Forgive my boldness in posting this, but I thought it easier to have the conversation once, accurately, than to have it over and over again.
Pastors in the Moravian Church live a public life. Most of the time at least some of you know what I am doing, and when you don’t, you have the right to know. Indeed, most of the time, I feel that I owe the boards and the congregation an account of how I spend my time.
So what have I been up to this last week or so? Where was I last Sunday, and where have I been all week, and why didn’t I preach today? I have obviously not been there when several of you needed pastoral attention. Well, it went like this.
Last weekend Elayne and I journeyed to Chattanooga, Tennessee where I presided over the wedding of my goddaughter. It was a blessed time, albeit a brief one. The trip started on Friday c. 5:00 a.m. and ended Sunday c. 10:00 p.m. We flew out and back. We were rested. Elayne went back to work on Monday, but it was my normal day off, and I stayed close to home. During the course of the day I realized I had a pretty severe stomach issue. As the day progressed, my conditions worsened, my fever climbed and I knew I need a doctor, but unwisely delayed going until Elayne came home from school.
After arriving at home, Elayne took me straight to see my primary care physician. I managed to fall out on the floor of his waiting room before he could see me. That got lots of attention, and merited a call to 911. Paramedics (Who are always among my heroes!) took me to the emergency room at Forsyth where I was treated for dehydration and thoroughly checked out.
They said I was in great shape—except for the stomach issue, and the dehydration. They put me on a strict diet with lots and lots of liquids. On Tuesday morning my primary care physician called to tell me that my episode was not trivial. He said that acute dehydration resulted in the collapse of all the cells in the body, and that those cells needed to be built back up. He said that I needed to follow a strict diet, and to rest the remainder of the week. He advised that I not preach on Sunday, but could almost certainly return to a reasonable schedule by the first of the week.
He was right about needing a little time to recover. Until Thursday, I was pretty useless, especially given the severity of the stomach issue. Mostly I slept. However, by Friday, I was feeling lots better and tried to work a little at my desk at home (see the next post). On Friday evening I kept an appointment with friends, and on Saturday, I attended the Chicken Pie Supper.
I have every hope of being full speed by the first of the week, or a little beyond.
Thanks for your expressions of concern. A special thanks to David and John for handling a double load in my absence. God bless you all of you richly for your kindnesses! Oh, though I have carefully refrained from ever playing doctor, I can say from experience, that if you get one of the stomach bugs floating around it would serve you well to drink lots of water!
Worth Green, Pastor