Pat’s Blog

I received this in an email…

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn’t do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker’s family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker’s transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker’s Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ‘I know why.’

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me… I’d never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, ‘People are born so that they can learn how to live a good Life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?’ The Six-year-old continued, ‘Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.’

Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.  Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you’re not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!

We hear so much garbage about our Senators and Congressmen. I thought I would pass on a True Story about one of our Senators, who seems to always put his country before himself.

I really don’t want to be political, here. As I find stories of kindness about the other candidates, I will post them, as well. I am NOT going to STOP from posting wonderful stories, just because one happens to be a candidate for President.

I hope your heart is touched as much as Claudia’s and mine.

McCain’s Sons

Talk about putting your most valuable where your mouth is! Can either of the other presidential candidates truthfully come close to this? … Just a question for each of us to seek an answer, and not a statement.

You see… character is what’s shown when the public is not looking. There were no cameras or press invited to what you are about to read about, and the story comes from one person in New Hampshire.

One evening last July, Senator John McCain of Arizona arrived at the New Hampshire home of Erin Flanagan for sandwiches, chocolate-chip cookies and a heartfelt talk about Iraq. They had met at a presidential debate, when she asked the candidates what they would do to bring home American soldiers—soldiers like her brother, who had been killed in action a few months earlier.

Mr. McCain did not bring cameras or press. Instead, he brought his youngest son, James McCain, 19, then a private first class in the Marine Corps about to leave for Iraq. Father and son sat down to hear more about Ms. Flanagan’s brother Michael Cleary, a 24-year-old Army First Lieutenant killed by an ambush… a roadside bomb.

No one mentioned the obvious: In just days, Jimmy McCain could face similar perils. “I can’t imagine what it must have been like for them as they were coming to meet with a family that ……” Ms. Flanagan recalled, choking up. “We lost a dear one,” she finished.

Mr. McCain, now the presumptive Republican nominee, has staked his candidacy on the promise that American troops can bring stability to Iraq. What he almost never says is that one of them is his own son, who spent seven months patrolling Anbar Province and learned of his father’s New Hampshire victory in January while he was digging a stuck military vehicle out of the mud.

Two of Jimmy’s three older brothers went into the military. Doug McCain, 48, was a Navy pilot. Jack McCain, 21, is to graduate from the Naval Academy next year, raising the chances that his father, if elected, could become the first president since Dwight D. Eisenhower with a son at war.

We hear so much inflated trash out there. How about a simple act of kindness… and dedication to others placed above oneself?

Most of us already know about Barack Obama’s background and his church affiliation with Reverend Wright. There is no need to rehash something that is already well known.

What is NOT real well know is Sarah Palin’s church affiliation. Is she a Christian? What does she believe? What is the foundation for her family? How committed is she?

I think the following little 14 minute video will be good information for you.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

Sarah attended this church, the Wasilla Assembly of God Pentecostal Church, for 25 years—from when she was 12 until 2002.  The Palin family now attends the Wasilla Bible Church.

Claudia and I LOVE hearing the old hymns, sung as we remember them. No one can touch our hearts singing the old hymns like Cynthia Clawson.

Some of you have noticed Claudia and I haven’t been On The Air for the last couple weeks. Some have not seen us on the webcam when we should be there LIVE On The Air. Some have noticed we have been playing previous Praise Until Dawn programs. I purposely have not written anything as to why we haven’t been there, as Claudia did not want to draw unnecessary attention to herself. Only today has she given me the “ok” to write something. She really was concerned that there are some Christians who just wouldn’t understand what she is going through, and they would be critical, or would stop listening because of it.

Claudia with our son, Patrick, and our grandson, Kaleb

Many of you know that for over 10 years Claudia has been suffering with Chronic Pain in her back and hip. We have been to many doctors, and none can come to any conclusions as to what is actually causing all the pain. Over the past several years, the pain has been increasing even though she has a Stem Unit embedded in her back running up on each side of her spine (I call her my Bionic Babe), and even as the meds have increased in dosage and types. She has done many things to try and alleviate the pain: natural remedies, physical therapy, drug therapy, surgery, and more. And, of course, we have had many, many, many people around the world, praying for her.

A couple years before we moved to Asheboro from Dallas, we found a wonderful doctor in Dallas. For the first time he offered some hope and some answers. I remember the first time we met him, he walked in the room, took a look at what Claudia was doing (she had her right ankle on top of her left leg, pushing down on her right leg, trying to get some relief from the pain.). It took him 2 minutes of watching, then he said, “You have problems with your piriformis muscle.”

Claudia with our oldest daughter, Amanda

We had never heard of that, but as he described what it was, and the symptoms that would go along with such a problem with that muscle, we knew he had hit the nail on the head. Not knowing how severe the problem was, he started at the beginning, prescribing physical therapy. Claudia’s previous doctors already had her on Neurontin (for muscle spasms) and Vicoden (for the pain). Knowing the physical therapy was likely to increase the pain in the beginning before giving relief, Dr. Konen kept her on the meds. Actually, the Vicoden did little to nothing to alleviate the pain, but seemed better than nothing. Claudia would writhe on the floor at home, trying to find a position to get away from the pain.

