038 | Transcending Medical Conditions
November 9, 2020
Minute of Transparency: Living With Adults
Today’s Topic: Transcending Medical Conditions
In this episode:
The Human Condition: A Review
We All Have Something...
My Story
Your Story
// 1. THE HUMAN CONDITION: A REVIEW
For those of you who have been around since the beginning, this will be a review.
Because the Human Condition is the reason this podcast was created in the first place.
When you go to the Transcend Human website it is one of the first things you see…
The tagline: "How you can rise above the Human Condition”
In Episode 003 we spent the entire episode unpacking what we mean when we talk about the Human Condition…
Then, at some point we spent 17 episodes walking through Controversy Theory together. And we answered questions like:
Where did we come from?
Why are we here?
And where are we going?
All questions that exist as part of this Human Condition we find ourselves in.
So let’s walk through that one more time just so we’re all on the same page.
Early on we defined the Human Condition as: “The totality of the human experience” as seen in these three areas:
Our Life Journey: From birth to death, including:
Major Milestones: Things like childhood, education, graduations, relationships, marriage, divorce, children, retirement, etc.
Everyday Life Experiences: And everything in-between the milestones. Things as simple as a positive interaction with a stranger, to something as traumatic as being in a car accident, or dealing with the death of a loved one
Our Medical Condition: All of the medical issues we experience during our lifetime. The impact it has on our ability to function, the impact it has on relationships, and ultimately the impact it has our emotional wellbeing
Our Mental Health: The way we think, feel and behave in response to the life experiences we go through, and the medical conditions we face
So the Human Condition is our state of existence. It’s “life” as we know it. When people use the phrase, “It is what it is” they’re referring to the fact that some things happen regardless if you want them to or not. And though we do have some level of control over our response to the human condition, the condition itself is largely made up of the things that happen to us. And these things will either be positive or negative. For example:
Our Life Journey:
Positive: Marriage
Negative: Losing a loved one (parent, child, sibling, co-worker, etc.)
Our Medical Condition:
Positive: Living your whole life without getting a serious disease like cancer, or Alzheimer’s
Negative: Experiencing a major injury at a young age and having to give up the sport you love because of it
Our Mental Health:
Positive: Taught right from wrong at a very young age - very capable of making good decisions
Negative: Falling for the lie that you are overweight and falling into anorexia or bulimia as unhealthy coping mechanisms
So this is the entire explanation of the Human Condition. I wanted to review it because like I said - it is the whole reason Transcend Human exists. If we didn’t each experience the Human Condition in this way, there would be no reason to discuss how to transcend it.
But today we want to focus on just one aspect of the Human Condition - this idea that the Medical Conditions we experience in our lives make up a piece of this Human Condition.
// 2. WE ALL HAVE SOMETHING
When we think about medical problems, we probably think about them in categories - maybe like these:
Congenital & Genetic Disorders:
Things you were born with
The list of things we can be born with is very long - but include things like birth defects, scoliosis, Down syndrome, heart defects, etc.
Simple Medical Conditions:
Things you “catch” along the way:
Like the common cold, the flu, or mono
Things you develop along the way:
Like hypertension, diabetes, joint pain, back pain, asthma, bronchitis, etc.
Many of these can be viewed as “simple" - in that they impact your life - but not severely
More Intrusive Medical Conditions:
The next level includes things in the simple category, but they have reached a level to where they start to impact your life
For example, back pain can be simple in that it might hurt for a day or two then go away
But if it is related to the spine, and degenerative, protruding or ruptured discs - it could become a chronic lower back problem that keeps you from normal activity
Similar to that - heart disease and high cholesterol can be simple - something you monitor with the help of a doctor
But if your cholesterol spikes, and your arteries are close to being blocked, you can be at risk for heart attacks
Life Altering Medical Conditions:
These are medical conditions that impact your life at the highest level
They can be congenital - like being born with a birth defect that means you will never walk
It can be a cancer diagnosis that suggests you have less than a year to live
It can be a severe car accident that results in full paralysis
So the big question is: Do some people get out of this? Do some people go through life completely free from medical problems?
