After my last post, I realized that the more I think about it, the more I feel like I’ve dodged a bullet in having a pre-cancerous polyp removed from my colon that wasn’t even the issue being searched for in my recent colonoscopy!
I also realized that I didn’t share with you another good thing that has come from this whole experience …. I’ve lost my holiday pounds! And then some, actually. I’ve lost 22 pounds in the last 4 weeks! I wouldn’t suggest my “diet” to anyone, but it is one good thing that has occurred in this mess.
Sunday was great! Not necessarily physically, as I struggled with nausea on and off and the sweats as well. But spiritually and emotionally, it was great to be able to be back with the NewHeart family. I realized it was my first time with the Church this year!
Watched the Super Bowl with some friends of ours, and was glad to see the Saints take it. Neither team was close to my heart, but the story of New Orleans and all they’ve been through recovering from Hurricane Katrina, and then Drew Brees’ own personal story …. ya gotta admit that’s powerful stuff!
Went grocery shopping today for the first time in weeks, but was glad to only do one store. Usually do two. This morning felt like it was gonna be a good day, but after breakfast of my protein shake and one piece of toast, it was nausea the rest of the day! Doggone it!
Every day I wake up hoping “this is gonna be the day” that the turnaround happens! Not today I guess. Still waiting for the meds to kick in and wipe out the pain and nausea.
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For those who are wondering where I’ve been lately, I wanted to finally go ahead and give an update here. It’s actually been a dim few weeks of uncertainty about my physical health.
I mentioned a little bit in my last post about how I was feeling physically, but that was way back in week 1. Today marks week 4 of not feeling well at all!
As I’ve gone from one doctor appointment to another, they’ve thought everything from diverticulitis to the most recent, and probably right, diagnoses of “gastritis with some erosion” (meaning it was on its way to becoming an ulcer) and colitis.
That’s the short story. It’s had me down physically for 4 weeks today, and as anyone who has gone through an uncertain illness or even a known disability can tell you, it’s been difficult to truly rest because of feeling miserable and uncertain.
One very good thing that came of all this is that the colonoscopy caught a polyp that turned out to be pre-cancerous, which means it had a chance at turning into cancer. Guess there’s a lot to be said for early screening, even before 50 years old (I’m 44).
For those who are into details, feel free to keep reading, but start from the bottom in this post to get the progression. What you’ll see are the emails I’ve sent to family and a small circle of co-workers and friends as the journey has progressed. It’s sure to be TMI (too much info) for some, so feel free to skip it.
Appreciate your prayers!
Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2010
Sent: Monday, January 25, 2010
Just got back from the upper endoscopy. Doctor says it showed moderate gastritis and a small hiatal hernia. He took several biopsies to make sure it’s not being caused by some kind of bacteria that’s not supposed to be there.
He has decided to also do a colonoscopy, which is scheduled for this Thursday, January 28 at 1:00 pm.
For now, I get to eat a soft diet today and tomorrow and then back on clear liquid diet Wednesday and nothing on Thursday until after the procedure. He is doubling the dose of Prilosec I’ve been on from 20 mg to 40 mg. Hopefully, that will calm the gastritis enough to at least get back to some semblance of normal activity, though I’ve heard many very good-hearted warnings to be careful to take it slow.
Yesterday was a little better pain and discomfort-wise, but was also my lightest day in terms of movement and activity. I was good through this morning, though very weak and light-headed, but also couldn’t have anything to eat because of the procedure. Usually, as soon as I put anything in my stomach in the morning, the pain begins. As soon as we started driving to the appointment, the stomach started stirring again. I’m hopeful the added Prilosec will help that, though the 20 mg the last two weeks hasn’t provided any relief so far.
That’s all for now. Will keep you posted after I either hear more about the biopsies (don’t necessarily expect to until Thursday) or after the colonoscopy.
Thanks again everyone! I know some of you are dealing with issues larger than this, and please know that the one benefit this HAS provided me is an opportunity to sit and think and pray, even though the concentration sometimes doesn’t last long.
