Birthday post

Hello, all. I want to briefly bring you all up to speed on the latest developments in our lives. On Friday, I turned 30. Aside from my wife, oddly the first person to wish me happy birthday was the main pharmacist from Orem Family Pharmacy. His birthday greeting came in the form of an automated message. But I was very grateful to have even been remembered by my pharmacy on my special day. Interspersed within the happenings of the rest of the day came an overwhelming flood of birthday greetings. It was so nice to know that so many remembered. Perhaps the greatest surprises of all of these greetings came from my older sister and her husband, who, as previously mentioned, returned home unexpectedly early enough to be here for my mom's birthday on the 14th. Even while attempting to make Christmas as normal as possible for their three children in the midst of their preparation to depart shortly after the holidays for Maine, where my brother-in-law will continue to pursue his lifelong goal of being a doctor by completing his medical schooling and residency there, they took time to let me know what their new phone numbers would be and to wish me the best on my special day. I also was pleased to get a text from my former TL at ROI Solutions, wishing me well. Add that to the many people who reached out to me on Facebook, and you can imagine how I felt being the recipient of such an outpouring of love.

Aside from my birthday celebrations, such as they were, the main portion of our day was spent going to and from Salt Lake for my appointment with Dr. Weinstein (my neurologist). As we headed out, a massive snow storm hit. We had, true to form, been running much later than we had originally planned. When we were almost to Salt Lake, we realized that, because of the distance remaining and the weather conditions, we were going to be about half an hour late. As per usual protocol, I called Primary Children's Neurosurgery Department to let them know we were going to be late. Instead of just telling me that was fine and to get there as quickly and safely as possible, they instructed me to call Dr. Weinstein's assistant. I did so. She said she understood our situation and would relay the message to Dr. Weinstein, and that we should try and get there as quickly but as safely as we could. Then, a few minutes later, she called me back. She said Dr. Weinstein didn't want me to risk anything unnecessary just to keep our appointment and that we should just turn back and go home. By this time, however, we were close enough that it would have rendered the trip useless. It also didn't help that the assistant, whatever her reasons, didn't bother to explain that Dr. Weinstein had had cancellations of all her other appointments because of the bad weather, and that, had we turned back, she would have done a phone visit later on in the day. From what she did tell us, the implication was that we would simply be out of luck and out of the necessary prescriptions for a month, not to mention not having her input on the issues I wanted to discuss. So, I insisted that we were close enough that we were not turning back, and that I would do whatever was needed to ensure I could see Dr. Weinstein this month. Because I was so persistent, she relented and said she would relay to Dr. Weinstein that we were en route and almost there.

Because her assistant hadn't bothered to mention that every other appointment Dr. Weinstein had that day had been cancelled, Dr. Weinstein was ready and waiting for us. She listened carefully to my concerns, even patiently waiting while I had a meltdown right then and there about the neurological symptoms I was having. Dr. Weinstein looked me right in the eye and told me exactly what the problem was: One of the medications she had recently put me on for my nausea did work in most cases, but a select few, like me, had the same slew and litany of neurological side effects. Her recommendation was that we discontinue the use of that medication. She said she had no regrets that we had tried it, but that she was sorry to hear that it had resulted in the symptoms I had been having.

She said it was no wonder I had believed there was a problem with my shunt. The side effects from the medication I had been on were just similar enough to the indications of a shunt malfunction that it was next to impossible for me to differentiate. Amy said nothing about this during the visit, but she gave me her famous "I-told-you-so" look that she does so well for quite a while after the appointment. You see, Amy, being the inspired person that she was, found it hard to believe or accept that I was having shunt problems. She has believed all along that something that had recently changed with my medications was to blame, and, (why am I not surprised?) she was dead right in this case. My one consolation is that she thought my symptoms might have been caused by one of the many homeopathic remedies I had been using. But we both were gratified to hear that it was a prescription causing the problem. By the time I met with Dr. Weinstein, I had been without that medication for about a week, and, in retrospect, I should have internalized the fact that I had had a slight decrease in my symptoms since I was unable to get my insurance to approve the quantity and dosage of that medication.

