#stblaise

[anastpaul]

Our Lady of Saideneida, Damascus, Nuestra Señora de Suyapa / Our Lady of Suyapa, Honduras (c1747), St Blaise (Died c316) Martyr Bishop and Memorials of the Saints - 3 February

Our Lady of Saideneida, Damascus – 3 February:HERE:https://anastpaul.com/2021/02/03/feast-of-our-lady-of-saideneida-damascus-and-memorials-of-the-saints-3-february/ Nuestra Señora de Suyapa / Our Lady of Suyapa OR Virgen de Suyapa / The Virgin of Suyapa, Honduras (c1747) Patron of Honduras, Central America and The Orden de los Caballeros de Suyapa – 3 February: A title and image of the Blessed…

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[elfpuddle]

My parathyroidectomy, the surgery I’ve been waiting for for years, is today. Thank you in advance for your prayers.

St. Blaise, St. Servatius, and St. Roch, pray for us.

Our Lady, hold us close.

Holy Lord, have mercy upon us.

[miaofeng]

Feb 4, 2018~

[anastpaul]

Our Lady of Saideneida, Damascus and Memorials of the Saints - 3 February

Our Lady of Saideneida, Damascus and Memorials of the Saints – 3 February

Our Lady of Saideneida, Damascus – 3 February:HERE:https://anastpaul.com/2021/02/02/feast-of-the-purification-of-our-lady-the-presentation-of-our-lord-in-the-temple-candlemas-day-2-february/ St Blaise (Died c 316) Martyr Bishop Memorial)All about St Blaise:https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/03/saint-of-the-day-st-blaise-died-c-316-martyr/ Bl Alois AndritzkiSt Anatolius of Salins St Ansgar…

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[anastpaul]

Quote of the Day - 3 February - THE BLESSING of ST BLAISE

Quote of the Day – 3 February – THE BLESSING of ST BLAISE

Quote of the Day – 3 February – The Memorial of St Blaise Bishop Martyr (Died c 316) The Blessing of the Throats is a Sacramental of the Church, ordinarily celebrated today, the Feast day of Saint Blaise. Saint Blase was, according to various accounts, a Physician before becoming a Bishop. His cult spread throughout the entire Church in the Middle Ages because he miraculously cured a little boy…

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[elfpuddle]

A personal rambling in place of your Robin River Update...

   This is the last queued post for a little while. I’m having surgery on Tuesday, Dec. 8th, and it may take me a few days to get new posts loaded. If you’ve been skipping everything tagged “nonsims”, this is the spot where you want to stop reading. (I didn’t tag this post because I wanted to make sure you knew why there was a break in the queue.) So, a bit of rambling about what’s wrong and what the surgery’s for. (I’d do this under a cut, but I don’t know how.)

Last April, I strained a back muscle by reading on the floor too long. (I know. That’s both very lame and very #HornedSerpent and #EnglishTeacher of me.) It was bad enough that I had a video conference with a doctor, who recommended a few things like anti-inflammatories and gave me a list of “if this happens, see a doctor in person.” That was on a Wednesday. The next evening, my feet ballooned to a shocking size, and HubbyTMC took me to an Urgent Care on Friday morning. It was so painful to walk that I was crying, nearly screaming, just walking from the car to the front door of the Urgent Care. The doctor there couldn’t find anything wrong outside of the swelling and the sore back, so gave me a steroid shot to reduce the swelling and gave me a list of “if this happens, get to the ER.” By Sunday evening, the swelling was worse. My toes had practically disappeared into the balloons that were my feet. Even lightly touching my feet with the bed sheet had me screaming in pain. I went to the ER early Monday morning. I spent the rest of April and May in and out of my doctor’s office and the ER, and being sent to various specialists for a myriad of tests. When I wasn’t doing that, I was commanded to stay in bed with my feet elevated above my heart. I’ll spare you the long list of tests and pains and whatnots and jump to the exciting conclusion.