You are loved and appreciated!
Paul
Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010
Well, the preliminary report of the CT scan shows that there is NOTHING abnormal, not even diverticulitis! I am praising God for that, but on the flip side wondering, then what in the world is going on?
My doc sent me to a gastroenterologist that had an opening this afternoon, and I just got back from that appointment. He is going to do an upper endoscopy (camera down throat into stomach) to check for any sign of ulcer or anything else there. He has also ordered stopping the antibiotics. (”If they’re not doing anything and the CT scan shows no diverticulitis, what good are they?”) So I suppose it was a good decision to not go in the hospital last night for IV antibiotics, which would be more powerful than the ones I have been on this week.
Th endoscopy is scheduled for Monday at 1:30 pm. They put you out for it and it only takes 5-10 minutes. He will know right away from the camera whether or not something is there.
If there is something there that is not an ulcer, he will take a piece to biopsy it. If the upper endoscopy comes out all clean, the next step is a colonoscopy.
Until Monday’s procedure, rest and clear liquid diet remains. I’ll keep you posted on Monday’s results (once I’m awake enough from the procedure).
Thanks again for praying!
Paul
Sent: Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wanted to give you a quick update after today’s doctor’s appointment. Haven’t felt any better since seeing him Monday, and the pain has actually been added a little to the right side as well.
He gave me two options: 1) Go into the hospital tonight for more powerful IV antibiotics and get a CT scan done, or 2) Have a CT scan done in the morning and continue with the current 3 antibiotics at home pending those results tomorrow afternoon.
I opted for staying home overnight with the CT scan scheduled for 11 am. He’ll call me with results tomorrow afternoon and I’ll see him for a follow-up on Friday at 11 am.
He said if he saw any closed diverticula (pockets) on the CT scan tomorrow, in the hospital I go. If the CT scan does NOT show any closed pockets, but on Friday I don’t feel significantly better, it’s into the hospital probably for the weekend.
Obviously, my hope and prayer is that the current antibiotics do their job over the next couple days! Still on clear liquid diet for now.
Thanks for your prayer support!
Paul
Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010
I saw my doctor today. He thinks I have something called diverticulitis. You can click the link to read more about it. Apparently, one or more of the pockets has become infected, and that’s what my body has been fighting for the last couple weeks now.
He has me on 3 antibiotics and I have a follow-up appointment on Wednesday at 3:00 pm. Until then, he wants me on a clear liquid diet and little movement. The more movement, the more irritated the infected part of the intestine becomes, which now makes sense as to why I feel OK when I get up in the morning, but quickly feel drained and stomach-sick.
This actually draws back to Christmas Day, the day we left for Texas. I woke up at 5 am with severe pain in my left side that lasted for about 20 minutes. It occurred 3 or 4 more times that day while we were on the road with less intensity each time. My doctor thinks that was my initial “diverticulitis attack”.
I’ll keep you posted.
Paul
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Tags: colitis, colon cancer, gastritis, polyps, pre-cancerous
We were 12 hours into a cross-country trip in a 34 ‘ RV with 4 adults and 4 kids. The trip went well, except for one thing.
Hours, maybe even minutes, after posting that update, I began to feel the chills. I was soon in the driver’s seat for my next shift, my sinuses began to ache, all the follicles on my body were hurting, and I couldn’t pump the heater warm enough to keep the chills away.
Needless to say, I was more than ready to go out when my shift was over. I ended up spending the next four days recovering. It was a good thing we had no plans while in Texas other than to be together and not do much of anything, at least until later in the week.
Overall, the trip was GREAT! Everyone had a good time, no conflicts that happen just because they do when family is together, just good ‘ole times just hanging out. Movie nights, the kids playing games, adults sitting around jabbing and jawing.
Just the way I remember it about my childhood. Exactly how I sometimes long for family life to happen. It was awesome.
My head cold seemed to settle into my chest, but then cleared in time for me to feel somewhat normal on Thursday (New Year’s Eve).
We left Saturday morning and arrived home Sunday afternoon, and again, the trip went very well. Well enough that we’re talking about doing it again this Summer for the same purpose.
