those painful memories and makes me smile in my heart.
I have experienced the love and goodness of Christ in such a marvelous way throughout this whole time and I can only look back and say…”Holy Spirit, you were there. All along…just as you have always been and will always be….Whatever circumstances we may face, eventually it will be all right…..Indeed, it is well, with my soul.
Verses for the day:
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
- Isaiah 41:10, The Bible.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
-I Thessalonians 5:16-18, The Bible.
posted by JJ at 4:05 AM
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