Updated Sept. 14: The Hardest Health Decision Of My Life -- Jesus I Trust In You

For at least 16 years I have had to deal with a dreadfully, painful disease called endometriosis. Over the span of those sixteen years I have had six surgeries, tried a therapy called Depo Lupron, and within the past couple of months I have as a last resort tried something that I haven't taken since before I got married - I tried birth control pills.  I started to experience pain again in March and it has continued to escalate over time.  Now it is utterly excruciating. This was so disheartening for me especially since my last surgery that I had to remove my endometriosis was in October of 2011. It hasn't even been a year since my last surgery. I couldn't believe that the endo had returned so quickly.

One huge thing is that my husband and I have no children.  But the problem is there aren't many options left for me. I could either go to a pain management specialist be put on pain meds permanently, risk possibly getting addicted to pain killers or have a hysterectomy.  To be honest since 2008 I have had so many health problems related to endometriosis I kinda feel like I've been on borrowed time as far as my fertility is concerned.  So I have decided to go ahead with a hysterectomy. It the only real procedure that will take care of my endo pain. Yes, it hurts me so bad because we don't have any children.  But I am trusting in God a lot on this one.  I believe God is calling us to adopt a wee little one. Now I just pray that God helps us to better our financial situation so we are able to give a little one a loving home. I'll just ask for prayers for both myself and my husband, but especially my husband because he is having a real tough time with this, especially the fact that we won't be able to have biological children.  But for some reason (maybe its because I've grown in my faith?) I know that God has a plan for me, Kevin and us as a couple. I say, Jesus I trust in you.  As hard as it is right now I know that I am called to trust in our Lord's will for me.  I need this surgery to relieve my pain so I trust in His will. God Bless.









Updated September 14:  Because of a scheduling snafoo my surgery date has been moved from the Sept. 10 to the 24.

Catholic VP Versus Catholic VP

This article is from Bill Donohue of the Catholic League :

In many respects, the Catholic community today is divided into pro-life and social justice camps. That is unfortunate, and while this division can be overstated, it remains true that most Catholic activists sit in either one camp or the other; cross-over Catholics are a rare breed.

Paul Ryan represents the pro-life wing, and Joe Biden represents the social justice wing. Indeed, both exemplify the differences, and not just on the issue of abortion. For example, Ryan’s idea of freedom of choice commits him to supporting school vouchers; Biden’s notion of choice commits him to abortion rights. Ryan is opposed to reinventing the institution of marriage; Biden wants to expand marriage to include two people of the same sex.

The Catholic Church opposes abortion and gay marriage. On both of these issues, Biden disagrees with the Church. Biden’s defenders, e.g., Catholics who identify with social justice concerns, argue that Ryan’s budgetary prescriptions make him the dissident Catholic; his ideas are said to hurt the poor. This assumes, however, that there is a clear Catholic teaching on what constitutes the bestmeans to conquer poverty. There isn’t. For instance, fidelity to the Church’s preferential option for the poor can be realized by making a serious case to raise taxes, or to lower them. In effect, both Biden and Ryan can plausibly maintain that he is a champion of the poor. But only one, Ryan, can be identified as the champion of the unborn.

Not all policy issues are equal. Abortion is regarded by the Catholic Church as “intrinsically evil.” Moreover, the bishops’ conference has explicitly endorsed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. This puts Biden at a decisive disadvantage in making the case that he better represents Catholic teachings.

I am really looking forward to seeing the VP debate in October.