It turns out that at least one of my parathyroid glands had just up and decided to kill me. I’m on some pretty high-powered meds now, which is the only reason that I can sit at the computer at all. My feet are still pretty swollen, even though I wear compression socks whenever I’m awake. Hyperparathyroidism is my current nemesis and diagnosis. At least one of the four little parathyroid glands has gone rogue. By which I mean that it’s leeching calcium and other minerals out of my bones *and* causing my body to overproduce calcium and potassium. Instead of leaving it in my bones and filtering out the rest, my body (thank you, parathyroid) is depositing the excess on the tendons and ligaments of my feet, and in a clump in the back of my left breast near the rib cage. There’s so much extra mineral going on in my body that my urine is full of crystals...like bitty shards of kidney stones in every drop. The deposits in my feet are causing gout-like constant pain. The parathyroid is also causing depression, anxiety, forgetfulness, and hair loss. I haven’t been this mentally unstable since my miscarriage. I’ve lost half my hair. I had surgery lined up for the beginning of November, but the surgeon’s office didn’t notice what all meds I’m on, and the surgery had to be rescheduled. It’s now Tuesday the 8th, which happens to be the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, so I’m hoping that bodes well for her intercession for me. It’s also the anniversary of the Baptism of two of my Godchildren. It’s a good day for Elves. So, Tuesday, my surgeon will do an exploration of my neck, take out one offending parathyroid, test the hormone levels of the other three, and take out any other offenders. I’ll stay in the hospital overnight, and, God Willing, come home on Wednesday with healing already begun. If you’re the praying kind, I’d appreciate whatever prayers you have to offer. If you aren’t, I appreciate whatever kindness you have to offer. Thank you for reading this long post, and for being my friend. God Bless you. Be well until I see you again. St. Blaise, St. Roch, and St. Servatius, pray for us. Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, hold us under your mantle.

[elfpuddle]

Surgery Update

I just sent this long missive as an email to coworkers, friends, and family. A few of you have asked me to keep you updated, so I’m editing it for privacy and posting it here.I hope to get back to the Sims this weekend. Today and tomorrow I’m working extra hours to make up for what I missed earlier in the week. The joys of not earning sick leave! If you’re only here for the Round Robin Legacy Updates, just stopping reading here, and know that I’ll get them up as soon as I can. Perhaps next week, sometime. Happy Feast of Our Lady of Loreto! My surgery of the 8th was deferred. Not canceled, per se, just...didn't happen. I arrived at the hospital at six in the morning, checked in, gave a urine sample, got into my fancy gown and socks, got my IVs, gave a blood sample which was sent to the lab, had a pregnancy test (negative, which is a heartbreak story for another time), had a dose of pre-op versed, and then waited. With a parathyroidectomy, the surgeon removes the parathyroid that's already been determined to be abnormal by previous tests. (Mine's the lower right, according to my endocrinologist.) After removing one gland, the surgeon tests the parathyroid hormone levels in the body. If the other parathyroids are normal, the levels will almost instantly shoot into the normal range. If not, the surgeon will find and test the other glands and remove another abnormal one. That's why it's an exploratory surgery. Each gland is somewhere between size of a grain of rice and a pencil eraser, depending on how engorged it is, and each is mashed in with all the other neck tissues and glands (and spine and throat and...). So, not a surgery for fun and games, either. At nine, my surgeon came into the room. All the levels that have been too high since April were within the normal range. Still at the upper range, but normal nonetheless. My surgeon couldn't operate because he had no measure of when to stop removing glands. He checked with my endocrinologist, and she agrees. For now, we will check my levels every two weeks and see what happens. I'm not better. With hyperparathyroidism and the hypercalcemia it has caused, it isn't a matter of "normal levels=normal ElfPuddle". It isn't the height of the levels that determines health, as much as a matter of how long they've been higher than they should be. But if they aren't higher than the normal range at the time of surgery, we've no measure for removing them.  More than one person has said that we should be grateful for the deferment. Who knows but that something could have gone horribly wrong, and skipping surgery saved my life. I believe that. We say we walk by Faith, and not by Sight. I have no idea why this is all happening the way it is, but I know I don't have to have the ideas. It isn't my plan or my timing. My team of doctors has said from the beginning that everything about this seems abnormal. It's not usual for hyperparathyroidism that my levels would jump so high so quickly, or that the pain would go from 0 to 11 overnight (which sounds like an exaggeration, but is literally how this started last Spring). They have thought that there is something in addition to the parathyroids that is going wrong, and we just can't place what it is. We've been concentrating on those little glands as a first course of action, looking to determine the rest after the glands are fixed. God only knows what it is that's really wrong with me. Perhaps this deferment is giving us a chance to figure it out. Or perhaps not. Perhaps it's yet another auto-immune disorder to add to the list I already knew I had. Perhaps not. Again, I don't know. HubbyTMC and I are tired of my illness, and frustrated by the lack of answers, yes. So, we give it up to God. We've been praying to St. Roch (disease of unknown/mysterious origin and arthritis), St. Servatius (foot pain), and St. Blaise (the throat, and so everything going on in my neck). We've also been praying the Rosary, because obviously Our Lady knows what's going on and, even more, knows what it's like to suffer. We will continue to do so, and continue to hang on to each other, our Faith, and all of you, for as long as we need to. This is a rather long and rambling missive, and I apologize for that. Thank you for your love, your notes, your prayers, the Masses...for everything. More than anything else, this illness has brought me to my knees (metaphorically) not by the pain and frustration, which are both extreme, but by being humbled and forced to ask others for help. I've never been any good at that, and I'm so very grateful that you've all stepped up and offered even before I asked. Thank you. For everything. I'll continue to keep you updated as we wait and learn. And I'll keep you in my prayers, in thanksgiving for your love and friendship. Love, Elfie