The physical therapy did very little to relieve the pain. The problem was beyond trying to stretch out the piriformis muscle.

Dr. Konen wanted to do some diagnostic procedures… injections of steroid into Claudia’s piriformis muscle. If there was relief, the diagnosis was correct. If there was no relief, we would know more had to be done to find from where Claudia’s pain was coming.

With great anticipation I remember arriving at the hospital at 5:45am. Claudia was in extreme pain as she walked through the door and began her surgical prep. Dr. Konen and the nurses were extremely kind, as they took great care of Claudia. After all the prep and IVs were inserted, she was taken back to the surgical room where the fluoroscope was, that would help the doctor guide the needle four muscles down in the buttock/hip area where the piriformis lays.

An hour later she was wheeled out of post op, groggy… but very happy. She felt NO pain. I asked her again and again. NOPE. NO PAIN. We were thrilled.

The life of the steroid was about three weeks, and at the end of that three weeks, Claudia was in pain once again. Another injection of the steroid was scheduled, and once again, she was pain free for about three weeks.

Dr. Konen talked with us about another procedure which would bring longer relief… injecting botox into the piriformis. That should paralyze the muscle for four to six months. We readily agreed.

It was true. The botox was WONDERFUL, and gave Claudia relief for about three months, and at the end of that time she was scheduled for another injection. But, there were complications after the second injection. After about a week, she became extremely ill, and had to be taken to the emergency room. She had a horrible allergic reaction to the botox. Her body was rejecting it, and botox was not an option any more.

Our grandson Kaleb, Pat and Claudia

The pain became more and more intense as the weeks went by. I couldn’t stand to see Claudia in this amount of pain, and we went back to the doctor, asking if there was ANYTHING stronger that he could give Claudia to relieve the pain. He cautiously advised us of a couple narcotics which could provide some relief: percocet and methadone. We had heard horror stories about these drugs, but the pain was so intense, we agreed to try them, anything to give Claudia some relief.

After a few months, the doctor advised us of some new device that had been developed: a stem unit that could be implanted beneath the skin in the hip, with two titanium leads that would be threaded up along each side of the spine. An external wireless unit would communicate with the implanted stem unit where Claudia could program it to communicate with the spine and electrically block some of the nerves which carried the pain signals to the brain. We were very excited about this procedure. Dr. Konen was careful to tell us that if the unit gave 50% reduction in the level of pain, they would consider it a success.

December 2004, Claudia had the unit surgically implanted. After the surgery a representative from Boston Scientific Labs came into the room with a laptop and programmed the external and internal units (transmitter and receiver). Claudia immediately felt relief… 50 to 60%.

After giving Claudia time to heal and get used to the bionics, Dr. Konen had planned on tapering Claudia off the narcotics. Yet, before he could do so, we moved to Asheboro, NC. I know, most of you are saying, “Are you CRAZY???” Yet, Claudia and I were assured this was what God wanted. We practiced what we always do… just, saying, “Yes, Lord.” We were given a list of several doctors in the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina who were acquainted with Boston Scientific’s bionic stem unit, and we headed to NC with all Claudia’s medical records in hand.

When we arrived at the new doctor’s office in Winston-Salem, she spent maybe 1 1/2 minutes with us before telling us that she thought if she injected her back at a certain location it would provide the relief we sought. We were surprised that she totally ignored the piriformis muscle diagnosis (we had previously sent her all Claudia’s medical information and records), but knowing she had probably reviewed all her medical information, we trusted what she had to say. She also left Claudia on her medication.

The injection did nothing to alleviate the pain down Claudia’s leg. When we went back to her a month later and reported the lack of success, the doctor suggested another injection in another area, saying this was really all she could do for her at this time. The new injection in the spinal cavity brought no more relief than the previous one. Claudia was devastated, as the steroid injections did nothing but add 40 pounds to her tiny frame. I tried to tell her it did not matter to me, but it was a HUGE deal to a woman.

For the next 2 1/2 years we did not go back to the doctor, because she had said there was really nothing more that could be done. Claudia’s condition continued to deteriorate. The pain progressed from bad to worse. In spite of being on large doses of Percocet and Methadone, the drugs did nothing but barely dull the pain for a bit, making “life” tolerable. She had to quit any work she was doing, as she just couldn’t sit for any length of time, and she couldn’t concentrate enough. The best thing for her was to try and sleep, for when she slept, she could escape the pain for awhile. Even with the bionic stem unit in her back, the pain was intense. The unit was less and less helpful.

This last February we went back to the doctor, hoping there was some breakthrough in therapy for Claudia. The doctor came in the room, stayed for about 45 seconds before saying she thought Claudia needed another injection in her back. This one would be given in the sacral area.

Claudia doing what she likes best, being Grammy

Claudia said this one hurt going in. Not only did it provide NO relief, Claudia said it became like “fire” in her body, and increased the pain. After a few days we called the doctor and told her what took place, and the doctor had her come in for another injection, this time to counteract what the previous injection did. It was at this time, before the doctor left the room that we specifically asked her why she didn’t pursue the Piriformis diagnosis. We asked, “Don’t you accept the diagnosis?” She shook her head NO. She NEVER intended to follow up on what had worked in the past.