Anyway, first week home seemed to go OK, but last Saturday evening, during a friend’s wedding reception, I started to take a bit of a health dive. Stomach upset, chills, sweats, lethargy.
Thought I’d sleep it off for Sunday morning, but when the alarm rang, it was still there, only worse. For the first time in a LONG time, I called in sick on a Sunday morning, an especially big bummer for me because it was our final day in the Sanctuary before our big remodel and move out was happening all afternoon. I REALLY wanted to be there for all of that.
I ended up in bed for the whole day, even WITHOUT the NFL playoffs, as some surmised was my motive. ;^)
It’s Tuesday night, and my body seems to not want to decide if we’re going the down route or going the up route. Monday and today were iffy. Sinuses seem to be clear, except at my forehead, and my ears have been popping throughout the day.
My doctor is out of town until Monday, so I am trying everything from prayer (you know it) to various herbal and over the counter remedies coming my way. Appreciate your prayers.
For now, off to bed for some mindless reading and/or TV, and praying for Haiti in the aftermath of their huge earthquake today.
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It’s the end of a long couple of weeks. Jonathan’s birthday on December 14th ended a big weekend for us.
As well as Jonathan’s birthday on that Sunday, that Saturday night we did our Annual Church Staff & Council Christmas Gathering. I try to make it a very nice surprise of an event, and this year did not disappoint.
An almost three hour drive to Riley’s Farm in Oak Glen in driving rain for a Christmas In The Colonies was a big hit. The rain, not so much. But the dinner was fabulous and the fellowship with an amazing group of leaders was phenomenal.
The weekend was quickly followed with an anticipated decision-making process on our church building project. After a number of years processing concepts with the city, we finally received our building permit in November. The bidding process began immediately, and December 15 was the deadline for contractors to have their bids in.
The morning of the 15th sadly began with the unanticipated news of the death of Colleen’s last surviving grandmother, Grandma Marge Henderson. Her death added to the list of things happening that week that couldn’t really be unplugged without significant disruption to lots of other “dominoes”.
The process of deciding upon a contractor was difficult and longer than I expected, but on the morning of Christmas Eve, we finally made our decision. Our contractor will be a company called Focus Building Solutions from Santa Clarita. It was a very difficult decision for a lot of reasons, but I really believe Focus will do a fabulous job and am very excited we’ll be working with them. You can check out their website for some of the work they’ve done.
Last weekend, Grandma Marge’s death brought family into town that we didn’t expect but thoroughly enjoyed. Colleen’s brother, Sean, and his family stayed with us, and we shared great family time every evening they were here, including Colleen’s parents and sister and her kids as well.
Now, here I am sitting in a 34′ RV on our way to Texas. We left this morning around 9:30 with my sister, April, her husband, Tom, and her two kids. There are eight of us total, and we’re driving straight through between Tom and I, hoping to arrive at my parents’ place (about 30 miles east of Dallas) around early afternoon tomorrow.
So far, it’s been a good trip. We’re almost 12 hours in and have covered almost 600 miles as of this writing. Total distance is just over 1,500 miles.
We’ll be there until next Saturday, January 2, set to arrive home the evening of Sunday, January 3. Should be a very unique trip!
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It’s been a sometimes exhilirating, sometimes frustrating, always interesting couple of months since I last posted.
Some highlights:
We closed escrow on our home!
One of the best parts? We didn’t even have to move!! After 12 years in the “parsonage” (church-owned home provided as part of a pastor’s compensation package), we were able to strike a deal and buy the house our kids have known throughout their entire academic years. Now, they’ll get to graduate High School living in the same house, which was much different from my life experience. By the time I was 18, I counted about 18 different houses we lived in and four different states!
We took our longest trip yet in the RV!
