By's Musings

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Thanksgiving Message 2020

This image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

To all those trolls, doubters, and critics out there, I really can read a calendar. I know that December has begun, and we are two weeks beyond the official Thanksgiving holiday.

However, the past several months in our home have been a whirlwind.  I didn’t get started on this post until the Monday after Thanksgiving. I am posting it now because I believe it has some great news that I want everyone to know. Thus, I thought it was better to post it late than never. 

Lymphoma can take a vibrant person and make them an invalid in a matter of a very few months. This image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

First, that important news concerns Elaine, my wife of more than a half-century! If you follow me on Twitter or like By’s Musings on Facebook, you know that since early spring,  Elaine has been battling a very aggressive Grade 3-B form of non-Hodgkin’s follicular lymphoma. Complicating the issue was the reoccurrence of her previously dormant Type II Diabetes and a brand new anemia case. It took several months, many blood tests, and two biopsies (one needle and one surgical) to diagnose the full extent of her problem.

With the genetic material obtained from the surgical biopsy, her cancer specialists were able to identify the particular DNA of her lymphoma. With this information, they could formulate the proper drug cocktail to terminate this gruesome invader.  Her team of doctors selected a mixture that consisted of four killer drugs. Reading the advisory sheets on each of the drugs, I divided them into two separate categories of special forces warriors.

This image is the international sniper emblem, consisting of a view of the crosshairs as seen thru the scope of a sniper’s rifle. This image is in the public domain and is available on Wikimedia Commons.

One of the drugs I classified as a sniper. Its job was to seek out follicular-shaped cells and kill only those cells. This drug definitely targets the bad guys. However, unfortunately, follicular cells are also included in certain “good organs” like hair.

The other three drugs were more like machine gunners. Their job was to mow down anything that multiplied rapidly. If it was duplicating itself quickly, these drugs knocked them out. Follicular lymphoma cells multiply extremely rapidly.

This combination of forces is a very lethal and effective combination for almost any battle. Elaine’s doctors selected a potent sniper drug to be the lead combatant in this particular firefight.

In the early stages of her lymphoma, Elaine lost almost 40 pounds. By early summer, she weighed significantly under 100 pounds. Since she was inordinately thin, her doctors didn’t think the veins in her arms could tolerate the required chemotherapy regimen’s multiple infusions. After her first treatment, the doctors suggested a surgically inserted infusion port in her upper chest region get around this.  

IV drip bags for chemotherapy. Each six-hour treatment consisted of six bags of drugs in a saline solution—this image courtesy of Presenter Media.

From early summer to mid-fall, Elaine was scheduled for six rounds of chemotherapy. The first treatment was such a shock to her systems that she ended up in the hospital for a week, with confusion, disorientation, and an extremely high fever. Using IV antibiotics, corticosteroids, and NSAIDS, the doctors were able to control the fever and eliminate the confusion and disorientation to such an extent that, together with the covid protocols imposed by our local hospital, the infusion port could be surgically implanted.

The doctors changed her chemotherapy dosage for the remaining five treatments, and Elaine had no further problems. With each subsequent treatment, more of her blood markers moved into the normal or acceptable ranges. At each step, she showed noticeable improvement.

Elaine’s final scheduled treatment was the week before Halloween. After that infusion, all 32 of her blood markers were in the normal range. Starting with the fourth infusion, she began regaining weight and energy. By early November, her weight was back up in the range of 105 pounds. Thankfully, it has continued to increase to the midteens in early December.

Elaine’s team of doctors scheduled a PET scan the second week of November to see if there was any cancer activity in her lymph glands. One week later, we got the great news that all of her lymph glands were dark on the scan.

A PET scanner is used to track active cancer cells. An MRI will show the details of the Pituitary gland. This image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

The only blip on the radar screen was a glow in her pituitary gland. Her primary oncologist believes this is a harmless, residual effect of the chemotherapy. He said he was extremely pleased to be able to say that Elaine’s cancer was in remission.

However, to do due diligence, he ordered an MRI of the pituitary gland. With the COVID-19 problems in our area, the earliest it could be scheduled is the first week of January. In the meantime, we thank God and rejoice in the results so far. We now must patiently sit and wait until January for the next steps in this journey.

A photograph of a late 15th-century version of the Apostle Paul by painter Bartolomeo Mantangna. The original work is currently in the Poldi Pioli Museum in Milan, Italy. As a faithful reproduction of a work of art in the public domain, this image is in the public domain. It is available courtesy of the Smithsonian Associates.

It is easy to be thankful when all is good. However, a quick look at scriptures gives us a different picture of Thanksgiving from God’s view. The verse noted in the opening graphic, I Thessalonians 5:18 tells us that we are to give thanks “in all circumstances.”

The Apostle Paul presents three difficult commands to the church in Thessalonica and modern Christians in the trio of verses, I Thessalonians 5:16-18. In the first century AD, Thessalonica was the cultural, economic, religious, and political center of a large region in Northern Greece. It had a very diverse population of Jews and Gentiles from all over Europe, Asia, Asia Minor, and even Africa.

In this city teeming with multitudes of religions, Paul helped plant a church while visiting it on his second missionary journey. In the I Thessalonians letter, he refers to the congregation as his children. In writing to this fairly young church with a crowd of recent converts, Paul pulls no punches in laying out God’s demands on these children of God. Our heavenly Father has three great expectations and hopes for his children.