The simple answer is no...
In fact, Transcend Human suggests we all have something. Or we all will have something at some point in our lives.
There is a HUGE spectrum of medical conditions to be sure. Some may only deal with simple medical problems their whole life. While others face the most severe and devastating this world has to offer.
But medical problems are part of the Human Condition. We can’t escape the fact that we live in a tainted world - a world infected with the Sin Virus.
And this virus is no respecter of persons.
In an article by Science Daily, they referenced a research study published in The Lancet in 2015.
It was reporting on health problems seen in 2013
And it explained that over 95% of the world’s population had at least one health problem
And that a third of those had over five ailments occurring simultaneously!
Now before you go and say, “See! Told you so. That means 5% of the world’s population doesn’t deal with medical problems.”
Remember, this was only based on research done in 2013. If a person lived to be 75 years old - we would need to do 74 more research studies - one for each year that person was alive - in order to determine if they truly escaped all medical conditions…
And what do you think the odds of that would be?
Like I said, we all have something…
// 3. MY STORY
So I’m no different than anyone else…
I’ve had medical issues throughout my lifetime:
Some I was probably born with - like pet allergies, and childhood asthma which I eventually grew out of
Some I developed over time - like high cholesterol, and lower back problems
And on the scale from simple to life altering, most have been simple, with one or two reaching the life altering level
I think I mentioned my back problems and cholesterol in Episode 032 called "Transcending Fair." And I mentioned them specifically because they did come out of nowhere. And of course, my immediate reaction was, “Why me? This isn’t fair… I’ve spent my whole life being active, playing sports, eating better than most and still - I get stuck with these two issues?”
I obviously had to deal with that - and come to some level of understanding in order to keep it from eating me up inside.
But these were pretty normal medical issues when you really look at them.
Normal compared to another medical condition I went through…
Now I am going to tell you the story - but I need to warn you - it’s a bit graphic. We’ll call it PG-13.
So if you are one of those squeamish people - just remember, I warned you 🙂
And for those of you who like to say, “TMI Dude! TMI…” You might just want to fast forward 3-5 minutes…
That said, here we go:
So at some point in my childhood we (as a family) realized that something wasn’t right with me
My guess is it was somewhere in elementary school - maybe 3rd, 4th or 5th grade...
I would go to the bathroom and urinate, and when I finished there would typically be a spot or two of blood at the end
Not every time - but fairly consistently
Now for some reason, as a child I didn’t freak out about it
Maybe I just assumed this happened to people once and a while - so I don’t think I even told my parents about it
However, because the blood typically staining my "tighty whities" - my mom eventually saw it doing laundry and did the freaking out for me
From there it was your typical medical process:
Visit to the family doctor
Medication for inflammation
Repeat visits when it didn’t do the trick
Eventually a referral to specialists two hours away
Additional testing
Cystoscopies - now this is fun… This is where they insert a tube with a camera on the end to see if they can determine issues in the urethra and bladder
And when I say “insert” you know what I’m referring to… That’s me keeping it PG-13
But at least they put you under before they go upstream...
So the crazy thing is that this went on and on for most of my life
Every now and then there would be a flare up and I would restart the process - but would never find the real problem
So at some point I just assumed it was something I would have to live with my whole life
It wasn’t painful - just strange
Now another thing that was going on at the time (and I only understand this now - being able to look back on it) is that I remember feeling different when using a public restroom
I remember standing in a bathroom stall and listening to the person next to me unload what sounded like Niagara Falls into their toilet
But when I went - it sounded like a little mountain creek trickling along
Needless to say, this started to mess with me on a psychological level - wondering if it had to do with the size of the organ (Sorry…that may have pushed the PG-13 envelope)
But this is an important piece of the story. Because later in my life I learned why this was happening, and I learned it the hard way...