Dr. Weinstein also indicated that it might take an additional month or two before the medication was out of my system and no longer was having an effect on me. As I was still worried about the nausea I've been having, she authorized an increase of another medication that, by comparison, made a lot more sense and will be a lot safer with much fewer possible side effects. She did say that she was not sure my insurance would give the authorization for the doubled amount of the medication she was authorizing, but said that if it became a problem, it was something that could easily be worked around.

Having been listened to and now having some resolution to the reason I've been feeling the way I had, Dr. Weinstein further told me that she understood how depressing it can be at times for us to deal with everything we have on our plates. But she said that we should not be too hard on ourselves for where we may be falling short and that we should always make sure we are only taking on as much as we can handle in life. Right now, that's not a lot. But she said that she anticipated that the changes we made would be a great help on the path to restoring my good health.

I left the clinic feeling very grateful that she was willing to even see me that day when everyone else on her schedule had cancelled. And since we had gotten some things resolved that have been amiss for far too long, I felt as though a great weight had been taken off me. At least for the remainder of the time we were at Primary's, my appetite was restored enough to allow me to fully enjoy a wonderful birthday lunch.

We then headed home, stopping off to get my weekly testosterone injection done. I received more well-wishes from the staff there. We also stopped at the pharmacy to fill the prescriptions I had received. When the staff was reminded by looking at my file that it was my birthday, they offered me a present of balloons. It was my sad duty to thank them for the kind gesture, but to let them know I was allergic. But it's the thought that counts. They gave me what they could of the one prescription they could fill that day, saying they would have the rest by Monday. Of the second prescription, they said it could be filled and delivered the next day (which was yesterday, and I was able to have that delivered then no problem). The final prescription was the one for which Dr. Weinstein had done the dosage increase. I was told two things about that one: that the insurance would not cover it until nearly the end of the month, and that they would cover 1 more tablet per day than I was previously taking, but not the doubled quantity from the prior prescription. They let me know that they thought they would be able to negotiate with the insurance and get the script filled for the quantity for which the insurance would pay without needing a new script, but they also said that it would help them if I could call in to Dr. Weinstein's assistant about this problem, just in case they needed a new script for any reason.

After all that adventure, we settled down to a quiet evening at home. As the evening wore on, I contemplated how far I've come in life. One of my earliest doctors told my parents, "Take him home, and simply love him. He will never be anything more than a limp noodle on the sofa." It has always inspired me that my parents did not listen to that advice. At various times and for various reasons, my life expectancy has been adjusted, and now my doctors are of the opinion that I am as likely to live as long as anyone else who doesn't have my same conditions might. It has also constantly and consistently sobered me to realize that, compared with most other people who have even a small part of what I have on my plate, I am one of the highest functioning individuals. I will forever be grateful to my parents for not taking that first doctor's advice. While we may have had our differences over the years, as do any parent and child, I owe a large portion of any success I've had in any undertaking I have been involved with to their support and encouragement. I know I have appreciated that fact a lot more at some times than at others.

Well, sorry for droning on about my special day, but turning 30 is a once-in-a-lifetime event. I will be following this post up right away with a look back on today milestone mark, the 6th anniversary of my marriage to Amy. In the meantime, thanks for reading this post. Any comments are welcome and appreciated.

Yet Another Temple Construction Progress Report

When I had the chan e to do so yesterday (the 15th), I checked out the LDS Church Temples website. Once again, just within the last 24 hours or so, the progress that has been reported has been most wonderful and marvelous to read about. I share my latest version of my assembled report. Let me know your thoughts. And yes, I do know that this is one day old now that it is past midnight. Because I have a doctor's appointment in Salt Lake City in about 12 hours, I will likely not have a chance to check on temple progress again until our return home. Any and all feedback is welcome and appreciated. Thanks.

Temple Construction Progress Report (current as of 12/15/16)

Current Temple Status: 155 operating; 1 scheduled for dedication; 11 under construction; 1 scheduled for rededication; 2 undergoing renovation; 10 announced; (NOTE: Up to 3 additional temples may soon have a groundbreaking announced).

Dedication scheduled:

156. Paris France Temple: Interior work underway; open house and dedication dates announced; scheduled to be dedicated on Sunday May 21, 2017.