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. (I Thessalonians 5:16-18, NLT)

Okay, you’re balancing three tasks. Now how do you do any of them? This image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

How good are you at multi-tasking? These three commands are heavy-duty obligations. They are definitely not in the same category as using a laptop, tablet, and cell phone. However, when you’re trying to balance all three at one time, how effective are you with any of them? Fortunately, we don’t have to depend upon our own strength to fulfill the three responsibilities God has given us. What God asks us to do, He will help us do. God has promised His assistance and supplied us a Helper in His Holy Spirit.

From the I Thessalonians 5:16-18 passage, what are God’s expectations of His children? They should: 

1) Rejoice always

2) Pray without ceasing

3) Give thanks in all circumstances 

I began this post with the idea of including an exposition of each of these duties. As I composed the post, it kept getting longer and longer. As an editor once chided me, “You suffer from the dreaded Russian novel syndrome.” Half-way through writing about the third responsibility, I decided to cut bait and divided the post into four reasonably length posts. Thus, installments II thru IV of my 2020 Thanksgiving Message will come out daily over the next three days. Stay tuned for those next segments.  

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The Similarities Between American Healthcare and Higher Education

One of the most dangerous viruses to hit humanity in centuries has stopped the world in its tracks with a deadly pandemic. The image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

A tiny microbe has turned the world upside down. As of April 22, the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center (JHU-CRC) reports that 210 countries or territories have confirmed the presence of COVID-19 cases. The JHU-CRC confirms 2,636,414 cases and 184,204 deaths worldwide.

How did we get here? On December 31, 2019, reports began to circulate of a large number of cases of pneumonia-like illnesses among people associated with a seafood market in Central China. On January 7, 2020, Chinese health officials confirmed these reports, when they announced the discovery of a new strain of a coronavirus. This new virus was named n-2019CoV, or COVID-19. 

On January 11, Chinese media reported the death of the first victim of COVID-19 in China. This report came days before the Chinese New Year, which is the biggest holiday of the year. During the week-long celebration, people usually travel hundreds of miles to be with family and friends. By January 20, Chinese media reported more than 700 cases and at least a dozen deaths in Wuhan.

China instituted a travel ban for the city of Wuhan to protect the world from the spread of the dangerous COVID-19 virus. The image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

On January 23, the Chinese government shut down the whole city of Wuhan and ordered its population of 11 million people to shelter in place. This action was an attempt to wall the virus off from the rest of the world. But the spread had already begun.

By January 20, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand reported cases. On January 21, the United States reported its first case. It was a man in Washington state, who had recently returned from a trip to Wuhan.

In February, Wuhan was the epicenter of a worldwide pandemic. In March, the epicenter switched to Europe. Italy, Spain, and France reported thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths. Today, the United States is the epicenter of the pandemic.

Face masks are a common sight today in the USA as people try to protect themselves and others from the spread of the coronavirus. The image is courtesy of Presenter Media

As of April 20, there are 817,187 confirmed cases of COVID-19. A total of 45,229 deaths in the United States have been attributed to this coronavirus. Since early April, all 50 states in the United States have put some type of lock-down or shelter-in-place restrictions in place. Social distancing guidelines are also in effect.

Large gatherings are banned. This includes schools, church services, concerts, political rallies, and sporting events. Non-essential businesses are closed. Restaurants and bars can only offer take-out or delivery services. Individuals are ordered to only leave their homes for groceries and other essential goods, medicines, or medical appointments. If you do venture out, masks that covered your mouth and nose are required. 

Empty classrooms were replaced by hastily thrown together distance learning plans. Classrooms sat empty. They were replaced by instructors and students communicating through computer servers. The image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

American primary, secondary, and higher education institutions were all forced to turn on a dime. Schools were shuttered. College students on spring break were ordered not to return to campus. Those students on campus were told to leave and return home. All face-to-face classes were suspended. Teachers and students were forced to finish the remainder of the spring terms remotely. As the lockdown continued, dissatisfaction among the ranks of faculty, students, and parents grew. 

Changing traditions is not the same as flipping a light switch. The image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

Commencements and other celebrations which, for as long as the current higher education crowds can remember, have always closed out the school year were canceled. Most traditional summer schools have been abandoned. Events for new students have been indefinitely put on hold. Even now in mid-April, the fall semester is still a big question mark. These pivots were all huge changes. They could not be as easily accomplished as flipping a light switch.

How many changes are coming to American higher education? What will the new normal look like? The image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

Are more changes in American higher education inevitable? Will schools be allowed to hold face-to-face classes in the fall? Will students pay F2F rates for online classes? Will students reenroll in their schools in the fall or will they transfer to another college or drop out of school completely? Will new students enroll at the rates colleges have come to expect? Will faculty accept the changes to their routines? How will state and federal governments and the general public support the changes in higher education? What will the new norm for American higher education look like?

Hospitals and medical professionals were forced into war-zone like activity. Everyone’s attention was turned to the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. Entire hospitals were devoted to just COVID-19 patients. Large facilities like sports and conference arenas, hotels, and cathedrals were converted into temporary hospitals. Emergency hospitals were constructed in days, instead of years, to meet the surging needs.

We don’t know how many people have been hospitalized because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, Vice President, Mike Pense, sent a letter to the administrators of the nation’s 6,000 hospitals asking them to inform the Center for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) each day of the number of patients that they were currently treating for the virus. 

It is not clear how many hospitals have complied with VP Pense’s request. The CDC has not released any reports on these data. When asked, CDC officials only say that it is under review and will be released shortly. Various states and cities have released hospitalization reports. However, these jurisdictions have used their own definitions and the data may not be consistent. 

A decade ago, who knew that toilet paper in the year 2020, would be so valuable a commodity? The image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

It doesn’t seem possible that almost a decade ago I wrote two posts that compared the American higher education enterprise to the four disparate industries.  In the first post, I asked the provocative question What can American higher education learn from the watch industry, the chocolate industry, and toilet paper manufacturers? 