For Thanksgiving, we traveled to Lincoln, CA, where Colleen’s brother, Sean, his wife, Jenny, and their son, Sean Conor, just moved into a beautiful home they built almost entirely with their own hands on a 40 acre lot. It was a grand time of Colleen’s entire family being together for the holiday. It was our longest trip in the RV, and it was very comfortable in every way. We loved it! This trip was a precursor to our upcoming trip to Texas with my sister, April and her husband, Tom, and kids, Sarah and Evan. All 8 of us will depart on Christmas morning with Tom and I taking turns driving around the clock. Should be great fun! We’ll return January 3.
Jonathan transitioned away from “brick & mortar” public school.
After facing some unique challenges for the first time in school, we took Jonathan out of the traditional setting. He is being home schooled through an online public charter school called California Virtual Academies (CAVA for short). Being the technology lover, we think it will suit him well. He says he just wants to do this for 8th grade and then return to the traditional setting. We’ll see how it goes. So far, he is still trying to catch up, but one of the great things about the program is that it is self-paced. He can move at his speed.
Colleen’s last surviving grandmother passed away this week.
I was raised without the presence of grandparents in my life. Because of a divorce in the family, Colleen had three sets! Her last surviving step-grandmother, Marge Henderson, passed away suddenly yesterday at home in Arizona. I am honored to have been asked to officiate her memorial service, which will be this coming Monday afternoon. It will be an emotional week with Grandma Marge’s service bringing family we didn’t expect into town the week of Christmas. Then, final preparation for Christmas Eve Celebrations at church and the big trip to Texas. It will be the first time my side of the family has been all together in 11 years!
We finally got our building permit for our Breezeway Remodel at the church!!
After more than two years of planning and refining our Breezeway Remodel project at NewHeart, we finally received our permit to build. Matter of fact, as I write at this moment, we are sifting through bids from contractors to hopefully make a decision this Sunday afternoon. January 10 will be our last Sunday in the Sanctuary before construction begins that week. The project is slated to take 6 months.
Can’t think of anything else for now. I’m sure I’m missing something!
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Tags: California Virtual Academy, CAVA
It’s not generally a habit of mine to opine about political things. Don’t get me wrong. I believe Christians should be involved in political issues. And I do get involved in the process. I’m just not one to give a lot of opinion.
Anyway, the other day, I read something I found quite interesting about the choice of President Obama to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. I don’t necessarily agree with all of it, but I just found it interesting food for thought.
A friend then sent me the following, and I felt it brought a whole new perspective to the link I posted above. So, additional food for thought:
Paul, the Pastor’s reasoning would be plausible if we were unable to recount history…
September 2008 – Invitation letters are sent out; The Nobel Committee sends out invitation letters to individuals qualified to nominate.
November 4, 2008 – Mr. Barack Obama elected to the US Presidency.
January 20, 2009 – The Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama was held in Washington, DC.
February 2009 – Deadline for submissions; The Committee bases its assessment on nominations that must be postmarked no later than 1 February each year. Nominations postmarked and received after this date are included in the following year’s discussions.
March 2009 – Short list prepared; The Committee assesses the candidates’ work and prepares a short list.
March through August 2009 – Adviser review; The short list is reviewed by permanent advisers and advisers specially recruited for their knowledge of specific candidates.
July 2009 – The President, while in Moscow, indicates he was ordering a 60-day review of the new missile defense architecture in Europe that “will provide stronger, smarter, swifter defenses of American forces and America’s allies.”
September 17, 2009 – President Obama abandons the plan to build a missile defense system in Europe.
October 2009 – Nobel Laureates chosen; at the beginning of October, the Nobel Committee chooses the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates through a majority vote.
December 2009 – Award ceremony
Based on the Pastor’s thoughts, our President would have reached out to world leaders to convince them of his foreign policy and announced a plan to dismantle the existing missile defense plan AND have the Nobel Committee informed of his decisions and intentions in less than 11 days (January 20, 2009, to January 31, 2009). Possible? Yes. Likely? No.
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You may have already heard. My heart has been so saddened by the news of 10 year old David Sumner, a Simi Valley Viking football player who collapsed at practice on Thursday and died on Friday.
