November 15 – “Toes and Terriers”

My day started early today.  Really early.  About 2:30 AM I woke up in extreme pain.  Throbbing, sharp, aching, all at the same time.  In my big toe.  OK.  Ha, Ha.  But, let me tell you, it hurt.  I couldn't even put my foot under the covers.  And it was cold.  Well, for Galveston it was cold.  High 40's.  I finally got out of bed and tried propping in up on pillows.  Nothing.  I was certain it was related to the bulging disc in my back.  I had visions – no, nightmares - of another surgery.  That bad.  It felt like my toe was going to explode from the inside out.  I even got on line to see if it could be something else.  Well, actually to see if there was "something else" I could do to get back to sleep.  To my surprise, there was one ailment.  The symptoms matched exactly.  So did the bulging disc thing, but at three in the morning I didn't want it to be that one.  It was gout.  My Dad had gout.  I didn't know anything about gout until this morning.  Mayo Clinic website.  Form of arthritis, it seems.  Treatment?  Medically – bloodtest, non-steroidal painkillers.  Practically – wait for five days or so and it will go away on its own.  Folk medicine – ly – drink a lot of water and coffee, eat cherries and red grapes (Really!).  Think I'll stick with the folk medicine.  Way easier than surgery.   Got some more bad news tonight.  While I was sitting on the couch eating cheetos with my toe propped up, Kel called and told me the dogs got out again.  That would be our dogs – Fritz and Heidi – also still refugees in this whole Ike mess.  They're staying with their "cousin" Lucy.  They have escaped from the backyard a few times already.  Heidi was an especially adept escape artist.  Only this time they couldn't find Fritz.  Heidi and Lucy stuck together.  Made their way into a backyard – the wrong one – and couldn't get out.  Not so with Fritz.  He always was a free spirit.   I joined the search.  So did Mom.  She hung out on the porch and called his name.  Stirred up some howls and barks, but none had that distinctive Fritz high-pitched yelp.  Christina and the boys drove around with Jachin and Micah calling out for him, "Fritz, where are you?" (Jachin).  "Fritz, are you in the mud?" (Micah).  Kel walked the streets until I got there.  Then he joined me in the car.    We thought we had him once.  A black, terrier-sized dog stood on the side of the street.  I slammed on the brakes and we jumped out, calling his name.  But it wasn't Fritz after all.  We continued up and down streets and alleys. Didn't know there were this many alleys left in Galveston.  Though Clara Barton had them all changed to half streets or something.  But none of them held a little black dog.  One last trip around Ball High and Galveston College proved fruitless, so we went back to Kel's.  He told me he was not about to call his Mom about this.  That meant I got to.  She cried.  Our only option was to wait until morning.  I got instructions to go by the vet in the morning.  Maybe someone will find him and call the number on his tags.  Maybe someone will find him and take care of him.  He is in early heartworm positive, so he needs medication.  In fact, it's due tomorrow.  Maybe he'll find his own way back home.  Maybe.  Optimism is a way of life that I'm committed to, like it or not.  Everything will be all right in the end.  If it's not all right, it's not the end.   In Revelation 22:12, 13, 17, Jesus says, "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End … The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life."   Father, thank you for being the Big God over the little things.  Like toes and terriers.  Amen.