Did I cross the line and say too much? How could I compare higher education to an industry? How could I dare suggest that such a disruption could upset higher education’s apple cart? The image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

In the second post, Comparison of American Higher Education with the Automotive Industry For many educational purists, I did the unthinkable of comparing American higher education to the struggling automotive industry.

In those posts, I suggested that higher education could face great disruptions similar to the disruptions that those other industries have endured. In this post, I will be brave and take my comparison one step further.

The coronavirus pandemic has spotlighted a number of similarities between health care higher education. The image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

The coronavirus has shined a spotlight on both the health care profession and the higher education enterprise. With both industries under siege from this common enemy, I see a number of striking similarities.

The first similarity is that both have a strict dichotomy between the professionals and the clients, those served by the professionals. It is a great divide between the experts and the untrained. In both fields, the experts provide the untrained with specific services. In medicine, untrained patients are treated by expert medical professionals. In education, the untrained students are taught by the expert faculty.

Medicine and higher education have their own ladders of prestige and stature. The image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

The second similarity relates to the hierarchical structure among the professionals in both fields. In higher education, faculty members strive to climb the professorial ladder to the top position of a tenured, full professor. Beneath those individuals who made it to the top rung are the associate and assistant professors, the instructors, the adjunct and contingent faculty members, and the lowly graduate assistants. In medicine, the specialists are at the top of the ladder. Under them stand the general practitioners or primary care physicians, the physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. Near the bottom are the registered nurses. On the bottom rung are the practical nurses and medical technicians.

Bandaging a wound by a nurse or physician assistant is an up-close and personal operation. The image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

The higher rungs translate into more prestige. The higher rungs on the disciplinary ladders also carry with them increased monetary rewards. In addition, the higher rungs mean increased responsibility. Unfortunately, more often than not, the individuals on the lower rungs get loaded with more of the direct contact work with the patients and students.

A cartoon version of a photo of a lecture hall at Baruch College. The photo was taken and modified by Xbxg32000, holder of the copyright. Its use is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. The image is courtesy of Xbxg32000 and Wikimedia Commons.

The third similarity shared by both fields is the primary, preferred mode of the delivery of services. For many centuries, this primary mode of delivery of service has been face-to-face. I almost said “up-close and personal.” This is definitely true in medicine. However, higher education started to move away from tutorials and small classes in the lower-level courses to large classes in the twentieth century. Only a few elitist, high-priced institutions held on to the small classes and seminar format for all courses. Even in graduate schools, one-on-one work between a student and a professor is reserved for theses or dissertations. 

Since the middle of the 20th Century, many social commentators have addressed the fourth similarity I see between healthcare and higher education. The current pandemic brings the same critical deficiency in both fields to the forefront of the public interest.

For some, they can ride the escalator to the top. This image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

The problem is that there is a huge gap in the quality of service within higher education and healthcare available to individuals across racial and ethnic groups, as well as social and economic strata. Certain groups and individuals are privileged. Individuals with economic means have available the best healthcare and education that money can buy. They have access to the best colleges, doctors, and hospitals.

Certain individuals can’t get to the door of opportunity because of a gap, not of their making. This image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

Other groups and individuals are greatly disadvantaged. As a group, minorities and poor individuals tend to “get the left-overs.” There are exceptions, but a much larger percentage of those adversely affected by the coronavirus are the minorities and the poor.

As an example, in a small city near my home, the coronavirus disproportionately affected the minority communities. The total population of the city is 40% White (non-Hispanic), 25% African-American, 30% Hispanic/Latino, and 5% Other. However, in the early coronavirus counts, 70% of confirmed cases and deaths were in the Hispanic/Latino community, and 20% in the African-American community.         

The fourth similarity reminded me of my high school Latin. If you studied Latin, you will remember “Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres”. [All Gaul is divided into three parts.] This is the opening line of The Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar. Everyone who studied high school Latin in the mid-twentieth century was required to translate Caesar’s classic journal. What has this to do with medicine and higher education? 

All hospitals and colleges are owned or controlled by one of three groups. The image is the author’s creation using ClickCharts Software.

The ownership or control of all medical and higher education institutions falls into three segments. These three groups are:

  1. Public: These institutions are controlled or owned by a government entity such as the country, a city, county, state, or an agency of one of the above. The two primary sources of funding are government support or fees for service.
  2. Private, non-profit: These institutions are owned by a private, non-profit foundation or corporation. They are controlled by a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees. The two primary sources of funding are fees for services or the Board through charitable fundraising efforts.
  3. Proprietary: Another name for these institutions is Private, for-profit. They are owned by individuals or for-profit corporations. They are controlled by the owners or a Board of Trustees elected or appointed by the owners. The primary source of funding is through fees for services. The expectation is that these institutions will make a profit for their owners.
The tripartite segmentation of control/ownership in healthcare and higher education has both advantages and challenges. This image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

Since higher education and healthcare are both divided into three segments of control and ownership, they face the same set of challenges and advantages. For decades, the two fields have claimed that the challenges far outnumbered the advantages. Since I am running out of time and space in this post, I will leave the discussion of the challenges and advantages to another post.

At this time, I plan to publish that post on Friday, May 1. On Monday, April 27, I will be publishing a special announcement. I am changing the format of By’s Musings again.

During the week of April 27, I will be previewing a monthly newsletter, which will highlight what I am reading and listening to in the field of higher education. It will point readers to upcoming webinars (mostly free) and significant higher education articles that have appeared in the previous month. It will discuss the trends and challenges facing higher education. Special features of future issues will include book reviews, interviews of higher education leaders, and invited articles from experts in the fields of higher education, leadership, and organizational development. 

