Progress: Well Enough to Register

Getting Ready for Fall 17

Despite a few minor setbacks, I continue to heal well and I'm getting much stronger.  In fact, I'm well enough that I decided to go ahead and end my leave of absence early and register for classes again starting this fall.  This is great progress and I give God all the praise and glory for bringing me this far in such a short amount of time.

So where am I with my recovery and what is the plan for the fall?  Read on to find out!

Hitting Milestones in Stride

Well, I'm off all of my post-surgery medications and I'm doing fine.  I have to admit that I'd grown accustomed to taking my meds and I began seeing them more as a psychological crutch rather than to treat a physical need.  It was tough to give up the last one as I knew the withdraw would be a little unpleasant...  It wasn't hard to stop, but I had to eat light for a couple of days and drink tons of water to avoid refunding the contents of my stomach.  Well, I wasn't entirely successful there, but within a couple of days, my digestive system settled back to normal.

Surprisingly, the pain was never a big issue through the whole ordeal.  It was more the overwhelming discomfort that was tough to deal with.  In fact, after leaving the hospital, I never took anything more than over-the-counter ibuprofen and Tylenol to manage my pain.  I'm thankful that I didn't need anything more than that.

I'm still working on my flexibility but with most of the swelling gone, I'm nearly back to a full range of motion.  Sitting for long periods of time is still difficult, but aside from that, I don't necessarily feel like I recently had surgery.  I'm starting to do some light exercise now and I feel comfortable that I'll be back to full activity by the end of Spring.  Mind you, I won't be deadlifting anything anytime soon, but I don't feel limited during my normal activities.

My energy levels have gone through the roof and it's nice to have the strength and endurance to make it through a full day.  I still have a way to go, but I'm definitely feeling a lot better post-surgery than I was pre-surgery.  My nausea is nearly completely gone and aside from a few minor bouts, I'm not suffering too badly with that right now.  I hope and pray that continues...

The biggest downer thus far has been that my immune system just hasn't fully recovered yet, so I've been a good host for everything that the boys have been kind enough to bring home and share.  I know this will continue to improve, but mentally, it's tough when you start feeling a little better and then get whacked with the flu.  It's a journey and a process and I try to pass the bad times by thinking on Christ and the life to come; free from the suffering of this world.

Overall, I'm pleased and I'm encouraged that others are starting to notice how much better I'm getting.  Just need to keep pressing on, and get back to focusing on what is really important.

The Plan for Fall 2017

So, I have a little catching up to do now.  I'm going to take two classes this fall for four credits.  The classes are ST101 (Theological Method and Bibliology) and RS101 (Orientation and Research Methods).  

I think it's going to be good to try to juggle two classes even at only four credits to get a handle on organizing multiple workloads.  I feel pretty confident after my experience last fall with the online platform and I'm ready to put that to the test.  I'm actually looking forward to RS101 as I'll be working towards selecting a research topic for my thesis.  I have a few loose ideas already, but nothing that I'm ready to spill on quite yet.

As I did last year, I'll try to get all my books and materials around July so I can read ahead for the courses.  I know ST101 has a high reading load so whatever jump I can get will be most helpful - even more so than with BE101.   

Absent But Not Forgotten

Wanted to share one last little tidbit about the school before I wrap it up for today.  I got an email from the advising center this week where they provided me with a degree audit.  It was a simple report with hand-written edits that showed me where I am in the completion of my program, what's next, and then advice on next steps.

I really appreciated this email as it demonstrates that the folks at DTS are looking after me and my progression through the program.  It was also very nice to be able to get a grasp on what I should look forward to for Spring 2018.  But more on that some other day...

That's a Wrap

Ok, that's it for today.  Continue to pray for me and my recovery.  Know that God is good and I've been comforted through this whole ordeal.