Under Construction:

157. Meridian Idaho Temple: Exterior lighting tests underway; welcome center reopens in stake center; completion anticipated sometime in late 2017.

158. Cedar City Utah Temple: Fencing progressing; entrance plaza created; garden and natural landscaping areas defined; completion anticipated sometime in late 2017.

159. Tucson Arizona Temple: Pouring walkways; erecting fencing; installing art glass windows; completion anticipated sometime in late 2017.

160. Rome Italy Temple: Interior work progressing; completion anticipated sometime in 2018.

161. Concepcion Chile Temple: Attaching building wrap to exterior walls; adding landscaping structures; completion anticipated sometime in 2018.

162. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Building the exterior walls; completion anticipated sometime in 2018.

163. Durban South Africa Temple: Pouring temple foundation; setting rebar for missionary housing walls; palm trees planted along entrance road; completion anticipated sometime in 2018.

164. Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Exterior walls rising; completion anticipated sometime between 2018 and 2019.

165. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday December 3, 2016; completion anticipated sometime between 2018 and 2019.

166. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Concrete forms going up for second floor exterior walls; completion anticipated sometime in 2019.

167. Lisbon Portugal Temple: Laying meetinghouse footings and foundation; excavating for maintenance building; temple site cleared; completion anticipated sometime in 2019.

Scheduled for rededication:

8. Idaho Falls Idaho Temple: Closed for renovation; finish work underway; rededication scheduled for Sunday June 4, 2017.

Undergoing Renovation:

20. Jordan River Utah Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime between late 2017 and early 2018.

41. Frankfurt Germany Temple: Closed for renovation; some exterior stone removed; foundation exposed; old meetinghouse razed; rededication anticipated sometime in 2018.

Announced:

168. Harare Zimbabwe Temple: Approval and construction preparation phase; official site announcement anticipated in early 2017, with the groundbreaking anticipated to take place shortly following the site announcement.

169.  Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Governmental approval phase; preliminary environmental license issued in November 2016; groundbreaking pending.

170. Arequipa Peru Temple: General contractor selected; groundbreaking pending.

171. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

172. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

173. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

174. Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

175. Quito Ecuador Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

176. Belem Brazil Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

177. Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

Key:

Bolded numbers and text denote temples whose numbers already exists (for renovations), or is certain due to a scheduled dedication, as well as information that is certain, such as dedication or groundbreaking dates.

Italicized numbers and text denote temples whose numbers may change based on the order in which future dedications and groundbreakings are scheduled.

Underlined numbers and text denote temples whose numbers may change based on progress towards planning, approval, and groundbreaking.

Red text denotes changes from the last posted temple progress update.

We have been the recipients of a miracle

I know I posted a comment about this on my last post, but I wanted to make it an official blog post topic for today. We have been the recipients of a miracle, the likes of which we never would have been able to believe had it not happened to us personally.

Today (the 16th) is my 30th birthday. Since my wife's nephew and I share a birthday, Amy's family has habitually visited me for my birthday the night before my special day. And so, yesterday night (the 15th), they did visit us.

We appreciated their visit. We have not been around them a lot lately because health has prevented it. But their visit brought us much needed comfort.

As if that weren't enough, I was beyond grateful for the many prayers and expressions of love and support we have received. We have been the recipients of a Christmas miracle for which I at least am most unworthy. The details aren't important. But suffice it to say that, thanks to things happening the way they did, we will be more than okay throughout the rest of this month, until I get my next check from the government. Our Christmas miracle, such as it was, was a direct answer to our prayers, and we will be forever grateful for the reminder that the Lord does hear and answers prayers. And sometimes, those answers come in the least expected way.

Maybe it's not much by the standards of others, but it means the world to us. And the really amazing thing about the whole situation is that the Lord has always seemed to know whenever we do need the help. I have been bailed out of situations created by my own stupidity and poor choices more than I can count. We wish we didn't, need such miracles, but we are grateful that the Lord knows our needs and meets them in miraculous and unexpected ways.

I am eternally and everlastingly grateful for this additional witness and confirmation to us that the Lord is very much aware of our situation, and, in His mercy, He always sends what we need when we need it. I am humbled and overwhelmed. I feel we can truly say, as have so many others in the past, that God is in His heaven, and all is right with the world.

