Nov. 20, 2019

     It is rainy and cold and I have to fight off the temptation to jump on the bed and just lie there. I don’t know what happened to my energy. On Monday our computer, IT guru came

And successfully got my computer talking to my printer (I hope that the stay on good terms now…for a while there they weren’t talking to each other). That was a satisfying moment

Because I have some work to do that involves the printer.

I finally wrote down the alternative name for Valium. It is Diazepam. Just check it out on Google and you will see why I am not interested in meeting her/him again.

Yesterday I popped in to see our travel agent, Rajes. We have become good friends over the years. From there I went to the paulines, a catholic bookstore, and picked up a couple

Of catholic calendars, one for Mike Pillay at church and one for me. I was heading for my physiotherapy session but was way too early, so I popped in at Nazareth House to visit

My friend, Fr. Chris Lockyer, an OMI (Oblate of Mary immaculate) who is suffering from Parkison’s disease and looks permanentllly at his toes. So sad.

    From there I went to the physiotherapist who walked me through a new range of exercise, es. No use going to her regularly because with the spasms there isn’t much she can do.

Then I went to visit a couple whom I have known since we buried their waterhead baby way back in the 60’s. They came to visit me while I was down and out and confessed that

They didn’t think I was ever going to get out of that bed and told others the same. That shocked me. I didn’t realize that people thought I was going to die (I guess that it was the same at

Savannah Park with the hugs…they really didn’t expect to see this walking corpse. Ha. No wonder. But I must say that I never felt like dying. I just wanted to recover and have a drug free

Life.

Today, I did almost nothing. I saw the mechanic yesterday and he put on a new cam belt today. That is the belt that kind of keeps the valves doing there thing in the right order. If that

Breaks, you are in big trouble. It should be changed like every 100,000 kms. At the least. We were up to 165,000 already and were pushing our luck. But the bill threw me. R1566.00

I thought something like R500 or 600. Wow. We will have to talk about that. Otherwise all seems to be slowly but surely improving. I walk around the room without the crutch and

Try to walk up straight. Christmas is coming soon and I haven’t done a thing to prepare for it. We shall see.

    I asked my provincial if the province could pay for the retreat I would like to make between Christmas and New years. He asked me to check how much that would be and he

Would put it before the committee. I phoned the retreat house and they said it would be R1640.00 (usually it is R420 a day). We will see what he says. An ordinary person can

Hardly afford that. Maybe I will have to just give up the idea, as do many others because it Is just out of my financial bracket.

Life goes on.  Stay well, you all. Open your hearts for the coming of Christ, bringing inner peace to a very un-peaceful world.

    I am reminded of the story of the grandmother who was with her 6 yr. old grandson in the mall when he turned to her and said. ’Grandma, there Is the line for Santa Claus,

 But where is the line for Jesus? Hmmm. 

Nov. 17, 2019

Last Saturday, Nov. 9, I went to the Paulines (Catholic bookstore) and got a diary for 2020, which is fast approaching. We have had lots of rain this whole past week, kind of on and off, but

Also quite heavy at times, so that there were floods in some places and lots of damage to houses. Here, around Mariannhhill and Durban, there are only hills and more hills.

Bad for rain. On Tuesday last week, Nov. 12, I took the dreaded step and went to the Traffic Dept. to renew my driver’s licence. I was prepared for a looooong queue, but as soon as

I arrived, a lady from the staff said, Woza Mkhulu, Come on over here old grandpa (skipping the queue) ue sat me down in a very short queue (only 4 people, older like me). So we went

Flying through the process, but I now have a renewed licence that is good for another 5 yrs. . Bishop Lobinger (92 yrs. Old) drove me

There and picked me up. The whole thing took only an hour.

    I decided to make an appointment with the surgeon to see is he was satisfied with what is happening to my left leg, and if I should be doing something else or, maybe,

    I had finally gotten rid of all drugs and was now drug free and felt better for it, but now the surgeon, Dr. Naidoo, gave me a script for a muscle relaxant and pain controller,

Just when I thought I was finished with drugs. Hmmmm..

     I think the idea is that somehow this medicine ( the name is spanmend) will help to lessen or eliminate the s-pasms. We whall see.. I will give it a try for a week and if I don’t see

Anything of the sort, I will stop. 

   I felt better these day  and had more energy and . The desire to move, not just sit around. I went for Mass today at Savannah Park and was practically hugged to death

We were happy to see each other after a break of more than a month. They had been a reports that I was really sick and couldn’t even get out of bed, so it was like

A resurrection before Christmas. I will try to see the physiotherapist this week to make a plan as to how to get the left leg even with the right.                                                                                                                                                                                

So that;s it for now. I feel much better, and will try to be faithful to my exercixe schedlule so that, hopefully, I will be able to walk norrmally again. (Maybe that is wishful thinking). I was shuffling with the 4 legged walker, but now have been using the elbow crutch except when I am in my room when I just hobble around without the use of the crutch.

Chtistmas is just around the corner and I don’t think I will be doing much gift giving this year as I don.t think I have the energy to go through the running around.

Hey, I am going to leave it here for now. I have \been getting to bed earlier and slowly adapting to a 7 hr. or 8 hr, sleep as opposed to the 6 hrs. I used to be satisfied with .

Good night.

Nov. 8, 2019

     Ha, I was thinking that as you get older, the topics of conversation change and in such a way that you could never have imagined that you would be talking about your latest hysterectomy, or prostate op, or BM, of the knee job. But here we are.

    Well I was having my own problems with constipation which comes with the ageing process (not enough exercise any more, meds that encourage it, slowing down or stopping peristaltic movement, etc. Well last night, I eventually went to my records of past colonoscopies and checked how to get ready. I noticed that there were 3 sachets, eadh having its own atomic bomb. I only used two , one at 2pm and one at 5pm. And I am a new man. I will share more when I have more time later on.

November 1,2019

     Yesterday, I drove the car for the first time in q month. i went to the hospital for some xrays.  I got there at 8:30 am and was f inally finished at 1pm. Crowds of people and long queues.

 But the xrays showed that all was OK.

    i have pretty much gotten rid of most “medicines”. I have cut the half in half and have finished more that a week of that and will start a bit every other day for this week and then say

that;s it.

   My sense of balance seems to be coming back too and my appetite is much better but I am down to 150 kg (I think that that I a bit less than 70 pounds, I lost a lot after the spinal op.

I tried using the crutch for a bit today but I think I will wait a bit yet. I wand to feel more sure and confident.

    I have to get my driver’s licence renewed this or next week. Ha, I wonder when I hobble up there if they will think it I a joke that I want to renew my driver’s licence. Ai hope not.

I want ti thank you all for the support of your thoughts and prayers. It is too slow for me but it is coming. Take care. Soon Christmas. Wow, so fast. Lots and lot of love to you all.

Fr. Cas