After this first issue in my blog, I will be asking readers to subscribe to the newsletter. It will begin as a free offer. However, in the interest of full disclosure, I will be looking for ways to monetize this effort. I do promise that I will keep the subscription cost-free as long as I can.

Use social media wisely to maintain safe contacts with family, friends, and colleagues during this crisis. This image is courtesy of Presenter Media.

With the addition of this newsletter, I will reserve By’s Musings for my reflections on life in general, as well as my faith and health journeys.

In the meantime, stay safe and healthy. Remain vigilant. Eat healthily. Maintain the practice of your spiritual disciplines. Practice social distancing, but remain in close social contact with family, friends, and colleagues. 

    

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What would you do with an extra 10 years of life?

Celebrating my 73rd birthday was very special. Image courtesy of Presenter Media.

In my previous post, I originally announced that this post would be entitled “What would make a 73rd birthday special?” However, as I wrote this post, I decided on a new title. The essence of the post is unchanged, but I thought the new title would challenge both me and my readers more.

This past week I observed the 73rd anniversary of my birthday. It was a very special day for me. The 73rd birthday is usually not one that is wildly celebrated. What would make a 73rd birthday special? My 73rd birthday represented ten extra years of life that most people, especially medical experts, didn’t expect that I would have.

In the early afternoon of March 16, 2009, less than a week after my 63rd birthday, I was milling about the university’s conference room, having coffee with colleagues and discussing the agenda for our upcoming business meeting, my last scheduled cabinet meeting as provost of the university.  Suddenly, without warning, I suffered a traumatic brain episode. A cerebral aneurysm burst triggering the implosion of a previously undetected, benign meningioma, which was attached to my right frontal lobe.

The headache was excruciating and I was almost completely incapacitated. Due to this experience, I know what the “10” on a pain scale feels like. Everyone in the meeting, except me, thought that I was experiencing a stroke. They immediately called 911. The EMTs arrived within five minutes and loaded me on their gurney for transport to the hospital.

I remember asking someone to call my wife Elaine to let her know what was happening. However, before the EMTs could wheel the gurney out of the conference room, I lost consciousness. I was in a coma for the next four days. My next memory after that request for someone to call Elaine was when I woke up in an ICU hospital bed with gauze bandages all over my head and wires everywhere.

The attending nurse called the on-duty neurologist who just happened to be the surgeon who had performed emergency surgery on me, the evening of that March 16. He rushed to my room and explained what had happened to me in the conference room and the first full day at the hospital. He didn’t pull any punches with a graphic description of the explosion of a cerebral aneurysm and the resultant implosion of a benign meningioma. Twice in the 30 minutes or so that he spent in my room, he spoke the same words: “There are no scientific or medical reasons to explain why you are alive and so alert.”

After the neurologist left I had the first opportunity to talk to Elaine. She told me a tale of terror for her. When she got the call from the university that I was on my way to the hospital, she was too upset to drive herself. She called our pastor who rushed her to the hospital.

By the time she got there, she was not allowed to see me. I was already being prepped for surgery. The ER doctor that she met at the hospital entrance didn’t do much to calm her nerves. She told Elaine to gather the family together. This would be a difficult task since both of our daughters with their families lived in Pennsylvania, a ten-hour drive to where we were living in Western Michigan.

When Elaine asked why she should alarm the family, the doctor indicated that if I survived the operation, which was doubtful, I would never be the same. The doctor said if it were her family she knew they would appreciate the opportunity to say goodbye.

The intervening ten years between March 2009 and 2019 is a tale of roaring firestorm after firestorm and miracle after miracle. During those ten years, I had dozens of medical setbacks. However, I am still alive and able to walk somewhat awkwardly and write somewhat haltingly. Due to my medical problems, I have interacted with scores of doctors who have all said essentially the same thing: “There are no scientific or medical reasons to explain why you are walking and talking.” They all use the same two words to describe me and my conditions: miracle and enigma.

I believe the story of those ten years is one that is crying to be told and I intend to do just that. I am currently working on a separate book-length manuscript which I have tentatively entitled Has anyone seen my life? It was here a minute ago.

The purpose of this post is three-fold. The first is to celebrate an extra 10 years of life that no one in the medical profession expected me to experience. The second purpose is to offer you a dozen of the many lessons that I learned or relearned during the extra 10 years that I have been given. The third and final purpose is to challenge you with the significant question: “What would you do with an extra 10 years of life?

Since this posting is special, I am going to dispense with my self-imposed 1,000-word limit just for this post. I trust you understand my desire to put it all out there in one shot instead of doling it out small piece by small piece.

Due to my medical problems I had to retire from full-time academic employment. This break from 50 or 60 hour work weeks gave me much time to reflect and write. What follows are a dozen of the many lessons that I have learned or relearned through this experience, intensive study, and much contemplation and reflection.

1. God is in control.

There are four scriptural passages that I have kept returning to during this past decade. I challenge you to reflect on each of them and how they apply to your life.

17And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: (Revelations 1:17, KJV)

22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. 23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. 24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? 25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? 26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? (Luke 12:22-26, KJV)

10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (Isaiah 41:10, KJV)

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. 4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. 6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. (Psalm 46:1-7, KJV)

2. Retirement is not necessarily in God’s plan for us. 

Our modern view of retirement is just that – a recent idea, historically speaking. It was introduced to America in the mid-1930s with the passage of the Social Security legislation. Most of the heroes of the faith found God’s calling to ministry to be a lifetime enlistment. Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, John the Baptist, John the Apostle, Peter and Paul all were faithful servants until they were called home. I can find only one scriptural passage that directly speaks of retirement.