All Viking & Gold Coast Youth Football League games were canceled Saturday as a result and a candlelight vigil was held in his honor at the Apollo High School football field. That’s the Vikings home field. According to the news stations, hundreds came out.
Jonathan was at practice on Thursday night and saw the commotion around David from across the field, along with the rest of his team. We didn’t attend the vigil because we have some friends visiting from out of town.
There is no news currently about how David’s death occurred except that it was a result of bleeding in the brain. According to coaches of the team, there was nothing that occurred at practice that was out of the ordinary, and David collapsed while he was running, not as a result of any kind of direct injury.
You can read about it here or watch a news clip here or here.
Please pray for David’s family, his teammates, his coaches, and the entire league and community. This event will be a challenge to overcome and to process for everyone involved in any way.
A memorial fund has been set up for David’s family in this difficult time. If you would like to contribute, you cand do so with the following information:
Santa Barbara Bank & Trust
Memorial Fund for David Sumner
Account #0102770088
PO Box 1493
Simi Valley, CA 93062
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Tags: David Sumner, Gold Coast Youth Football, Simi Valley football player, Simi Valley Vikings
Man, has it been a long time or what? Over two months since my last post!
I did find that the last half of the sabbatical was much less computer friendly than the first half. Just didn’t have the desire to be around the computer a whole lot. I journaled through the whole sabbatical (which I do on my computer), but there wasn’t much computer activity other than that.
Since I posted last, here are the highlights:
- We spent another week RVing in Buellton at our favorite spot, and it was awesome.
- I played more golf and got better as the sabbatical progressed.
- Golf included one round on the 14th anniversary of my brother’s death, on the golf course next to the cemetery where he’s buried. You can see my memorial shot here.
- Colleen and I enjoyed an incredible week in June Lake. You can see some great pictures here. We’re already planning to take the boys there next Summer.
- We discovered Schat’s Bakery in Bishop, CA. Amazing sheepherder’s bread!
- I’ve been back at the gym regularly and have lost almost 25 pounds. A whole lot more to go, but I’m on my way there!
- Josh is playing football for Simi High as a wide receiver of the freshman team. He’s not starting, but did get to play a few downs in the 3rd game. He plays on Thursday evenings.
- Jonathan is playing center for a Simi Valley Vikings team in the Senior division. He’s enjoying it immensely, and learned a valuable lesson last weekend, having to sit out a game for being suspended from school for a fight. He plays on Saturday evenings.
- Colleen is well into her 3rd semester teaching at Simi Valley Adult School on most Monday nights, Wednesday nights and a number of Saturdays.
- I turned 44 and had a wonderful birthday complete with family, good friends and lots of Black Forest cake!
Life in the Kuzma clan has been very busy between all four of our schedules. Finding time to just BE and not always DO is a challenge, as it is for all families. But we’re taking time where we can and attempting to be more intentional about our time together.
I am starting a news series at church this weekend, based on a popular song, some lessons out of my sabbatical, and some material written by a good friend of mine. The series is called “Live Like You Were Dying”. I think we could all use some more of that type of living to break the cycle of lifelessness and busy-ness, don’t you?
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Tags: sabbatical
Great Saturday! One of the goals of my sabbatical has been to experience, and allow my family to experience, what it’s like to live a somewhat “normal” schedule of life.
A Pastor’s schedule is quite interesting. Many think we only work one day a week (when we’re preaching). But nothing could be further from the truth.
I say that not with just myself in mind, but with all of my comrades and colleagues who are busting their behinds along with their entire congregations (like NewHeart!) to do God’s work and will! The needs are daily, and the mind and heart are always on the task at hand. There is no real “clocking in” or “clocking out”.
I am learning that to sustain life-giving ministry, a Pastor has to learn and discipline themselves to regularly unplug from the constant needs around him or her to recharge. Even then, I am also learning that it is a good thing every few years to allow for the separation from the “normal/abnormal” events and requirements of ministry to allow for a slow recharge to take place in the soul. I can feel it happening.
