TODAY OCTOBER 8, I
celebrate 26 years since my lung cancer surgery!
In fulfillment of my
“Thank Offering to God,” I have already dropped in the mail a stack of signed FREE
copies of my book HOSPITAL GOWNS DON'T HAVE POCKETS! as
soon as your e-mail orders came to my inbox. You have a few more days to send me
your order.
I have tried to lighten up
serious subjects with a bit of humor and the antics of the little
original characters, GG the bunny and
Miss Meow, the nurse, which I created with my artist friend.
The book has proven to be meaningful and user-friendly to many.
This occasion has given me
the window of opportunity to pray for you and/or for the person to
whom you intend to give the book. If you are giving the book away, I
hope you will read it first. I would like to have had my own book to
read to prepare me before
I had my surgery, but of course I wrote it after recovery. We all
need someone who understands and has gone through an illness/surgery
to walk close to us in their bedroom slippers too. I want to be that
person for you through my book.
I asked some questions on
the cover of my book: “Why me? What now? Discovering meaning in
physical distress.” Because we are all still learning, we
discover more answers as life unfolds. I include an addendum with the
book about some things I have been learning since my surgical
adventure to offer you some options.
Even after this special
offer is over on October 14th, the books are still available at my
discounted price. We continually have folks around us becoming ill,
having an accident, or going through tests or a surgery. You might
like to have some of these books on hand as gifts rather than sending
flowers that wilt.
An excerpt from my book
follows from Chapter One:
“Are you curious about
the title of this book? When we enter the hospital and shed our
street clothes, we discover that most of the gowns don't have
pockets. Apparently we don't need any.
A sheet of instructions
given before admission spells out: “Leave your valuables at home.”
When I slip into my without-pockets hospital gown, it's obvious that
I can't bring my personal, educational, or professional reputation
with me. No one cares about my accomplishments and expertise. I'm
literally stripped to bare essentials. My “designer gown” is the
ultimate leveler of humanity!
"When I lie on the
operating table, I'm an “equal opportunity” patient. What the
surgical team does for me and to me doesn't depend on who I am, what
I've done or what I still hope to do. My identity doesn't matter to
them beyond checking, I hope, my plastic I.D. bracelet to see if I'm
the right body to receive the scheduled surgery.
"Why is this piece of
cloth called a “gown?” I usually think of gowns as fashionable
attire for formal occasions. Surgery is about as informal as you can
get.
"Gowns in doctors' exam
rooms are often made of paper and disposable. They remind me that all
things in life are temporary. My physical problem one way or another
will pass too. Some gowns are like large vests with no sleeves.
Sometimes the nurse tells me to put the unmanageable thing on with
the opening at the back, sometimes at the front, depending on what
the doctor wants to peer at or poke. Some are street length paper
gowns without fasteners. Never with pockets.
"Gowns issued to us in the
hospital are hardly more fashionable than exam room gowns, although
made of cloth and more durable. Sometimes they are white, drab green
or blue. Some have a tiny logo of the admitting hospital in an over
all design. Hospital gowns apparently start out with strings to tie,
but more often than not, at least one string is missing. (Are they
treating patients so roughly?) In the shorty gowns I'm exposed and
drafty on my backside.
"I confess that during my
periodic x-rays as on outpatient during recovery years, I wore a gown
or two that did have pockets. Never mind, they weren't hospital
gowns. Sometimes there are special issue gowns with a pocket right in
front center for carrying a heart monitor. I'll concede that
exception, but I won't change my book title!
"The nurse instructed me
to stuff my street clothes and shoes into what looked like a white
garbage bag. I wondered, Will I ever wear my clothes again?
“Ready?” she asked
cheerfully from outside the curtain.
I took a deep breath,
pulled aside the curtain and emerged from my preparatory cubicle for
better or for worse. I stood unsteadily in my terry cloth slippers
with rubber soles. No way am I ready for what is coming!
"Likewise, I will stand
before God, my Creator and Judge when I arrive in His presence on
that Final Reckoning Day. I blink. What if it is today? For
that event I must be ready.
"My gown on That Day will
also be provided. That garment won't have pockets either. No place
for valuables, credentials, bank books, business cards or property
deeds. No place for a credit report or references documenting my
character, accomplishments or proficiency. I'll leave everything
behind. “Just as I am without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed
for me. O Lamb of God, I come, I come.”
"I'll either be clothed in
the righteousness of Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, or I'll be
spiritually naked without covering. My garment won't be earned or
deserved, and I can't buy it at the door. It is made of clean, white
linen, and I have to reserve it in advance.
The garment, the gown
that God gives to those who belong to Him has a “whosoever”
designer label and one size fits all.”
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