24 This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: 25 And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more: 26 But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge. (Numbers 8:24-26)

The Levites were charged with serving the people of Israel by caring for the tabernacle, preparing and administering the sacrifices, packing up, moving and reassembling the tabernacle. This was extremely heavy labor and was reserved for the young and strong. The older Levites were given the task of ministering, guarding and advising the younger Levites who were doing the heavy lifting that required the strength of young bodies.

3. There is a special place in God’s economy for seniors.

Beside the Numbers passage above where the senior Levites were called to minister, guard and advise the younger Levites, there are other passages that indicate what the elders in the congregation should do.

17 O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. 18 Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. 19 Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee! 20 Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. 21 Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side. (Psalm 71:17-21, KJV)

12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; 15 To shew that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. (Psalm 92:12-15, KJV)

3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: 4 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar [gray] hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. 5 To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? (Isaiah 46:3-5, KJV)

4. Obey the scriptural commandments and commissions.

It matters not how old we are, God expects us to obey all of his commandments. However, there are some that are very special and deserve our utmost attention.

35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Great Commandment – Matthew 22:35-40, KJV)

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Great Commission – Matthew 28:18-20, KJV)

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Creation Mandate – Genesis 1:27-28, KJV)

5. Watch carefully. Always be on guard.

You need to constantly take stock of your surroundings. Know your friends, coworkers, and enemies. Praise them when they do something right. Admonish them when they are wrong. Be patient with everyone in all circumstances. Pray without ceasing and give thanks without regard to your condition.

11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. 12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; 13 And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves. 14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. 15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. 16 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 19 Quench not the Spirit. 20 Despise not prophesyings. 21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. 23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Watch carefully – I Thessalonians 5:11-21, KJV)

6. Equip yourself for the coming battle.

Whether we are talking about a job, a ministry, or even just everyday living, it can and will at some point become a battle. We need the whole armour of God to fight the battle.

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; ( Whole armour of God – Ephesians 6:11-18, KJV)

7. Memorize and meditate on scriptures.

The only offensive weapon in the listing of the armour of God was the scriptures. Always have it handy. Be ready to depend on it in every circumstance.

10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 12 Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes. 13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. 16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. 17 Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word. 18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. 19 I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me. (Memorize and meditate on scriptures – Psalm 119:10-19, JKV)

8. Give yourself to God, since He gave himself for you.

We must present ourselves as a sacrifice, willing to do anything we are asked to do. It is our reasonable service.

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Be a living sacrifice – Romans 12:1-2, KJV)

9. Do everything as unto the Lord.

Whatever we do should be done as if we were doing it to honor and praise God.

14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. (Colossians 3:14-17, KJV)

This is not just meant for our “religious life.” It carries over to our everyday life. Translating it into “plain English” I believe the message is simply

    • Work hard
    • Play hard
    • Eat well
    • Sleep well
    • Watch carefully
    • Listen intently
    • Be accountable
    • Give credit where credit is due
    • Love deeply

10. Be where you are until you leave.

I wish I could take credit for this saying, but I can’t. Christ used a similar statement in instructing his disciples.

7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; 8 And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: 9 But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats. 10 And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place. 11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. (Mark 6:7-11, KJV)

Christ was trying to teach his disciples not to go from house to house seeking better accommodations, but to be satisfied with what they had. I first heard it from a wealthy Christian businessman, financier, and philanthropist, who was known as a generous but demanding boss. When he used it, he was suggesting that people in a given position should do the job they were hired to do until they left for another position.

I met this gentleman only once. The occasion was at a luncheon given in his honor by a college for which I was serving as the chief academic officer. In addition to honoring this individual for his service to the Christian community, the college was also asking him for a significant donation.

When we were introduced at the luncheon, the first thing he said to me was, “I’ve heard about you, and I like you.” I must have had a perplexed look on my face because he continued by saying, “You follow what I have tried to teach all of my employees: “Be where you are until you leave.”

As a college administrator and cabinet officer, I have always served at the pleasure of the President of the institution I was serving. I changed institutions four times during my career and was in the midst of a fifth change when I had the traumatic brain incident in March 2009. For each change, the president and I were on different sides of at least one question.

When the president and a subordinate disagree, the subordinate never “wins.” Even if the president loses, the subordinate doesn’t win. With each change, I had the privilege of continuing to serve the institution for a period of time until I could find another position. While I remained at the institution from which I was departing, I always did my job to the best of my ability. Every one of the presidents that I served commended me for that quality. The Christian businessman, in his due diligence of checking out our institution as a prospective recipient of one of his gifts, had asked two of those presidents about me.

Wherever you are, do the job that God has given you until He assigns you another task. It is the right thing to do. At some time in the future, you will be rewarded for your diligence.

11. Leave people or a place better than you found them.

There are many forms of this quotation. One form attributed to the legendary football coach Vince Lombardi is the following:

The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.

Jesus always left those with whom he encountered in a better place or position than when he first met them. Consider the woman at the well, the woman taken in adultery, the blind beggar, Zaacheus in the tree, the 10 lepers, the woman with the issue of blood, Jarius and his daughter, the demon-possessed man named Legion.

The parables of the talents and the unjust steward help us understand that we need to be faithful in the little things.

10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own? (Luke 16:10-12, KJV)

12. Help fellow pilgrims along the road.

We are called to minister to others and help them find the straight and narrow way. The apostle Paul in writing to the Christians in Rome let them know that they should follow Christ’s example. They were definitely called to be “their brothers’ keepers,” just as we are.