Fast forward to life as an adult
I was working in a psych hospital as a therapist
And one day I had a lot to do, so I put off going to the bathroom as long as possible
But at some point it was like, “Dude, you better make the time or we’re going to have a problem…"
So I excused myself from the unit I was working on and found a bathroom
I stood there at the urinal and waited, but nothing happened...
Now believe me - my body was telling me it had to go
And you could tell there was enough pressure there to make things happen
But nothing...
And that’s when I started to freak out a bit
I zipped back up, and headed straight for the nurses station
I found the most senior nurse on the floor and even though she was a female asked her if I could chat for a minute
I explained the issue - and she recommended that I head straight to the nearest emergency room
So that’s what I did
At the ER, they were about as confused as me - but obviously had documented procedures for such things
So they immediately agreed that my bladder was full and that something was keeping it from draining
It could be an inflammation, it could be kidney stones, they just didn’t know for sure
But first things first - they employed the Foley catheter
Again, something being forced upstream - something people just shouldn’t have to experience...
But once in place, the catheter allowed the bladder to drain and all was good in my world again
Of course now I had a bag strapped to my leg and another referral to a Urologist...
But this is where the breakthrough happened
After doing a few tests (another of which was probably a Cystoscopy…)
The Urologist explained:
You have a Urethral Stricture
It is scar tissue that surrounds the urethra like a donut
And as it grows - it restricts the flow
So this answered my question as to why I couldn’t achieve Niagara Falls as a teenager...
And why it had completely closed up as an adult
As for the blood - well, early on the scar tissue was smaller and would break apart at times when urinating - thus the drops of blood
I feel like I’m Sherlock Holmes at this point - describing the crime and all the little details leading up to it’s discovery...
But anyway...
For the first time in my life I actually had an answer
The Urologist explained that strictures like this can happen for a variety of reasons, but one stood out - strictures could be caused by trauma to the urethra
And looking back that could have happened quite a few ways: I had been in BMX and skateboarding accidents where this could easily have been the case
So how do we fix it doc?
Well, this is where I wish I could say it was a quick, in and out procedure
But that’s not how it went down...
You see I received this news just prior to getting married, and going on my honeymoon
And doing the necessary procedure would mean me being out of commission for a solid 2-3 weeks
And by out of commission I mean - unable to perform - which is kinda important on your honeymoon...
So the Urologist proposed a different approach
He said, “Why don’t we just make sure the stricture is as open as it can be for now - then we can do the real procedure when you get back."
To which I immediately said, “Yes - that sounds great!"
And this is where our story could easily move into a R rating vs. PG-13:
If I had have known what I was agreeing to - I may have chosen a different option...
In order to expand the stricture, the Urologist had to use a set of tools - or what I’ll just refer to as implements of torture...
These tools were a set of metal rods moving from very small to as big around as a Boba straw
And the procedure went something like this:
Insert small rod first
Then Insert the next size up
Then insert the next size up
Until you reach the largest rod
Then the stricture would be successfully expanded and I would be able to g on my honeymoon
Needless to say, that was a defining moment in my life...
One I’ll never forget
Fast forward to the actual procedure
This was a regular, run of the mill surgery
The Urologist went in and clipped the stricture is it was no longer a donut that could constrict upon itself
A week or two of recovery and it was over
Done
Completely fixed
So why did I just tell you that long, personal and at times hard to hear story?
Because I’m not special. I’m not unique. In fact, there are hundreds of thousands of people out there with stories just like mine - if not more difficult to hear.
Because we all have something…or will have something at some point in our lives.
// 4. YOUR STORY
So what’s your story?
What have you had to deal with your whole life?
What was that thing you started experiencing last year?
What are you struggling with right now?
What was the diagnosis the doctor gave to you last week?
Like we said at the top of the show - our medical condition is part of the bigger Human Condition we all experience.
And the Human Condition is what it is because of the Sin Virus. A virus that Satan introduced to our planet early on - and now impacts the Earth itself, and every living, breathing thing on it.
And that’s really all we need to know about medical problems. They exist because of Sin, and Satan is the reason we have the Sin Virus.
