Dear Friends

My apologies for writing another letter so soon after the last one, but 6 weeks into the year, I’m praying that it’s going to be an amazing one, as it’s started so unbelievably awfully!!

What with my daughter giving birth just before Christmas with (to me) some unknown man I’ve heard isn’t the nicest character has hit me harder & harder as the days go by: I had the delightful Australian flu for 4 weeks and felt terrible: a ‘hospital’ initiated check up with a consultant about my knees: and then, on Tuesday, had my wallet stolen (2 debit, 2 credit cards, and cash) – 5 working days from tomorrow (at least) to get the cards replaced, and not a bean in my pocket!! Fortunately I do have some food in the fridge and freezer, and I could do with losing a kilo or ten anyway!

What I’d really ask for prayer for is what the Orthopaedic Consultant did to my knees…. ☹ – it wasn’t the usual Consultant, he was away. It was a hospital-instigated ‘check-up’ appointment. After masses of x-rays (which hurt a great deal because of the position you have to put your legs and keep them there), telling me he’d seen people with one knee as bad as mine, but never two! – he took hold of the sole of my right foot (which seemed irrelevant if I’m honest!) in his right hand, and put his left hand on the outside of my right knee…then pulled my foot towards him and twisted it, and pushed my knee away from him, bending the knee in the direction it was never designed to go. I have to confess that I ‘yelped’ – tried not to scream! – and suggested I would scream if he did it to the other leg and might find my fist in his face….

For the next 3 days, I couldn’t walk at all. I’ve no idea how I drove home! That was 6 weeks ago, and I really still can’t walk. I’m wondering if I should report him to the local Health Trust, and sue him….. the damage he’s done to my right knee beggars belief!

What with the assault on money again, you can see it’s been a very happy new year (not!!). Please, would you pray – more for my knees right now than anything else, especially the right one? I know God’s helping me through the pain of the family situation, the flu has gone – though even now, it’s left me drained and very weak – I can survive without money, but I can’t go up and down my stairs other than early morning and at night (and my loo is upstairs!). I’m starting to look for somewhere else to live as my stairs are dire even for fit people. I tripped on brick steps at the end of September and smashed my shins and knees – seems on my shins (which don’t seem to heal) that it might be cellulitis, which can turn to sepsis (Sepsis is the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to infection that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death – though I’m not in faith for that!!). I’m putting steroid cream on them twice every day!

Bless you and thank you, and pray that the enemy regrets messing up my new year hopes and dreams sooner rather than later!

With love and thanks,

Paul