1We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. 3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. (Romans 15:1-3, KJV)

These are some of the lessons that I have learned or relearned in the extra 10 years that I have been given. I hope and pray that at the conclusion of my life on this earth, I will be able to echo the words of Paul to the young Timothy:

5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. 6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. (II Timothy 4:5-8, KJV)

In conclusion, what would you do if you were given another 10 years of life? How would you spend that precious time? By’s Musings returns to its regular publishing schedule next Tuesday, March 26 with a  post entitled KPI – Part VI: Hierarchical Management.

 

 

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Extended Medical Break

We don’t know how precarious the human condition is until we fall into its grasp. Last week I wrote a short post indicating that I was taking a short medical timeout to recover my senses and find my way back into the flow of work that I had outlined for myself.

I didn’t know how far I was out of it until this morning when I discovered that I never published that post. This has helped me come to the conclusion that I must follow my medical team’s advice to shut down all mental and physical activity for at least six weeks. This break is designed to allow all my medical systems an opportunity to heal and renew themselves.

Thus for the next six weeks, I will refrain from any new postings on By’s Musings, and I will also take a lower profile on facebook and twitter. I trust that you will remember me in your thoughts and prayers during this time. I will be back in touch with you in December. Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas.   

 

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What’s the difference between surviving and surviving?

from Presenter Media

Reader, patience please. Before you accuse me of completely losing it, I know that I probably should have entitled this post, What’s the difference between surviving and just surviving?  However, I was trying to catch your attention and spark your interest with an obvious oxymoron. DId I reel you in? I believe that there is a big difference between surviving and just surviving. For the remainder of this post, I will label these two positions, real survival and just surviving. The difference is in perspective and attitude.These differences are as easily found and exhibited in organizations as they are in individuals. Individuals and organizations can also find themselves in two other situations. The first or desired position is one in which individuals are very successful and thriving. The last or least desirable position is one in which individuals and organizations are languishing in defeat and failure, the end result of which is death. These are the thriving and defeated positions, respectively.

Just surviving is a form of life without the substance. It is the pretense of life without the fruit. It is deceiving others and trying to deceive yourself.  It is trudging through the battles of daily life with little or no enthusiasm.  It is barely coping when you should be grieving and healing. Just surviving can also be having a good reputation without the positive merit, rigor or results to support that reputation. This qualifies these individuals or organizations as frauds. “All show, and no go!”

Etching from Doré’s English Bible (1865) by Gustave Doré; courtesy of WIkimedia Commons

There are many examples in the scriptures of just surviving. Jonah was miraculously saved from the belly of a fish, which represents real survival. He then went to Nineveh and preached repentance, witnessing one of the greatest revivals the world has experienced. Jonah went up on a hill overlooking the great city to see what God was going to do, waiting for God to destroy Nineveh and its inhabitants. When God spared the great city and all its residents, Jonah responded to God with a  “I thought about telling you so! I knew you wouldn’t destroy this city.” Jonah went from really surviving to just surviving.

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.  (Jonah 4:1-3, KJV)

Paul, writing to the church in Corinth, strongly urges the Christians there to mature and get rid of the attitude of just surviving.

For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (I Corinthians 3:9-15, KJV)

The seven candlesticks from St. John’s Revelation, by Albrecht Dürer, circa 1497; courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The apostle John acting as God’s secretary transcribed two dire warnings to churches in Asia Minor to repent of the attitude and mask of just surviving.

And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.  Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. (Revelations 3:1-3, JKV)

And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.  (Revelations 3:14-19, KJV)

How many individuals today are putting on a show? How many have donned a mask, and are just going through the motions? How many modern organizations are neither “hot nor cold”? They have lost their first love. They open their doors each day, but only half-heartedly greet anyone that stumbles through the doors. They have little desire to go out into the streets and invite others to come into the fold.  They have settled for just surviving, when they have before them the prospect of real survival, and even the possibility of thriving. As my aunt used to say, “What a waste! It’s a crying shame!”

Rebekah Basinger and I have had a  conversation since late March in our blogs about organizations just surviving. See Rebekah’s Surviving, thriving, and six degrees of separation, and Beware “Iceberg beliefs” that can sink your organization, and my The Paradigm of Surviving and Thriving.

from Presenter Media

Rebekah opens her “Iceberg beliefs” post with the following vignette concerning a seminary president: “Ours has always been a hand-to-mouth existence,” the seminary president commented with a shrug and a sheepish smile. “I can’t imagine that thriving is in our future.”  This attitude is very common in small values-based, service organizations. The source of this common, under the surface belief is often attributed to Christ’s commissioning of his disciples in the Gospel of Mark:

And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:  But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats. And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.  (Mark 6:7-11, KJV)

It seems to me that as Christians, we often have a tendency to belabor the “fact” to be Christians we must wallow in the dumpsters and live from hand-to-mouth. We have convinced ourselves that if we as individuals, and corporately as organizations, are to follow Christ, we must give up everything to follow Christ’s example.  We quote:

from Presenter Media

And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.  And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.  (luke 9:57-62, KJV)

Jesus is indeed calling us to a life of commitment first. However, He has also promised that if we put Him first, He will take care of us. We are not promised that our lives will be a bed of roses. In fact, He has promised that we will be reviled by men and treated harshly, just like He was. However, if we trust in the Lord, His angels deliver us. We will not “want any good thing.”

