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Moving, walking, running … little things for some, but not to me …

How wonderful it was to wake up yesterday morning feeling no pain and being energerized!

This week in school for the elementary grades is “spirit week.” Each day the kids get to dress up according to the predetermined selection of ideas. “Hats, glasses and slipper day” was yesterday, and today was mixed-match day. Yesterday, I was able to run downstairs and lie on the floor looking for stuff under their beds, helping the kids locate items that were deep underneath. That, of course, is a big deal. And I was able to get back up without help. On Sunday night, although in some pain, I was able to help Isaac make a meat eating plant (pitcher plant) for costume day. You’ll see the outcome [Doug: Pictures coming tonight.] and he won second place, too. I was thankful that I was able to do that with him, too. David was a fireman, and he had the costume for that, easy work there. Today being mixed-match day, the kids needed assistance buttoning up their clothes backwards, wearing weird ties, suspenders and a bow tie, I believe from the 70’s. Ah, the ties may have been from that era as well. [Doug: I’ve kept a couple of boxes of “costume stuff” for the past nearly two decades. Weird ties are easy to find at any thrift store.] It was great fun. Doug did take pictures of their final results, and I’m sure will get the pictures posted soon. [Doug: Nag, nag, nag …] I’m still feeling well, too.

On one of the days that I was unable to get the kids from school, Isaac and David were eager to watch a new movie that Doug had bought for Isaac the night before, and Naomi joined them. John hung out with me, and we talked for—what I was amazed at—the entire length of the movie. We were just talking about a lot of things/issues. It was great to spend that length of time with him and hearing what God is showing him. What a blessing.

After Naomi got up this morning, I went and sat down with her in her room and just had a praise and worship time in song. I sing along with CDs that we have, but I haven’t just belted out song after song by memory in such a long time. How I long to be back in choir again and singing specials, but for now, I pray the songs continue to come back to memory again, so such a time or praise can be had again.

Something else I was able to do was play with Naomi yesterday in the backyard with her on the swingset/gym set with the monkeybars and “clubhouse.” She is now able to climb completely up to the clubhouse and get down without help. That part is at least 7 feet high. That’s pretty impressive climbing skill for a 2 1/2 yr. old. [Doug: You should see her climb down the center of the ladder assembly; she hoists herself on both arms, legs flailing, and pretends-screaming.] Naomi also for the first time yesterday used the monkeybars. I was under her, of course, for assistance if necessary. She was able to do three rungs by herself. Oh, she also scales the poles on the indoor gym equipement we have. Her upper body strength is amazing, too. I think Doug took pictures of those. [Doug: I have video of the clubhouse climb, but no pictures.]

Doug again, has been amazingly helpful and quite busy. Doing all he can for us. He joked with me that God has blessed me with all the grace. He’s given it to each of us in different ways and I can see that in the kids and in Doug. They have each had to go through a lot, and with more to come, a couple of good days so far, but…. Many people will say, “I don’t know how you can do it,” and that can be said to each person in my family—but the answer is the same, in my eyes anyway. It’s by God’s grace and that alone. For the kids to go about and do things, at times for themselves or just with little help, not having a Mom to do the typical Mom things I once did, can be hard, and the same goes for Doug. The things he’s taken on and does great with are excellent.

This past Saturday, Phil was up visiting and he and Doug went out in search of a new TV. [Doug: We weren’t really searching; I’d already done the research via Consumer Reports and a number of other online product reviews. Conclusion: The 34″ Sony WEGA HDTV is amazing, and, although smaller, exceeds plasma TVs by a huge amount in quality, at a much, much cheaper price.] They found one and it’s awesome. I got to operate it yesterday for the first time. Hadn’t been out of my room since Sunday, except to get a couple of things and then return. It’s also been great seeing Steve Deyesso again, too. He was around one day early enough to pick up the kids for me. David remembered his face, but couldn’t come up with the name. Naomi played the shy girl for a while, but finally came around. Now when he visits, she’s her typical sweet self and goes right to him.

I thank God and praise Him for the grace and strength He has given through this illness and again thank the many of you who have helped for your care, many prayers, and for the assistance you given.

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NaNi Empowered

Last night on the way to church we were on Route 102, and Isaac and I were talking about the time we rode our bikes to about the same place, but had to turn back because I had a leaky tire.

Naomi piped up, “I come? I ride my bike, too?”

I explained that she was still too small to ride that far (she’s only 2.5 years old), but she disagreed:

“Yes, I can! I’m Naomi Wilcox!“

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How God answered prayer…

First off, I need to thank each of you for prayers. The way God answered was that He brought us to a doctor that not only listened to the massive list of symptoms but also had questions for us. One of which was why I was taking iron tablets. I told her that I am anemic and she wanted to know why. Doug and I looked at each other and thought, hmm, well, I’m not sure why? (Her question was whether there had ever been an underlying cause determined for the anemia.) She was very thorough and up front and also gave an explanation of why some doctors may have passed me on, mainly due to the extent of the work they would have to do in order to properly diagnose and care for me. Doug and I were quite impressed by her and her honesty. We were told that if she can’t help me, she will do all she can to direct me to someone who can.

