Teddi's diagnosis

I mentioned a few days ago that I had to take another of my cats to the vet for some diagnostic tests. (See post for 22nd May.) Well, the results came back today and, as I'd kind of suspected, my Teddi has severe thyroid problems. A normal thyroid reading should be between 19 and 51. His is 320!! Fortunately, because I got suspicious and had it checked this early, it's been diagnosed before it could cause major kidney failure. A normal kidney reading is between 10 and 50; Teddi's is 55, which is not too bad yet. The goal now will be to regulate his thyroid before it can cause further damage to the kidneys. So he'll be on thyroid medication (little pills) for a while, as well as something to protect his kidney function. The good news is that, unlike diabetes (his sugar reading was normal) thyroid issues don't tend to be genetic, and so I don't need to be concerned that Tobi might have it too. Feline thyroid problems can sometimes go into remission after less than a year on medication, or they can end up needing lifelong medication.

If he doesn't go into remission, it has some implications for the future: apart from the fact that there would be a financial cost in giving daily medication to a cat, it presents the challenge of someone else needing to give him his pills whenever I travel. Fortunately, he's fairly easy to trick into taking a pill if it's hidden in a little bit of a treat. Not like Tamba who always discovered it and spat it out.. . or Tobi who wails as if you're trying to strangle her. I gave him the first one when I got home from the vet tonight and he ate it no problem. After a month, they'll do another blood test to see if he needs a stronger or weaker dose. 

If he doesn't respond quickly to the medication, it presents me with a dilemma. It seems villainous to "kill" a cat that has never been ill a single day in his life and who is just as happy, friendly and eager to learn tricks as he has always been. The only sign of anything amiss is his strangely greasy fur; otherwise he's just as normal as ever. But I'm heading off to Africa for the summer, and would be dependent on my house sitters feeding and caring for him. Here's hoping he responds well and that I'm not faced with a hard decision before I leave.

Weekends at Eden...

Today I had my first swim of the season. Usually I don't venture into the pool until June, but we had an unusually hot day today and the delegates (LDC students) at Villa Eden invited me to come over for a swim. It wasn't the warmest pool I'd ever been in, but it wasn't unpleasant either.
I was also at Eden last weekend. The twelve people who live there had invited me over for a meal and for a game. I learned a new game (Mexican Train) played with double twelve dominoes.

Back to the vet

Well, for the second time this month, I made a trip to our local veterinary surgery. I took my big boy to the vet today. Two bubble baths have not made a difference this time to his strangely greasy coat and I felt it was best to do a blood test. Diabetes or thyroid issues are typical causes of greasy fur, and I prefer to know now whether he's okay or not, instead of waiting and wondering if he'll begin to show signs of illness like his mother did. Poor boy; he hasn't been in a cat carrier for many years and he yelled the whole way in the car.

The vet took a blood sample and we'll get the results of all the tests (kidneys, liver, thyroid…) on Wednesday or so. One sugar test shows his blood glucose level to be higher than normal (it was 180; normal is 130 - 160, and Tamba was 311), but not necessarily high enough yet to show he's diabetic; it could just be that he was seriously stressed out by being in a cat carrier, travelling in the car, and having his leg shaved for the syringe. He weighs 8 kilos, which the vet says is okay; he's obviously not overweight for his size. But the fact that it's about a kilo heavier than he used to be might be a sign of a thyroid problem - another typical cause of a greasy coat. So we'll get the full results later this week.

A day in the life….

After a week of unseasonal storms and torrential rain, very unusual for May, the weather's beginning to return to normal this weekend. Friends of mine took this amazing photo from their home last night - of a huge double rainbow spread across the expanse of Alhaurín de la Torre. Other friends also took photos from within the town, but I think this one taken from up on the hill, looking out to sea, is the most stunning.

Today dawned sunny for a change: time to wash laundry, walk the dog, and do some gardening. After such a rainy week, a lot of washing had piled up in the laundry basket, so I washed and hung out two loads before even leaving the house this morning. What a pile of ironing that's going to be later this weekend!

Soon it was time to set our for my morning walk with Buba. We've had to forego our morning circuit on the mountain this month because I leave the house so early every morning for LDC…. and last weekend's torrential downpours were not conducive to traipsing through the fields with a dog. Buba's the sweetest pup, half English Setter and half terrier (unknown father!!), she's lively, gentle and affectionate. As someone used to years of being a border collie owner, though, it feels a little strange to walk a dog who doesn't quite know what to do with a frisbee.

Our walk took us on one of our favourite circuits - on the mountain behind my house. Now that I'm finally emerging from nine weeks of pleurisy, it's good to feel strong enough to walk a little further and not to be in so much pain. We discovered that one of the local shepherds had put up a low fence, so that he could leave his sheep and goats on the mountain at night, and he had left two sheepdogs, Spanish mastiffs to watch over them. As the flock was waking up for the day, it seemed as if one of their faithful night-time guardians was contemplating taking time for a nap.