This morning, after getting up earlier than normal to take my son to a day-long football event he had to attend, I enjoyed the rest of the morning reading the Word, contemplating God and His creation, and allowing my soul to just soak in Him.
After my workout at the gym (I’ve been re-establishing this habit too), I spent a couple hours in the garage, sweating through the sanding and second coat of stain of a chair I’ve been refinishing. This thing is turning into a Summer-long project, but it’s good!
After a late afternoon nap and an evening hanging with my boys and their cousin, it struck me again … we/they are experiencing a normal Saturday, and it’s a good thing. Dad is around without the expectations and requirements that Sunday usually brings. It’s a good thing!
Yesterday, at the memorial service we attended, several folks asked if I was coming back. Oh, I’m coming back alright! Another part of this whole journey has been taming the anxiety (good anxiety, I think) of chomping at the bit to come back.
Now, tonight, I prepare to depart tomorrow with the love of my life for three days for her to unwind as well. Both of her jobs have somewhat continued, and she has had little opportunity to get away and unplug. (We have a gift of a week away in June Lake coming the third week of August, too!)
So, unplug we will! The computer stays home and even the phone disconnects from email once we depart tomorrow. I am really looking forward to it! See you when we get back!
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Tags: contemplation, Pastors, sabbatical, unplugging
Since returning from our camping trip to Buellton, sabbatical has been hopping. Is that an oxymoron? Should sabbaticals be this busy? Apparently, only if you’re at home during them!
The week we returned, Colleen was at one of her two jobs (nursing and teaching) for most of the week. Josh had football practice every day from 3-6 pm, Jonathan participated in a football camp from 9 am – 3 pm. We were much too busy beavers, but the activity has been good for the boys.
Last Saturday, Colleen get a penchant to have some folks over, so scrub away at the house we did all afternoon preparing for friends and neighbors to share an evening of good food, friendship, and our great firepit.
On Sunday morning, we visited Centerpoint Church here in Simi Valley, pastored by none other than my good friend, Steve Pope. We really enjoyed celebrating Jesus with other brothers and sisters in our own city. Later that day, we celebrated a 40th wedding anniversary with some good friends of ours. We unexpectedly ran into some old friends while there. It was a great time!
This week has thankfully been a bit slower is pace for us. However, we also mourned the passing of THREE people connected to the life of our church. None of them direct members, but parents of three of our folks.
Today, we attended the memorial service for Gail Tyson, who is Kelly Montgomery’s mom. It was a very moving time of celebration. Kelly’s son, Tyson (named after his mom’s maiden name as you can tell), shared what his Grandma meant to him. It was so powerful.
In 1997, Tyson went through treatment for a cancer that was connected to his bladder. His Grandma was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just six months ago.
Some of you know Johnny Cox, a good friend of mine, and a Teaching Pastor at our church. Johnny’s dad, Joe, passed away in Texas today. It was expected (also from cancer), but is painful nonetheless. Johnny is headed from Iowa, where he was speaking at camp, to Texas, tomorrow morning.
This Sunday, Colleen and I will leave for a trip to San Luis Obispo (about 3 hours north of us, including a beautiful drive along the coast!), where we’ll enjoy one of our favorite places, The Apple Farm. Got a really good deal on their website for the stay. We’re both looking forward to it, and it will be our first time to get away for just the two of us so far on sabbatical. We’ll come home Wednesday.
By the way, for those connected to me either through my blog, Facebook or Twitter, I’ll be going “off grid” while we’re gone. No email, Facebook, or blogging.
You might catch a tweet or two from Twitter (you can follow me here), but only if it’s for something to die for (in a FUN way!!), and I won’t be actually checking Twitter or conversing by it. Even email access by phone will be shut off. Phone access will be for the kids and family.
I have been planning to go off grid for an extended stint or two since the start of the sabbatical. This will be the first time actually doing it for more than 24 hours. I’m really looking forward to it!
I think that’s it for now. I’m sure there’s something I’ve forgotten to share, but that’s what happens to your mind on sabbatical!!!
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Tags: Apple Farm, Johnny Cox, Over The Top, San Luis Obispo
