My dear Fred is doing a bit better, but still has a ways to go to fully recover from the asthma attack. He's doing breathing treatments here at home and resting a lot. Said he's very sore and I totally understand the pain he's having. I will call tomorrow and hopefully get him in to see our lung specialist this week. The nurses in pulmonary know me well and work in expert fashion to get me in quickly. I'm sure they'll do the same for my Fred.

Another issue he's dealing with is side effects of Prednisone. It's a good medication when needed, but the side effects are disturbing. You feel like you're going to shake out of your skin; bad dreams; a sense of doom seems to hang over you at times and at others, you're so hyper you can't be still. You can also feel like you could take on the world and win and that can lead to other issues.

I find myself wondering why on earth anyone would purposely take steroids when there is no medical reason to do so. I hear of athletes who use steroids and wonder if they know the harm they're doing to themselves. I can also fully understand how, when a person is on large doses of steroids for long periods of time, they can harm others and themselves. It's a drug that alters who you are and you'll do things you would never do if you weren't taking them.

The last time I was on Prednisone I thought I would literally come apart at whatever seams I might have in my life. I would talk to myself, telling myself that I was really alright and that in just a few days I could stop the medication and things would go back to normal. I didn't sleep. I was either frightfully hungry or didn't want anything to eat. I craved sweets and felt like I could run marathons. When I finished that course of treatment I told my doctor, "Please, no more unless I absolutely have to".

We need to be so thankful for simple, everyday gifts: The ability to breathe normally. The ability to get out of bed by ourselves when we wake up in the morning. The ability to walk down a hall way. To take a shower or a bath. To wash our hair and put on a bit of make-up if we choose to. To make breakfast. To read a book. To talk to our Father in heaven. To sit at our computers and communicate with friends. To know there are people out there in cyber-space whom we've never met but who care for us and pray for us. To know there are friends we've known for years who love us in spite of ourselves and who pray for us as well.

The most important gift of all is the gift of God's redeeming love for us. When we were yet dead in trespasses and sins, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8. What a gift! What a precious, unearned gift we've been given.

Thank You Lord for life. For breath. For friends and family. For You.