Next on my agenda was a quick drive to Aldi, Lidl and Mercadona to pick up some bits and pieces for the weekend and the coming days. I decided to buy a little hand-held steam cleaner that was on display with this week's special offers. Buying the equipment was the easy part; the more energetic part is still to come, as I want to use it to spring clean the shower doors, and all the recently-rained-on windows in my house. As I stood in line at the check out, the man in front of me asked what it was, and I explained how it was used to deep clean things, wash windows, etc. His response was so typical of Spanish macho-ism: "My wife wouldn't clean the windows, even if I were to buy one of those things," he said. His face was a study of shock and confusion when he heard my reply: "But it makes the job much easier; you could do it yourself." He was left speechless as he contemplated this rather incredible idea!

Back home again, it was time for some gardening. I wanted to prune the jasmine in front of my house and also do some transplanting of flowers. Last week, for my birthday, a friend had given me a beautiful basket with six different plants in it. My neighbour, who's quite knowledgable about things to do with flowers, pointed out that the various plants had different watering needs and that it would be wisest to transplant them all into six different pots, so that they would last longer. So she gave me a hand to do that, as you see here in the picture.

Friday night is sometimes games night at my house. Last weekend, a group of staff and delegates came to play the game Saboteur, and last night a group of staff came to help me bring my Taboo game back into use. It had been in storage at my parents' place and I dug it out when I was in Scotland for Christmas. I hadn't played Taboo for more than twenty years, and so it was kind of fun to try it out again, and even to end up being part of the winning team. Tomorrow night, I've been invited to Villa Eden. The delegates who live there have invited me for dinner, and to learn how to play Mexican Train dominoes, a game that they'd been playing there in recent weekends.

This afternoon I'll take a little time to clean the house (I need to try out my new steam cleaner and tackle the bathroom) before I head out in the afternoon for my second walk of the day with Buba. I'll probably also take a little time to gather my thoughts and look over my teaching notes for next week in the LDC. It's "self-leadership" week, and I'll be sharing on topics such as sabbath rest, financial integrity, and goals for growth. I'll also be MC-ing the week, together with Sasha from the Ukraine. He and his wife, regional leaders of YWAM in Eastern Europe, attended LDC last year, and have come back again this year to work with us as staff.

No one's coming to visit this evening, so I'll probably just read a book or watch a movie. Tomorrow will be for church, for rest, and then for my dinner with the delegates. So there you have a snapshot of a May weekend, a break from the classroom and workshop schedule of typical LDC weeks here in Malaga. It's nice to feel in better health, and more able to enjoy this (finally) sunny Spanish weekend.

Sickness, sadness, suffering… and goodbyes

First of all, let me thank you for your ongoing prayers over the past two months. The intense pleurisy pain that I've been suffering for the past weeks slowly seems to be getting a little less. The chest pain is still there, but I'm needing fewer pain killers to keep it under control, and I think that's hopefully a good sign.

I wasn't the only one experiencing sickness in our house, however. Little Tamba, the cat that I took in from the street some seven and a half years ago was really under the weather too, and I began to suspect that she might be dying, or that something was seriously wrong.

She began vomiting at the weekend, then seemed listless and off her food, and by yesterday (my birthday) she seemed a little shaky on her legs. I knew it was time to take her to the vet, and I had a suspicion that I might be taking her there for the last time.

It was not the way I would have chosen to spend the evening of my birthday - a couple of hours at the vet's while they did blood tests and x-rays. The poor girl was dejected and dehydrated and, sure enough, the tests that came back showed that she had acute kidney failure and off-the-scale diabetes. It's amazing that she'd appeared so healthy and happy for so long.

She wasn't an old cat - probably only around nine years old - but with two serious illnesses like that, things were only going to get worse. I knew that the kindest thing to do was say goodbye now and not let her begin to suffer or have to be traumatised by taking medication. I made the decision to put my furry friend to sleep, and made my way back home with an empty cat carrier.

I think this was a little perplexing to Teddi and Tobi, who saw me leave with her in the carrier, and come back home without her. Tobi in particular seems to be looking around for her mum, as the two females often lay down and slept on a chair together. It'll no doubt be an adjustment. 

As I look back to my arrival in Spain in 2008, I realise that being adopted by Tamba played a big part in making Spain feel like home. I had left my dogs and cat in Cape Town, and was beginning a new season of life in a new and different country. Suddenly having a pet again definitely made a difference to the sense of having a "home" in this new nation.

Of course, I didn't know when I took Tamba in that she was pregnant with four little ones. It was never my intention to keep any of the kittens; it was just so difficult to find homes for black cats. But Tobi and Teddi ended up staying with me and, instead of coming home to a pet-less house last night, I came back to two furry friends who were obviously wondering what was going on. 

