Month: March 2020

There has been a great deal of suffering in our world. One of the top concerns right now is the Coronavirus ( Covid-19).  There have been disruptions to families, employment and our normal day to day activities.

It’s been easy to get caught up in all of the fears when it comes to employment, health and other things. There are some things I worry about, but those things are because of people hoarding normal day to day things like toilet paper, water, and other things.

We are in a season of uncertainty. This week alone, I’ve had to get food and household items. Every time I go to the store, I’m only able to get a part of what I need since people are hoarding things.  When I go to Smiths Grocery Store, shelves are empty and people are grabbing food from others in the line.

There are many Bible verses that talk about that God promises us that He is with us and is taking care of us. Philippians 4:6-7 is one of those go-to verses that help me get through a difficult time.

Philippians 4:6-7 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I’ve been reading a number of devotionals and just watching online videos on youtube from other churches. I enjoy listening to the services on youtube since I have a difficult time getting to church because of my health.  These are some channels I watch on Youtube/ Or I stream church on our ROKU device.

• Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene in Tucson, AZ is one of my favorite churches I stream. This is the sermon from Sunday (March 15, 2020). I use to actually go to this church when I was a teenager. This message is about what’s going on in the world and Pastor Craig’s message gives hope and speaks to my heart.
• First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas – This church experienced a great deal of sadness and fear when a gunman came into their church and murdered most of the congregation. My personal views are that God was there for them and offered them peace and hope. The church had on a good Sunday less than 50 people. The entire community wrapped their arms around the church and now the church has hundreds of people now. God was there for them in their darkest times. I really enjoy the sermons.
• South Mountain Community Church (SMCC) which is in St. George, Utah. I enjoy their services and music. My daughter takes her two kids there since our church has no kids. But, I really like this church and you can watch it online.
• Red Mesa Fellowship is a church that’s here locally. I’ve been watching their services for some time. They also have a podcast type of thing mid-week which I really like. Our church is looking for a new pastor and the pastor from this church came to do a sermon. I was pretty happy that he was at church. even though I can’t be around a lot of people because of the immune system. So, I watch this church also on my ROKU streaming device.

• In My Heart There Rings a Melody – Andy Harsant
• Alan Jackson – When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder
• Trust and Obey– I’ve always loved this song.
• Alan Jackson – What A Friend We Have In Jesus

 

Father Brown – This is a show I found by accident. It’s about a catholic priest who seems to always find trouble. It’s funny and very entertaining. It takes place in Ireland I think.

Call The Mid Wives is an awesome series. This is in East London. Such a good series and it’s actually based on true events and there is a book that the series is based on t. The main character Jenny is true.

1. John 14:27 – “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” – John 14:27

I would like to end this blog with a prayer for peace. 

Heavenly Father, I know that you know me and all of us more than we know ourselves. The world is in a season of chaos and worry. Help us all look at the circumstances that we are going through from your perspective. I trust and rely on our strength since I can’t lean on my own. My prayer is that the world will rely on Your strength and peace during this time. I ask you to give me the words and encouragement to be there for others. Give me the strength and courage to offer peace. Please be with all of those who are struggling and worrying about paying their bills staying healthy. My prayer is that panic and fear doesn’t take over. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

Updated 2/19. 20- I was just listening to a message that Peter Frey just posted. I always listen to his podcast. Tonight’s message is important.I was having a conversation with friends about this topic and then I get the notification that he posted this. 

TRUSTING GOD AMIDST UNCERTAINTY | Matthew 6:25-34 | Living with Hope Podcast … Click here to listen to his podcast.

I did this blog post while I was very tired. I want to apologize before you read it since I may be a bit scatterbrained since I’m very tired. 

A friend of mine by the name of Eric Dodge posted this on his Facebook wall. I hope it’s OK with Eric that I posted his staus from his page.

This makes me sad. I’ve shopped with my grandma many times and I know how specific she is on her needs. I will make sure she has what she needs and isn’t running low. If anyone knows anyone in this group that gets in (real) trouble let me know or someone close to them know. Check on your elderly loved ones and make sure they have what they need. Medicines, soaps, food, etc.

All of this stocking up on things that you don’t really need only because they want to gouge people like these brothers in Tennesse who bout something like 18,000 bottles of sanitizer. Now they are being investigated and facing charges. The brothers told The New York Times that he tried to sell some for $70 a bottle. That same article reported Colvin sold 300 bottles at a markup on Amazon before the listings were removed.

I just read that the brothers donated all of the sanitizers. I’m sure they had a ton of pressure to do that.

The Man With 17,700 Bottles of Hand Sanitizer Just Donated Them Read More…

Here’s an article that discusses what the brothers are doing. I also put links that will direct you to websites that are price gauging.

• Hand Sanitizer is normally under $2.00  but these brothers are or were charging $70.00 for 1 bottle.
• Arrowhead Bottled Water- I normally pay $4.99 for a case of this. When it’s on sale, I get these for $3.99 at Smiths. On this website, the price is $59.19 and this is one of the cheaper prices.
• Arrowhead 1 gallon of distilled water for my ASV breathing machine. They’re charging $92.89 for 1 gallon of distilled bottled water. Normally I pay less than $2.00 each.