Thanks to all who have so willingly offered help and prayers in our behalf. We appreciate it more than we can ever express. We hope that, at some point, the Lord will bless us to the point where we can pay it forward and do for others what has been so willingly done for us. Thanks again.

Prayers would be appreciated

Hey guys! I know of a few of you, my readers, who have expressed sympathy and promised to send prayers our way as a result of the health problems my wife and I are both having. But I wanted to put out a request for prayers in our behalf for an additional reason.

Due to some very imprudent and downright stupid financial decisions I have recently made, we are in deep trouble. Most of the problem has been the result of our December Tithing and Fast Offerings somehow being processed twice through the online system. That was a bad enough problem. But we also were dropped from what dental coverage we had, and I got us set up with a new dental plan. Ordinarily, that would not be a problem. But being the naive and rather stupid person I have always been when it comes to impulsive financial decisions, I somehow neglected to consider our lack of resources and arranged for automatic payments from my bank account this month. Because I forgot to delay the start of our coverage until next month when we would have the resources to cover it, and because I had neglected to tell my wife that an automatic payment would be processed from our account, when the payment came through today, it resulted in our maxing out anything we had left of our already meager resources.

I am disgusted with myself for my stupidity, imprudence, and idiocy. The result of my folly is that we have absolutely nothing left for the holidays. So instead of spoiling my wife as I hoped to do, I have to wait to do that until next month.

It seems we are always impoverished beyond belief round about Christmastime each year. I think it was my first year blogging that, in response to my post about our financial destitution, someone anonymously sent us enough money to get us through the holidays to my next paycheck in January. I would love nothing more than to find that another Christmas miracle of that sort bails us out. But I have a notoriously bad habit of not doing nearly enough to keep us in good financial condition, make imprudent financial decisions, and then expect someone to bail us out of a situation that is solely and completely my fault and doing. I can't do that anymore.

Thankfully, we may be okay. I signed us up for food assistance with the state a long time ago, and my monthly allowance for that comes tomorrow. And in the meantime, if we do need anything, we do have access to funds from a PayPal credit line my wife was able to get for us solely on the basis of her good credit history. This will help us get what we need for the holidays. As for my own credit history, it's been tanked by the fact that I applied for and was given a line of credit with my bank, but have struggled to get it paid off. In fact, because we haven't been able to pay it off and have had to withdraw any such payment right back out again within days of putting it in, my bank doesn't have enough faith in my ability to pay it back and won't grant an extension of those resources.

My unemployed status and the fact that I get less than $800 dollars per month from the government does not lend itself to paying off our continually increasing amount of debt, including the Paypal. We just get anything partially paid off only to find ourselves increasing our use of these resources. And now, with the holidays approaching, we will once again have to tighten our belts.

I am just brutally honest enough to admit that most, if not all, of our problems stem from my financial imprudence and from the fact that I didn't work nearly as hard as I should have to retain the first and only job I've ever had, and that I have been too ill lately to look for another job, let alone actually working one. I feel in so many ways as though I am constantly running up a brick wall. And it doesn't help the hopelessness of my situation to realize and acknowledge that my wife is suffering the most from what amounts to my lack of a sufficiently committed work ethic, and my continual selfishness in believing and asserting that I am too sick to work another job, assuming I could even find one with any degree of sufficient swiftness. This is especially true in light of the fact that my wife almost risked her own life just to keep us going by working the only job she could get for the first two years of our marriage.

For all I have made her suffer through for the entirety of our marriage, and especially for the enormity of my most recent blunders, I think that I despise myself. And it absolutely kills me to realize that, not for the first time, my wife won't get a proper Christmas until January at the earliest, thanks to my stupidity and lack of foresight.

Because of all of this, in addition to the health issues we both are suffering which I outlined in that previous post done in the very early hours of this morning, prayers are desperately needed and would be so very much more appreciated than I can ever express or show. Thanks for your readership, interest, support, and prayers.