The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. (Psalm 34:7-10, KJV)

Real survival is the experience of having come through extraordinary trials, and landing on your feet. Some people have called this resiliency. Resiliency is described as the ability to take a hit and keep standing, or to fall down and get back up. I see real survival as bravely hanging on to the last thread of life by one’s fingernails. In this form, surviving is akin to winning. It may not be thriving, but it is definitely not losing. I believe that two posts, Aphasia is not the end of the world and  Epilepsy is not the end of the world, that I wrote almost six years ago express some of my experiences with “real survival.”

from Presenter Media

I opened the aphasia post with a reminder to myself that the only things that I had lost in my battle with aphasia were “a few words.” I still had everything that mattered, I continued the post with a litany of blessings:

  • a loving and supportive family;
  • a compassionate and praying church family;
  • considerate and helpful friends and neighbors;
  • concerned and respectful colleagues and friends from more than forty years in higher education;
  • a team of knowledgeable and caring medical personnel;
  • a group of individuals on whom I can lean;
  • a real social network, not a virtual one.

I concluded the post with this statement; “In addition to all these people, I still have my mind.” It was my testimony of real survival in the face of a traumatic brain incident and an insidious deficit known as aphasia. However, I missed one very important thing. What I missed in that blog post was to remember that I still had a loving, caring and all-powerful heavenly Father.

View of detail of Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, Photo taken by White House Staffer, as such is in Public Domain: courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

In my epilepsy post, I recounted part of the story of the HMS Resolute. Although this British warship was equipped for Arctic exploration, it found itself trapped in the early winter ice of an upper Canadian bay. The sailors had to abandon ship and walk across miles of frozen bay to safety in a small settlement that was later renamed Resolute Bay. Later in the summer when the ice started breaking up, the abandoned ship was freed and claimed by American naval ships. In a sign of good will, the American government returned the ship to Queen VIctoria in 1856. Twenty years later when the HMS Resolute was finally decommissioned from the royal navy, Queen Victoria had the warship dismantled. The queen also ordered three desks to be made from her timbers. One of the desks was given to President Hayes as a sign of friendship and gratitude. The Resolute desk still sits in the oval office or the president’s private office in the White House today. It is a testament to the good will between two countries, as well as a symbol of real survival and the will to carry on in the face of untenable odds. I ended this post with the declaration of real survival:  On top of all the things that I listed, “I have the will to press on toward that unknown that looks like the end of the world.” As stated here, it sounds as if I am echoing William Ernest Henley in his poem Invictus. Although I do have an “unconquerable soul,” it is not my soul. As Paul wrote to the church in Galatia,  “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20 KJV)

Since I have been so long winded with my keyboard, I must hold off on discussing thriving and defeat until another post. Please stay tuned for the next installment. Thank you very much. I really do appreciate the gift of your time and attention.

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Today is April 11! This is no April Fools’ Joke. We’re Back in Business

 

from Presenter Media

Can you believe it?  Today is Monday, April 11, 2016. Winter and the month of March are officially over.  We are ten days past the traditional April Fools’ Day of April 1. So this post and the four announcements contained in it are no April Fools’ Joke. You can trust them. They are for real!  Some of the announcements are not as positive as I would have liked. However, they definitely represent a positive movement that was much in doubt through most of the past year. So without further ado, let’s get right to the announcements.

from Presenter Media
from Presenter Media

This first announcement concerns my health. It is a positive announcement since we made it past March and I didn’t have any new health setbacks. In previous posts I have explained that in each March since March 2009, I have spent at least one week in a hospital with some major medical problem.

However, since last Thanksgiving, I don’t think that I have fully explained to my blog audience my current experiences. In the week before Thanksgiving, I started feeling sets of two or three, very quick 120-volt, low-amperage electric shocks in many different areas of my body. After the shocks stopped, I would then feel a burning sensation at the location of the shocks which would last from a few seconds to almost a minute. The burning sensation would then take off, traveling a nerve path to another spot in my body. The burning sensation would settle in that spot and then morph into a normal type of pain for that location. For example, I would get three shocks, followed by a burning sensation in my left shoulder blade. After a short period of time, the burning sensation would travel up through my shoulder, down my arm, past my wrist and the back of my hand, before settling in the large knuckle of my left index finger. At this point, the burning sensation would change into an arthritic pain, which would last until I could work it out by massaging my knuckle.

The electric shocks are not a new experience for me. In January 2013, I began feeling electric shocks and burning sensations like this is my left pectoral muscle. They started slowly with one or two daily. However, by mid-March, the shocks increased in frequency and intensity to such an extent that my doctors were afraid I was having a heart attack. I was rushed to the hospital. After extensive testing, it was determined that I wasn’t having heart problems. I was having a gall bladder attack. My gall bladder was completely blocked with stones and so full of infection that it was playing havoc with other parts of my body. They laparoscopically removed my gall bladder and the electric shocks immediately stopped. My neurologists suggested that the electric shocks I experienced were what is called referred pain. This suggests the pain is originating in one location, but exhibits itself elsewhere. With that history in mind, my doctors began looking for any type of problem that they could find elsewhere in my body. After many tests, they couldn’t find anything seriously wrong with me.