After our lengthy interview, when it came time for the physical examination, Doug was about to enter the room and she basically said it wasn’t necessary and that he could wait in her office or back in the waiting room. When all was set, she started off by asking me about our relationship and if Doug is adding any stress to my life. I told her what a great husband I have and what a tremendous help and support he is to me. She then told me that she sensed that and that it was great for him to be there with me, too. Typically, her patients’ husbands tend to leave these visits up to the wife (seeing that she’s a reproductive endocrinologist), and figure that they are all set. Also, many times when the husbands do go to the appointments, she finds that they are not so helpful. Needless to say, she was quite impressed by the care of my husband.

I had six tubes of blood drawn for numerous tests. Some to re-do what has been tested in the past, but others to do what hasn’t been considered yet. I go back in approximately six weeks or sooner, depending on the results. I will call her office on Monday to make a follow-up appointment because her receptionist was gone for the day.

Ah, I forgot to mention that the pain did kick in a great deal while sitting in the waiting room, I was uncomfortable on the trip down, but yikes! did it increase. I was ready to lay down on the floor, because no position in the chair was helping. That lasted for quite sometime, but thankfully stopped. Doug went to grab us some lunch nearby, and brought back a chicken shish kebab wrap and a felafel wrap from a Lebanese restaurant, the Phoenicia, at 240 Cambridge Street, just a block away from where we were. Awesome food! I was only able to finish half of my sandwich, but, by the time the appointment was done, we were both hungry and headed back to eat there. [Doug’s note: I was amazed Nichelle felt up to walking the one-block distance to the restaurant. That put her health—at least at that time of day—better than average, although we did have to walk very slowly.] It was absolutely delicious. We couldn’t finish it all of the food—Felafel, tabooly, meat pie, and spinach pie—and brought plenty back with us.

I do need to thank Sandy, Trish, and Cindy for taking care of our kids for us, too. Thanks again for all that you did for us today.

Doug’s Impressions:

I actually had a little speech planned for Dr. Hall, but didn’t get to use it. Essentially, I intended to ask that she leave no stone unturned to find out what was wrong with Nichelle, and if she believed things were out of her field or specific area of expertise, refer Nichelle to a doctor she knew would do the same. To my delight, Dr. Hall declared almost exactly that, right at the beginning.

We spent a long time in the preliminary interview. We covered a lot of ground. I felt at times like, given the immense amount of information we were trying to convey, that we weren’t communicating perfectly (there are a couple of corrections/clarifications we need to make), but Dr. Hall took all the relevant records from us, and intends to read them. Dr. Hall said Nichelle was, “very observant”: Possible translation—In our increasing desperation to find answers, we’re becoming hypervigilant, and noticing unrelated symptoms which might be meaningless in a larger context. I’ve noticed a little bit of that in Nichelle’s online research. She’ll locate and pass on to me documentation on illnesses that match on one or two symptoms, even though the overall pattern does not match at all. One of the hardest questions to answer was what the most pressing problem is. Do we go back to the odd and persistent fibromyalgia-type problems? How do we divide the fibromyalgia pain from the odd and debilitating symptoms (many of which are pain-related) that occur now?

We still don’t have any real answers. Dr. Hall is not convinced that the problems are endocrinological in nature. (We all believe that they are not all caused by endocrine problems.) It is clear to her that there is not one single diagnosis that would cover everyting. She is also considering some things that have not been looked at, such as an autoimmune disorder, or a hemoglobin problem such as spherocytosis. She also asked quite a few questions about what cortisol tests had been done. I was particularly impressed with her willingness to look at some of the items that we tend to now take for granted, such as Nichelle’s anemia. I can’t remember a test that Nichelle has had that didn’t show anemia, but I don’t think anyone has ever looked for the cause, just as I don’t think anyone has ever followed up on why the anemia hasn’t responded well to iron supplements.

The tests Dr. Hall ordered required drawing six tubes of blood. We wait for the results, and for a follow-up with Dr. Hall some weeks hence.

Nichelle is in very poor health today (Saturday).

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With a thankful heart…

First off, I’d like to thank Debi C. for lending me the book by Amy Carmichael, Rose from Brier; what I’ve read and re-read has been a blessing and a huge encouragement.

A portion of a song that came to Amy C. while amidst great pain and a desire to be with her Fellowship, “Thou hast not that, My child, but Thou has Me, And am not I alone enough for thee? I know it all, know how thy heart was set Upon this joy which is not give yet. And well I know how through the wistful days Thou walkest all the dear familiar ways, As unregarded as a breath of air, But there in love and longing, always there. I know it all; but from thy brier shall blow a rose for others. If it were not so I would have told thee. Come, then, say to Me: My Lord, my Love, I am content with Thee.”