He brought it to our planet, and once he convinced us it was worth trying out - has been using it to his benefit ever since.
You see Satan is in the revenge business. He’s mad that he can’t be God, and receive worship like God. And since he knows he can’t hurt God - the next best thing is to hurt something God loves.
And so he has placed human beings in his crosshairs and wants nothing more than to hurt us, cause chaos for us and eventually destroy us.
And medical conditions are just one of the things he can use to cause us pain - knowing that it will cause God pain.
Now as we finish up - let’s talk about the impact these medical conditions can have on us - and what Satan is hoping to gain from it:
Distraction: For some people - the medical condition they have is a total distraction. They can’t help but focus on the ailment vs. enjoying life and putting time and energy into giving their unique contribution back to the world. This was me with back problems early on. It was just annoying enough to where I chose not to do other things. I focused on the pain and what I wasn’t able to do instead of focusing on the things I could still do
Mood Instability: For some people - the medical condition they have is a constant source of irritation. They are frustrated, angry and want nothing more than to place blame on someone or something for the pain they are in. They can get jealous of others who seem to be living their best life. I felt this on some level as well. Both with my back problems and the high cholesterol. I too easily fell into the trap of anger, and allowed that anger to take me out of the game for a while
Blaming God: Unfortunately, people dealing with severe medical conditions, or diagnoses that are life threatening, often turn their anger on God. They blame Him for not protecting them, or for allowing this bad thing to happen to them. But this is exactly what Satan wants - he is sitting in the shadows laughing out loud - so proud of himself for pulling the strings like a Puppeteer. Getting us to blame the One who loves us and wants nothing but the best for us instead of the true perpetrator - Satan. I hate to admit it - but there were times when I felt this way. I questioned God for my back problems as I laid there on the carpet in my living room unable to find a position that didn’t cause excruciating pain. Luckily this lasted a very short time - and through it I was able to business with God. I came to trust that He wasn’t the one causing my pain. He was actually the one sitting there by my side telling me it would be ok - and that He would be there with me through it all
Checking Out: This is the really sad one. Unfortunately, people who have lost all hope check out for good. Maybe in one of the following ways:
Maybe they give in to their anger to the point where it defines them for the rest of their life
Maybe they finalize their decision that God is to blame and they walk away from Him for good
Maybe they find their own personal medicine to deal with the pain. Drugs, alcohol, anything that can bring a sense of relief and make them feel better
Or maybe it’s checking out literally. Suicide as a final option for dealing with the pain they have endured. This is perhaps the saddest scenario of them all. How many suicides can be traced back to medical problems, or mental health problems where the person lost all hope - and felt like death was their only option. Again, this is exactly what Satan wants to happen. He probably sees this as his finest work - the ability to manipulate a person so intensely that they take their own life
Let’s Land the Plane: This week, take inventory of your own life by asking yourself these questions:
We all have something - so what is your something?
Is it something you were born with?
Is it a fairly simple thing?
Is it intrusive?
Or is it life altering?
And based on that, what impact is it having on your life?
Are you distracted?
Are you angry?
Have you been blaming God?
Are you at the point of checking out?
If you answered yes to that last question - please don’t! Remember, this is exactly what Satan wants for you - and he DOES NOT have your best interest at heart. You are simply a pawn in his devious plan to get revenge against the One who created all of us - and loves us like we love our own kids.
Agree with me right here and now that you will find someone to talk to - immediately - even today. Tell that person where you’re at - and let them help you take your first step away from the ledge.
If you don’t feel like you have someone you can go to - call this hotline right now: 800-273-8255 (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline)
You are loved, and you are not alone. There are thousands upon thousands going through similar circumstances. And God is looking down with love - offering to be with you through your storm.
The medical condition we face may never go away in this life. But at the end of the day we’re not living for this life. We’re living for the next - the life God is offering us if we can just hold on. The life where there will be no more pain, no more suffering and no more tears.
Thank you for being here this week. We’re all in this together!
Until next time, keep Transcending Human!
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