Hearing “I don’t want to alarm you, but” will always alarm me. Wouldn’t it alarm you? Last Tuesday morning, while working on a Bible study handout for Romans chapters 4 and 5, I received a phone call from my oncologist’s office with those words. The nurse said, “We just got a call from the radiologist reading your scan from yesterday. It looks like you have a pulmonary embolism in your right upper lobe and another in your right lower lobe. I don’t want to alarm you, but this can be very serious, so you need to go straight to the ER.”
What a beautifully written article. I am soo soo sorry you had to go through all that! Thank you for sharing your journey with us. You are in my prayers...and I am so excited for yours and Samantha's next book to come out!
Yes, it would alarm me. And I'm sad you're getting this alarming news. And I'm glad you're going on retreat with these friends...and sharing this journey with us. Thank you.
That phrase -- "I don't want to alarm you, but" -- seems to mean the exact opposite! "I WANT TO ALARM YOU AND HERE'S WHY!" Which is I suppose what the medical folks who say them really mean, anyway, because it's followed by "stop what you're doing right now and... (go to the ER, or lie down, or , to switch scenarios somewhat away from the medical, "get out of the house, now!"). Perhaps by "don't be alarmed" they mean "don't start flailing around and lose your head; make sure you listen to what I tell you to do..." (One could probably write a whole essay about that phrase and its history and meanings...) Anyway, I'm really glad they (and you) did what was necessary to stop those embolisms from becoming more alarming! And I too wish your book had already come out so you could have had it in the hospital, and I'm SO looking forward to its release! I also want you to know that UNEXPECTED ABUNDANCE is now in my church library (where I'm the recently self-appointed librarian), and every so often I put it on special display facing outward so people will see it. We don't have sign-outs or track a book's goings and comings, but if someday I can't find it on the shelf I'll be sure to report the news!! :-)
OMG! I'm so sorry for this latest 'clong'*, Elizabeth. Praying for recovery, stability in body, and companionship in retreat. Many, many blessings and much love to you! Marni+
* My brother's definition of a 'clong': a rush of ten pounds of s--- to the heart! ;-)
That’s along the lines of “I don’t want to alarm you but there’s a giant poisonous snake coiled at your feet”. Glad it had a good outcome!
What a beautifully written article. I am soo soo sorry you had to go through all that! Thank you for sharing your journey with us. You are in my prayers...and I am so excited for yours and Samantha's next book to come out!
Yes, it would alarm me. And I'm sad you're getting this alarming news. And I'm glad you're going on retreat with these friends...and sharing this journey with us. Thank you.
That phrase -- "I don't want to alarm you, but" -- seems to mean the exact opposite! "I WANT TO ALARM YOU AND HERE'S WHY!" Which is I suppose what the medical folks who say them really mean, anyway, because it's followed by "stop what you're doing right now and... (go to the ER, or lie down, or , to switch scenarios somewhat away from the medical, "get out of the house, now!"). Perhaps by "don't be alarmed" they mean "don't start flailing around and lose your head; make sure you listen to what I tell you to do..." (One could probably write a whole essay about that phrase and its history and meanings...) Anyway, I'm really glad they (and you) did what was necessary to stop those embolisms from becoming more alarming! And I too wish your book had already come out so you could have had it in the hospital, and I'm SO looking forward to its release! I also want you to know that UNEXPECTED ABUNDANCE is now in my church library (where I'm the recently self-appointed librarian), and every so often I put it on special display facing outward so people will see it. We don't have sign-outs or track a book's goings and comings, but if someday I can't find it on the shelf I'll be sure to report the news!! :-)
OMG! I'm so sorry for this latest 'clong'*, Elizabeth. Praying for recovery, stability in body, and companionship in retreat. Many, many blessings and much love to you! Marni+
* My brother's definition of a 'clong': a rush of ten pounds of s--- to the heart! ;-)
Sending you strength from Australia, Elizabeth, and wishing you great joy with your friends x