The pattern of six or more shocking episodes continued daily for two weeks. Then one day during the first week of December, I woke up to a new experience. After the first episode of electric shocks and the associated burning sensation traveled a nerve path to settle into its final resting place, I started feeling severe paresthesia (the sensation of numbness or pins and needles) in that limb or area of my body. When I called my GP, he asked what my blood pressure was. When I told him it was unusually high, he told me to get to the ER. Of course, it had snowed the previous evening and our car was snowed in. Thus, my wife called the local ambulance service. When the EMTs arrived my blood pressure was 210/140 with a pulse of 110, and my A-fib was making my heart do flip-flops that weren’t being controlled by my pacemaker. My whole side was also numb and tingling like pins and needles. The EMTs wrapped me and immediately loaded me into the ambulance for a ride to the ER.

from Presenter Media

I spent the next seven hours in the ER undergoing extensive testing. I had EEGs, EKGs, CAT-scans and x-rays. The ER doctor wanted to do an MRI. Although I have an MRI-compatible pacemaker, it can take days to arrange to have everyone necessary in the MRI imaging lab to conduct the MRI on me. You know you could be in trouble when the ER doctor says “You’re the most complicated and interesting patient, I have ever seen in ER.”   When the ER finally got my BP and heart palpitations under control with medications, but couldn’t control the electric shocks with additional pain and seizure medications, they sent me home with strict instructions to schedule an appointment with my neurologist and cardiologist as soon as possible. When I did see them, they increased my heart, pain and seizure medication dosages slightly again. When those changes produced only marginal results, the doctors began practicing medicine. They ordered more tests. Since two one-hour EEGs provided no useful information, my neurologist ordered a 48-hr EEG. The results of that test definitely suggested that I had brain activity when the electric shocks and burning sensations hit. The problem was that the activity was not located where the neurologists expected it be. This could have been due to the injuries my brain suffered during the several traumatic brain incidents that I have had, or to the plasticity of my brain in attempting to rewire itself to answer the demands that I keep placing on it.

My neurologist also ordered a two-test combination consisting of an NVC (Nerve Conduction Velocity) test and an EMG (Electromyogram), which provide information about abnormal conditions in one’s nervous system. In the NVC test nerves are stimulated with small impulses at one electrode while other electrodes detect the electrical impulses “down-stream” from the first electrode. If the impulses do not travel at the expected speed, then there is nerve damage in that area. In the EMG, needles are inserted in muscles in specific locations. By stimulating the muscles via these needles and measuring the response, any nerve damage can be spotted. Both tests were completely “normal.” This is good news and bad news. The good news is that I have no small or large nerve damage. The bad news is that this means my problems are most likely in my head.

from Presenter Media

As we progressed through February and March into April, I noticed one large improvement in my condition. I began having more extended periods of lucidity, when I could think and write. The shocks, burning sensations and pain have not gone away. However, I am becoming accustomed to them. After banging your head against a wall for so long, eventually you don’t feel it any more.

Thus, I am in a position to attack the large backlog of blog posts that I have accumulated, as well as the multitude of book-length manuscripts that I have outlined waiting for an opportunity to work on them. To readers of this blog, I covet your prayers and thoughts for continued long periods of clear thinking and a bountiful stream of meaningful words. 

 

from Presenter Media
from Presenter Media

Announcement No. 2 concerns the future of this blog By’s Musings.  This is the first posting for five months. At that time, I indicated that I intended to publish posts regularly. However, I wasn’t counting on the difficulties that I outlined in Announcement #1 above.  This time when I say I intend to publish posts regularly, I have taken additional steps to make sure that occurs. One of those steps is to invite a number of my friends and former colleagues to share guest posts. Later this week, the first guest post will be published. It has been written by Professor Erik Benson, from Cornerstone University. When I hired Erik in 2005, he immediately impressed me as a teacher who brought history to life in the classroom. You didn’t want to go to sleep in his classes because you never knew what you might miss. To Erik, history was not restricted to the classroom. He brought the field into the classroom and took history and the students out into the field. Over the intervening years, he has also impressed students, who voted him “Professor of the Year” in 2013. In addition, he has also impressed his colleagues as an integral part of the leadership team for the CU CELT, the Cornerstone University Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, since 2006.

The title of Erik’s guest post is “The Value of the Liberal Arts to the University.” It is already in the queue, ready to published at 5:30 am on Wednesday, April 13, while I am, hopefully, sound asleep. During my periods of lucidity noted above, I have completed the first draft of post that I have titled, “Education: A Public Good or a Private Good?”  I believe the answer to this seemingly innocuous question has deep ramifications that impact the control and cost of education in America. This refers not only to higher education, but to elementary and secondary education. I hope it will engender much discussion. It is in the queue to be published next Monday, April 18, at 5:30 am. This is an appropriate day for this posting since April 18 this year is TAX DAY!  (This is a public service announcement to remind all my readers of the source of funds for public education.)

from Presenter Media

To keep the blog publication ball rolling, I have two draft posts, entitled “My Life in an Amusement Park: Living on a Carousel and the Unit Circle Parts I and II”,  in the queue, scheduled to be published respectively on Monday, April 25 and May 2, at 5:30 am. The formula, x2 + y2 = 1, for the unit circle is the basis for much of mathematics. Surprisingly, it is also the basis for many aspects associated with a majority of amusement park rides. Who else but a mathematician would see the similarities between amusement park rides and the mathematics of the unit circle, and find them fascinating? In Part I of this post, I will explore many of the connections between the rides and the mathematics. In Part II, I will discuss why they are important in my life. Stay tuned to find out what carousels, roller coasters, tunnels of love, Tea Cup rides and the swing rides have in common, and why they are built on mutations and perturbations to the familiar formula for the unit circle.

 OOPS, I am so sorry readers, but we’ve gone far beyond the maximum number of words blogger gurus suggest for posts. For the remainder of the announcements, you will have to stay turned for the post, “We’re Back in Business, Part II.” which is in the queue to published on Friday, April 15, at 5:30 am. In that post I will cover Announcement No. 3, which concerns my coaching/consulting practice, Higher Ed By Baylis LLC, and Announcement No. 4, which deals with my website Higher Ed By Baylis. Thanks for staying with me and please come back for more.