I was reading about how people are in a state of panic because of the spread of the coronavirus. When I went to Smiths last week, they have signs all over the store that is letting people know that they can’t buy more than 3 items of the household like toilet paper, sanitizers and so on. So many websites are telling people to stock stockpiling toilet paper,  baby wipes and so many other items. A family that I know has 3 kids. Two of the children are school-aged and the youngest is in diapers. The little one is 2 years old. They live in Salt Lake City. area They had only 13 diapers left for their daughter. They went store to store trying to find diapers and wipes. Every store they went to had no diapers and wipes left. They needed toilet paper and they are having to resort to using napkins to wipe with. But, since they can’t find diapers anywhere, they are forced to try to potty change their daughter.

(LA Times Article) “Antiseptic wipes and Clorox disinfecting wipes are flying out of here,” he said. “We can’t keep those in stock.”

All of the people that know me personally know my medical issues. I don’t like getting into my medical history unless it’s where I’m trying to raise awareness for Guillian Barre Syndrome or Myasthenia Gravis. But, I do want to share how the Coronavirus is affecting me personally. I do worry about this virus. The reason why is because of my medical history. Also, I get nervous when I’m around others because of my immune system. A simple cold, flu or whatever could land me in the hospital big time. I can’t take immunizations because of the way they created. My immune system can’t handle it since they use live virus’s in some.

What can you do to protect yourself?

(World Health Organization) Experts agree that for viral infections including the common cold, flu and coronavirus, the most effective way to protect yourself is regular hand-washing with warm water and soap, plus avoiding touching your nose and mouth.

To wash your hands properly, the World Health Organization suggests scrubbing your palms with a large dollop of soap before interlacing and clasping the fingers, then scrubbing around the thumbs and the backs of your hands. The whole process should take 40 to 60 seconds.

Because of everyone stockpiling items like bottled water, toilet paper,  hand sanitizer, it’s causing major issues for those who are older and those who have a compromised immune system aren’t able to get the items because of people buying and stockpiling items that are needed.

• When I was diagnosed with Guillian Barre Syndrome, I was completely paralyzed. I got GBS because of a flu shot. My nerve endings didn’t repair themselves. Most people who get GBS will regain their strength. My lungs and heart have long term effects. A simple cold or the flu will land me in the hospital. My initial diagnosis was GBS, but they later diagnosed me with CIPD. Here’s a video of a young man by the name of Andrew.I don’t have a video of when I was first diagnosed. But this video will give you an idea of the effects of Guillian Barre Syndrome.
•  I have the CIPD variant of Guillian Barre Syndrome. Here’s what CIPD is… Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is a neurological disorder — a condition that targets your body’s nerves.
• A number of years ago, I was also diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis. Myasthenia Gravis is a form of Muscular Dystrophy. Myasthenia Gravis has caused a whole new set of issues like double vision, breathing problems, swallowing problems and so on.
• When I went to my neurologist in Las Vegas about 8 or 9 years ago, they found out when they did an MRI that I have 3 markers for MS. They said something about the white matter is doing something and they have noticed that the nerves in my brain are demyelinating. They prescribed medication that may help me since I have issues with my memory. I have a very hard time remembering current things. They put me on a medication called Aricept. They normally give that medicine for Alzheimer’s.

When I went to my neurologist they told me that it’s common for people who have autoimmune diseases to have more than one. She said it happens because my body is fighting itself. Between all of my Dr’s, they have helped with stabilizing things that are going on with me.

I now have a pacemaker since my heart does weird things. I have malignant hypertension. My blood pressure on a regular basis is around 260/125. My cardiologist said that I need to tell my family that they are doing everything they can do. They told me to tell my family that one day I won’t wake up. Which I did tell them that. One of my Dr’s said that they are waiting for a stroke to happen.

The muscles around my heart and lungs are that my brain tells my lings that it doesn’t need to breathe.  I have central sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea occurs because your brain doesn’t send proper signals to the muscles that control your breathing. This condition is different from obstructive sleep apnea, in which you can’t breathe normally because of upper airway obstruction. Central sleep apnea is less common than obstructive sleep apnea.

I should get to the point of this blog. I have a tendency to mention things over and over again. If I do that or if I ramble through words I’m sorry. Since I have a lot of problems breathing, the shortness of supplies like bottled water and distilled water makes it difficult since I need the water in my ASV machine. It looks and kind of operates like a CPAP machine. If I shouldn’t use tap water in the ASV machine, then I would need distilled water.

One of the symptoms of me having Complex Sleep Apnea is the way I breathe when I go to sleep.  I have what’s called Cheyne-Stokes breathing. https://www.sleep-apnea-guide.com/cheyne-stokes.html

But, because of the way people are buying items like distilled water and other items, it makes it difficult for those who have life-threatening diagnoses or high-risk patients. The hospital pharmacy delivers hand sanitizer thankfully. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have any. I’ve looked on Amazon for things like toilet paper and bottled water. Because of people buying all of these things that people who have an autoimmune disease, it becomes extremely dangerous since those like myself and others who have diseases that are always teetering the fine line of deciding things that are either dangerous/life-threatening or? Common sense has gone out the window and greed has and is becoming the norm.