Temple Construction Progress Update

Because it was my mom's birthday today, and also because my older sister and her family, who have been in St. Kitts and Nevis for the last couple of years while her husband (my brother-in-law) attended an  accelerated medical school program, surprised us by arriving back in town in time to celebrate her birthday, it wasn't until now that I had a chance to do my first daily reading of the Church websites. When I checked LDS Church Temples, much to my surprise  and great delight, mammoth progress was reported on most of the temples under construction, undergoing renovation, or announced. It has therefore become necessary for me to post today with an updated version of my temple construction progress report.

Before I do so, there are two particular changes upon which I am happy to report: The Jordan River Utah temple, originally listed as having its extensive renovation completed by the end of next year, is now predicted to either be complete then or, if not then, during the early part of 2018. I will keep an eye on that and let you know any further developments as I hear of them. In the meantime, given what is happening with the Arequipa Peru and Rio de Janeiro Brazil temples, I feel confident enough to have reversed them in the listed order in which their future groundbreakings may take place.

That said, here's my new report. As always, please let me know in the comments below if you have any feedback of any kind.

Temple Construction Progress Report (current as of 12/14/16)

Current Temple Status: 155 operating; 1 scheduled for dedication; 11 under construction; 1 scheduled for rededication; 2 undergoing renovation; 10 announced; (NOTE: Up to 3 additional temples may soon have a groundbreaking announced).

Dedication scheduled:

156. Paris France Temple: Interior work underway; open house and dedication dates announced; scheduled to be dedicated on Sunday May 21, 2017.

Under Construction:

157. Meridian Idaho Temple: Exterior lighting tests underway; welcome center reopens in stake center; completion anticipated sometime in late 2017.

158. Cedar City Utah Temple: Fencing progressing; entrance plaza created; garden and natural landscaping areas defined; completion anticipated sometime in late 2017.

159. Tucson Arizona Temple: Plumbing water feature; pouring walkways; installing fencing; completion anticipated sometime in late 2017.

160. Rome Italy Temple: Interior work progressing; completion anticipated sometime in 2018.

161. Concepcion Chile Temple: Cupola assembly attached to steeple framework; paving main entrance; completion anticipated sometime in 2018.

162. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Building the exterior walls; completion anticipated sometime in 2018.

163. Durban South Africa Temple: Pouring temple foundation; setting rebar for missionary housing walls; palm trees planted along entrance road; completion anticipated sometime in 2018.

164. Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Exterior walls rising; completion anticipated sometime between 2018 and 2019.

165. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Groundbreaking held Saturday December 3, 2016; completion anticipated sometime between 2018 and 2019.

166. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Concrete forms going up for second floor exterior walls; completion anticipated sometime in 2019.

167. Lisbon Portugal Temple: Laying meetinghouse footings and foundation; excavating for maintenance building; temple site cleared; completion anticipated sometime in 2019.

Scheduled for rededication:

8. Idaho Falls Idaho Temple: Closed for renovation; finish work underway; rededication scheduled for Sunday June 4, 2017.

Undergoing Renovation:

20. Jordan River Utah Temple: Closed for renovation; rededication anticipated sometime between late 2017 and early 2018.

41. Frankfurt Germany Temple: Closed for renovation; some exterior stone removed; foundation exposed; old meetinghouse razed; rededication anticipated sometime in 2018.

Announced:

168. Harare Zimbabwe Temple: Approval and construction preparation phase; official site announcement anticipated in early 2017, with the groundbreaking anticipated to take place shortly following the site announcement.

169.  Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Governmental approval phase; preliminary environmental license issued in November 2016; groundbreaking pending.

170. Arequipa Peru Temple: General contractor selected; groundbreaking pending.

171. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

172. Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

173. Bangkok Thailand Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

174. Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

175. Quito Ecuador Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

176. Belem Brazil Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

177. Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple: Planning phase; awaiting official site announcement.

Key:

Bolded numbers and text denote temples whose numbers already exists (for renovations), or is certain due to a scheduled dedication, as well as information that is certain, such as dedication or groundbreaking dates.

Italicized numbers and text denote temples whose numbers may change based on the order in which future dedications and groundbreakings are scheduled.

Underlined numbers and text denote temples whose numbers may change based on progress towards planning, approval, and groundbreaking.

Red text denotes changes from the last posted temple progress update.