[anastpaul]

Saint of the Day – St Blaise (Died c 316) – Martyr 

 Today the Church remembers the life and witness of Saint Blaise, a 3rd century Armenian bishop who endured terrifying torments and surrendered his life rather than repudiate his profession of Faith.

Much of the life of Saint Blaise is history that has passed into legend but even these legendary accounts offer spiritual insight.

It is said that Blaise was renowned as a wonderworker, effecting miraculous cures. T  his would have been enough to attract attention but he was also not averse to calling out the Roman officials who ruled the region in which he lived, Cappadocia, for their tyranny and intolerance of Christian faith and practice.   The combination of a reputation for supernatural power and the courage of his convictions was not welcomed by Rome and the governor ordered Bishop Blaise to be arrested.   Blaise was able to elude capture and took refuge in the wilderness.   It was there in the caves of Cappadocia that his ministry and his mission continued.

There is an account of Saint Blaise that identifies not only his pastoral care for the Christian faithful but also for the animals of the wilderness.

It seems that a woman had witnessed her piglet carried off by a wolf and spoke of her plight to the bishop.   Saint Blaise called for the wolf, demanded her return the piglet to its rightful owner and reminded the wolf of the grave penalty that awaited a thief.   The wolf complied and returned the piglet to its owner- a credit to the bishop’s power of persuasion.   The woman would later return the favour to Saint Blaise when he was finally captured and imprisoned.   She brought to him candles to illuminate his dank and dreary cell.

This legend hints at how the saints represent, in their holiness, the restoration of a paradise lost and regained in Christ.   The ease and familiarity with which the Biblical character of Adam is believed to have communed with nature before the fall is recapitulated in Saint Blaise- he is a sign that anticipates the restoration of all things in Christ where the lion will rest with the lamb and in this case, the wolf will return stolen property to its rightful owner.

Saint Blaise has been invoked for centuries as a specialist in diseases of the throat.   The origin of this practice might be in the story of a child brought to the saint who was either choking or suffering from some other malady of the throat.   Saint Blaise blessed the boy and he was restored to health.

The practice of blessing throats on the Feast of Saint Blaise is a commemoration of this miracle, that crossed candles are often used to impart this blessing might also be a recollection of the kindness of the woman who gave candles to the saint as he languished in prison.

Saint Blaise was an extraordinarily popular saint during the Middle Ages in Europe. Presentations of his miraculous and mighty deeds were commonly represented in art and sculpture, and he was included in a listing of saints called the Fourteen Holy Helpers (or Auxiliary Saints), holy men and women who could be counted on as intercessors for all manner of maladies from madness to travelers in distress.   During times in which a sore throat could be a signal of an impending epidemic or an early death, the faithful were all too happy to accept the help of a heavenly specialist in such matters like Saint Blaise.

The legends regarding Saint Blaise report that his sojourn in the wilderness did not protect him for very long.   He was eventually arrested and brought to trial.   The judge advised him that only a pinch of incense offered to the image of Caesar and the gods of Rome could win him his freedom.   Blaise refused.   He was cruelly tortured and beheaded.

The Church does not mourn Saint Blaise, for we know that in Christ this world is not all that there is.   While tyrants like Caesar and his successors can threaten us with death, Christ promises us a life that like his own, is transformed through suffering and death, into resurrection.

The scriptures proclaim, “though they slay me I will trust in you.”

Saint Blaise did precisely this.   He trusted that Christ would not abandon him to the power of death nor allow his suffering to be meaningless.   Our lives might never be raised to the legendary status of Saint Blaise but we can trust in Christ as he did and live in hope that one day we will join him in communion with all the saints who have gone before us in faith and who, from their place in heaven, guide and protect us still. (Fr Steve Grunow)

(via AnaStpaul – Breathing Catholic)