Whenever I remember Tamba, I'll remember that she was a blessing in my time of transition: I may have "given a home" to this little Spanish cat, but in reality, she gave a home to me too.

New season, new journal...

LDC breakfast buffet

Today is the first day of LDC (leadership development course.) The delegates finished arriving yesterday and we had a brief "get to know you" session last night, before starting with a special welcome breakfast this morning. The orientation will continue this afternoon and, after a short trip to town, we'll end the first day with a time of praying for each other this evening.

"Travel" journals for 2016

LDC always seems to mark the start of a new season of the year, so it seemed particularly appropriate that yesterday I reached the last page of my first quiet time journal of 2016. There's been so much to reflect on during these recent months of meditating my way through Genesis and Exodus, that I've managed to fill a whole notebook since the beginning of the year.


Knowing that I'd be doing some international travel this year (in spring to the USA and in summer to Africa), I had bought a few notebooks that had the same cover design of passport stamps. This morning, as I wrote the date on the first page of my brand new journal for the LDC season, I realised that my reading for today would be in Exodus chapter 33. It's a favourite chapter of mine because of the way it reveals the character of God, as Moses meets very personally with Him after a challenging episode in Israel's journey. Before I even opened my Bible to read the chapter, one verse leapt immediately to my mind - the promise that God makes in verse 14: My presence will go with you and I will give you rest.

The promise of rest is a welcome one, as I've known such a battle in my health over the past six weeks that it's been rather exhausting - emotionally as well as physically. The bronchitis that began in Hawaii never totally cleared up, and soon the doctors here in Spain were telling me that I had pneumonia. Weeks of violent coughing ensued, complicated by a bizarre episode where a strong antibiotic caused me to have cramps in my arms and legs, as well as muscle spasms in other parts of my body. Even as recently as last week, I ended up at the emergency department again because the chest pains were so intense that my neighbours began to wonder if I was having a heart attack.

Another ECG confirmed that my heart was fine, although my blood pressure was all over the place - one minute very high and the next minute very low. Fractured ribs became the next suspected cause of the excruciating chest pain, but x-rays revealed that nothing was broken. However the x-rays did allow the doctors to see a shadow on my lung, and to revise the pneumonia diagnosis. They told me that I had pleurisy and that the pain might take a few more weeks to subside. 

I've had pleurisy once before (it was pleurisy and whooping cough that originally damaged my lungs in 1989) so I knew it could be intensely painful. What was more of a concern to me last week was the possibility that the pain could still be due to the nerve damage (something called peripheral neuropathy) that is often caused by the antibiotic they'd given me. It seemed strange to me that the pain was one day worst on the left side of my chest, and the next day on the right hand side. Surely lung pain would always be in the same place, and not moving around?

My wonderful team mates in the LDC prayed fervently for me last week, and I knew that others around the world were also praying. I've also been doing some baths and footbaths in Epsom salts as it's a traditional remedy for cramps and for purging toxins in the body. As of today, the cramps are much less intense, and the cough is almost completely gone. (I have just the occasional coughing fit.) The chest pains are still there, a sort of strange dull pressure that hurts  when I breathe or cough, and as I wrote in yesterday's blog post, "Praying in Ignorance" I find it a bit difficult to discern whether the pain is from my lungs, from my muscles or from the nerve endings. I'm trusting that it is from pleurisy, like they say, and not from anything more sinister.

So, it was interesting this morning when I opened my Bible to read that well known verse in Exodus 33:14. This year I'm using the NLT translation instead of the NIV Bible that I usually read, and I discovered that it has a whole phrase that is not there in other translations. It says, I will personally go with you, and I will give you rest. Everything will be fine for you. I guess that last phrase is an attempt to express the full meaning of the Hebrew nuwach. What an encouragement it was to me in this season of not being sure what's going on in my health - whether the pain I've felt is simply from my lungs or whether there's some other explanation for it. As I enter this new season, new journal, new LDC course… it gives security to hear God say everything will be all right. 

Thank you for your prayers over the coming weeks - for my role in the leadership course, as well as for complete restoration from these recent health challenges. Join me in faith that everything will be fine.

Bathing the cat...

It's that time of year again: I had to give the cat a bath! I've realised now what happens: whenever I make my annual ILT trip in March (which is the end of winter in Spain), Teddi has a few weeks where no one brushes him. Eventually he just stops grooming himself - presumably because he's sick of getting huge mouthfuls of hair. So a couple of weeks after I'm back home and have taken the scissors to him to cut off all the dreadlocks, I notice that he has un unkempt, greasy-hair look. I now know that this is not the symptom of an underlying disease, but rather is the consequence of his not washing himself for a couple of weeks. A mild shampoo sorts things out and returns him to his handsome fluffy self again. Here (above) is the wet boy on his towel, after he had forgiven me for covering him in bubbles and giving him a cold shower. He'll now begin to groom himself again and will soon have his sleek and shiny coat back. (below)