I was furious. Claudia and I had to head to California to take care of her mother. While out there I got on the Internet and looked for doctors who specifically treat Piriformis Syndrome, as we HAD to find someone who believed in it.

We believe God led us to Dr. Califf, an Orthopedic Surgeon, and Dr. Naveira, a Pain Management specialist. Immediately they ordered many medical tests to verify where the pain was coming from. One of the first things Dr. Naveira did was to put Claudia on a Drug Holiday, cleaning her system from the prescribed narcotics she had been taking for 5 years.

Sooooo, I have given you the previous history to say, for the past two weeks Claudia has been going through detox… withdrawals from the narcotics. I have been by her side, day and night titrating her meds (reducing them to where no more narcotics were given), holding her, feeding her, giving her back rubs, arm rubs, leg rubs as her skin felt as if it were crawling off her. Headaches, muscle spasms and aches, nausea, delusions, and many more symptoms. I had to be by her side, giving her the much needed love and help she needed.

We are in the last week. Methadone withdrawal can last three weeks, and it is nasty. Thank you for all the love and prayers so many of you have sent her way. Claudia is tough and determined to get through this. She has wanted off the narcotics for years, but the doctor in Winston-Salem kept her on them, not giving any hope of getting off.

We haven’t said anything until now, as Claudia didn’t want you to think any less of her. I assured her that most of you would completely understand none of this was her fault, yet she did not want to cause anyone to stop listening to PBN because they didn’t understand about her prescribed drug use. There she goes… always thinking of others instead of herself.

So, there it is. This is why we haven’t been On the Air. You would be very proud of Claudia. She hasn’t flinched in her determination to get this behind her. All the while in detox, we have been back to Dr. Naveira for more tests. This Thursday we go back for a medical procedure which should pinpoint more directly where the pain is coming from… and hopefully lead to its cure once and for all. Please pray for Claudia, as her pain is being handled by a combination of the bionic stem implant, Tylenol and Doans pills. It is very painful until a cure is found… but, she is glad the narcotic drugs are at an end. One further analgesic we have had for her, is the music of PBN washing over her. We believe in the healing power of the Intimate Worship.

We send our love to each one of you. Hopefully, she will be back On The Air with me on Tuesday.

Lenny LeBlanc wrote me yesterday, saying he was sending 2 of his newest CDs for our review for airplay. One of the songs contained on the CDs is the one below. This is EXACTLY what I want On the Air on PBN. I DARE YOU to try and not be weeping by the end

I often have problems expressing the extent of my love for Claudia. When I heard this, I played it for her, telling her it was my song for her!!!

Back in the early 1980s I had my Master’s Degree, and had gone back to college to study for medicine. One of my favorite classes was Histology, a study of the tissues of the human body. There was a lot of microscope work in our labs. I was amazed as I gazed at the microscopic world, as if I were in a space ship in orbit around a planet, watching the perfect symmetry of the world below me. There is another world under the microscope, with organisms that live and move with purpose.

When the following was sent to me, it touched me deeply, reminding me that in Yeshua we live and move and have our being.

This was sent to me by Jan Bowman. I thought it was soooo perfect, I had to include it here. I hope you will get as much a blessing out of the Predictions, as I have.

No matter who wins the election, the following predictions will still be true.

PREDICTIONS FOR 2009

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.

2. Prayer will still work.

3. The Holy Spirit will still move.

4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.

5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.

6. There will still be singing of praise to God.

7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.

8. There will still be room at the Cross.

9. Jesus will still love you.

10. Jesus will still save the lost.

ISN’T IT GREAT KNOWING WHO IS STILL IN CONTROL?

Working Replica of Noah’s Ark Opens In SCHAGEN, Netherlands

The massive central door in the side of Noah’s Ark was thrown open Saturday for the first crowd of curious Pilgrims and townsfolk to behold the wonder

Of course, it’s only a replica of the biblical Ark, built by Dutch

Creationist Johan Huibers as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible

The ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That’s two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house.

Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras,bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold.

A contractor by trade, Huibers built the ark of cedar and pine — Biblical Scholars debate exactly what the wood used by Noah would have been.

Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and with occasional help from his son Roy. Construction began in May 2005.

On the uncovered top deck — not quite ready in time for the opening — will come a petting zoo, with baby lambs and chickens, and goats, and one camel.

Visitors on the first day were stunned.

“It’s past comprehension,” said Mary Louise Starosciak, who happened to be bicycling by with her husband while on vacation when they saw The ark looming over the local landscape

“I knew the story of Noah, but I had no idea the boat would have been so big.”

There is enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater where kids can watch a video that tells the story of Noah and his ark.

Huibers said he hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands, where church going has fallen dramatically in the past 50 years.

Click here to see pictures of the inside…

http://www.pbase.com/paulthedane/noahs_ark

After you get the home page, in the right hand corner click on slideshow and you will see the inside on a full screen.