2020, What a Year.

It’s 2021 now. But, 2020, what a year it was. No one expected this. Everyone was looking forward to 2020. Double digits. Double blessing.

It Started Okay.

The beginning of the year was fine. Some rumors and a buzz were going around, but everyone thought it was far away.

February was so so. You heard a bit more but nothing close yet. But slowly you heard that some countries slowly were closing borders.

For me, I had an appointment for March for removing my kidney stone. I was not thinking much about it, because nothing was known about how things would be going. We also had an appointment to go to a birthday party in March. But to be a bit on the safe side, we already said that we would see how things were going. Just to make sure that I would not be affected before the operation and that this would be moved.

Lock Down.

Then all came to a hold. Lockdown. It was a first for me. The older generation maybe already had experienced it during the war. But for our generation, it was something new. A whole new way of living.

For my kidney stone operation, I had the choice. Or it would push through, or I would delay it until things were better. So just to be on the safe side, I decided to wait. I belong to the risk group and I also catch things easily. So to postpone it, was in my eyes, the best solution.

Companies were closed for the time being and people had to work from home. Online shopping took off. Some people had to stop working onsite and stay home until things were safe again. Gatherings and events were canceled. Restaurants and schools closed. And students had now online studies.

Also for our church, it was a sudden change. No gatherings. Within a few days, the service went from face to face, to online service. A big change but everyone was happy that we still had a Sunday service.

Halfway the Year.

The summer holidays also were different than we were used to. Still no or very limited traveling abroad. No visiting far away countries. A big disappointment for everyone who had big plans for the summer holiday. But I think slowly on, people were accepting it. Of course, there are always those who don’t want to be told what to do. Go their own way, do the things they want to do. The people of the “Me, Myself, and I” kind.

During this time, June 2020, I got my appointment for the kidney stone removal. Finally. But not knowing how this would go on until the end of the year. To keep it short, I was admitted 4 times during a 6 months period. Right now, the first week of January 2021, I am waiting for the CT-scan that will take place on January 26, 2021. The week after that I will get the result and hope to hear that the stone is finally gone.

December.

But in the last two weeks of December 2020, I was a little bit afraid that things were not right. As you maybe had read in my previous post “It’s December Again“, the month of December is not in my favor. On December 14, 2020, I had a kidney stone removal operation. On Tuesday, December 15, 2020, I went home to recover. From the previous 3 times, I know that normally within 2-3 days, I would stop urinating blood and my urine would be normal. Not this time. On Friday I was still urinating blood. Because it was almost weekend, I decided to just wait and see how things were during and after the weekend.

On the Monday after the weekend, things still were not changed. I got a little bit worried. So I called the hospital to check. They told me to wait and see how things would go this day. They were not that worried. But they had read my medical history and told me that they wanted to make the following agreement. It was up to me to decide. I could make an appointment for the next day, to come to the hospital. Then they would make an echo and check the blood, to see how things are. Or make an appointment for Wednesday, for all the needed checks. It was up to me.

Bad Memory, Good Ending.

I got really afraid. It was December 21, 2020. And the memories of December 2012 came back to mind again. Not really looking forward to this. And immediately I was thinking that I would end up in the hospital again for Christmas.

I told them that I would wait and see how things would go that day. But they assured me, that if I would call on Tuesday, they would schedule me immediately for all the needed checks for that day or the next day.

I was a little bit assured, but still hoping that I would not have to go to the hospital. After the call, I started to pray. I prayed for healing, that it would not be needed for me to go to the hospital. Praying for help, comfort, and peace.

Maybe 1-2 hours after the phone call, I had to go to the toilet. And to my surprise, my urine was getting clearer. Every time I had to go to the toilet, it started more and more to look like clear urine. I was so relieved. For me, it was an answered prayer.

From Writing to Audio.

In one of my previous posts, I had mentioned that I was busy with converting my blog posts into audio files. A little bit like a podcast, with every week a new episode.

Before I started to publish episodes, I already prepared several episodes in advance. So that just in case I was not able to record one episode, I still had something at hand. This went okay for several weeks and several episodes. But I started more and more to feel frustrated while doing it.

To get my posts into audio, for every episode I was reading out loud the post and recording it. This did not always go so smoothly. Because of my problem with reading. And reading out loud goes very slow. I cannot look ahead at words. I only can read small parts of words and in my mind, I need to puzzle them together, before I can speak them out. Especially with whole sentences, it doesn’t go that smooth with me. It sounds a like bit like stuttering or hesitant reading.

Sometimes for one sentence, I had to do it several times before it was correct. But this time, I got really frustrated and annoyed by it. I suddenly lost my drive and appetite with it. And I quit. I still have a few episodes, so for the coming few weeks, I can still post some episodes. After that, I will see what I will do. Or I stop or I will give it a try again.

But I think there are also other ways to convert written text to spoken audio. I think it will not sound very personal. I will see and maybe give it a try.

More Writing.

In a previous post, I also had mentioned that I was trying out to write on a different website. This website is called “Medium”. It is a site for writers/bloggers, by writers/bloggers. So far, I had published 3 items there.

The first item was a short introduction, on my profile page. It is called “About Me“. The second item was about my health. How things started. It is called “A Bacteria Changed My Life“. The last one is the post from here, “It’s December Again“. But I had changed it a little bit.

Right now, I also have two items in progress. One is about my Hemianopia. What it is, how I experience things, and how I see things.

The other item will be about writing. Why I started writing/blogging and how it is helping me.

I only need to find the time, energy, and motivation to finish them. I am also thinking of maybe posting them here. The one about the Hemianopia was already in my very first posts, but I think I will revise it or just make a new post about it. And the other one, I think I will also post it here.

Closing.

As I already started, 2020, What a Year. What a year indeed. A year that people will still remember for some time. Maybe also a year that changed the way we did or do things. A year that made you think and reflect on life.

It was not an easy year. Especially the four times that I was in the hospital for a kidney stone removal. But in the end, I am thankful that through it all, me and my family were save from the COVID-19.

The virus is still not gone and we must not forget that. They already started vaccinating people, but until everyone is vaccinated, we need to be careful. Not only think about our own safety but also the safety of others.

It also showed me, that staying connected to God during that year, is important. Well, let me rephrase it. Staying connected with God IS important. Not only in the past year, but also in the years to come.

I hope and pray that this year, 2021, will be a good year for everyone. That we will be able to beat the COVID-19. That people may find happiness and comfort again. Among themselves and with each other.

As always, please take care and stay safe.

God Bless.