Thank you to Eric and Juana Quinlan for giving me a CD by Twila Paris, entitled, “He is Exalted.” My favorite song—although I love listening to them all—but the one that has stood out the most is, “God is in Control”:

This is no time for fear
This is a time for faith and determination
Don’t lose the vision here
Carried away by motion
Hold on to all that you hide in your heart
There is one thing that has always been true
It holds the world together

God is in control
We believe that His children will not be forsaken
God is in control
We will choose to remember and never be shaken
There is no power above or beside Him, we know
God is in control

History marches on
There is a bottom line drawn across the ages
Culture can make its plan
Oh, but the line never changes
No matter how the deception may fly
There is one thing that has always been true
It will be true forever

He has never let yo down
Why start to worry now?
He is still the Lord of all we see
And He is still the loving Father
Watching over you and me

Another thank you to Beth C. for sending us the sermon by John MacArthur, entitled, “The Role of Suffering” from II Corinthians chapter 12. It was such a powerful message. One of the points he made was that trials serve many purposes, such as the following: To test our faith, to wean us off of worldly things, help us focus on eternal hope, to reveal what we really love, to teach us to value God’s blessing, to enable us to help others who suffer, to produce endurance, to humble us, or to break our confidence. They produce the broken and contrite heart God wants us to have. Another point is that God uses suffering to draw us to Himself. Suffering has a way of increasing and intensifying our prayer life. In II Co. 12:9, “… My grace is sufficient for you …” God doesn’t remove the issue of pain or trouble, but increases the grace He gives. He gives comforting grace in the midst of a trial. Encouraging grace in the midst of pain. A confident grace. In Deut. 33:26 it says He “rides through the heavens to your help.” There will always be sufficient grace to every issue. God doesn’t promise to remove your trouble, pain, etc., but promises to overwhelm it with grace. How wonderful is that? How wonderful, awesome, and powerful our God and Saviour is!!!!!

My God has given me a wonderful husband, who is stronger than he realizes. I thank Him for such a man that is faithful through it all. My kids are indeed a joy and a blessing, most of the time. From the silly things they say to the serious questions they ask. One of my favorite times with them is just sitting and listening to them sing along with the music that plays. What a joy to hear them sing praises to our God. He’s so very good. His provision for us, His loving care, His guidance and His continued mercy. One of my favorite verses is: Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are more valuable than many sparrows.
—Matthew 10:29-31

I praise God for His love that is shown through family and friends, with their continued prayers and words of encouragement and the many helpful things they do. Thank you to each of you. Thank you for showing me God’s love and your love, too.

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36 Hours / 12 Days and Counting

12 Days and Counting

Endocrinologist 3, with Mass General, has given Nichelle an appointment for May 12 at 1:00 p.m. Nichelle is thrilled. Please pray that this doctor will be determined to find out precisely what is wrong with Nichelle and treat her, or immediately send her to someone who will.

36 Hours

Nichelle experienced about 36 hours of “normal” life this weekend. She was without pain, and had no trouble walking or doing regular activities from Friday afternoon through late Saturday evening. We even got to go to our church visitation program Saturday morning.

She went to church on Sunday morning, but experienced a rapid degradation again. By the end of the service, she needed help getting down the stairs, and needed someone else to drive her home. (I was at home with David, who was sick.)

Nichelle wrote in an e-mail earlier today,

Of course, I was grateful for feeling “normal,” and for being pain-free for the first time in a very long time. I give Praise to God, my Lord and Savior, for His great love and care, and for each of you for your continued love and support and many prayers.

I find Nichelle’s worsening illness is wearing me down (after 13 years with these symptoms appearing periodically, the last 7 of which have been difficult, and the last 2 of which have been extremely disruptive both in symptom severity and percentage of time per year they have been present). I noticed this weekend while she was well that I was dampening out any feeling that might be described as “experiencing hopefulness,” as such feelings have been rewarded repeatedly with crushing disappointment. I still have hope that God will lead us to a treatment eventually, but it seems to have become my own quest to destroy the One Ring—even as we may be getting closer to Mordor.

Addendum: May 2, 2006

My goodness, I was in a funk yesterday! My reading in Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Its Cure (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones) coincided perfectly with my mood, and was exactly of what I needed to be reminded. Now I know why it’s taken me so long to get to that particular chapter: God was orchestrating the timing.

All things may seem to be against me ‘to drive me to despair,’ I do not understand what is happening; but I know this, I know that God has so loved me that He sent His only begotten Son into this world for me, I know that while I was an enemy, God sent His only Son to die on the Cross on Calvary’s Hill for me. he has done that for me while I was an enemy, a rebellious alien. I know that the Son of God ‘loved me and gave Himself for me.’ I know that at the cost of His life’s blood I have salvation and that I am a child of God and an heir to everlasting bliss. … Faith reminds itself of what the Scripture calls ‘the exceeding great and precious promises.’

…

I do not suggest that you will be able to understand everything that is happening. You may not have a full explanation of it; but you will know for certain that God is not unconcerned. That is impossible. The One who has done the greatest thing of all for you, must be concerned about you in everything, and though the clouds are thick and you cannot see His face, you know He is there. … Now hold on to that. … Nothing can happen to you but what He allows, I do not care what it may be, some great disappointment, perhaps, or it may be an illness, it may be a tragedy of some sort, I do not know what it is, but you can be certain of this, that God permits that thing to happen to you because it is ultimately for your good.

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Analyzing the Symptoms

A Brief Update

There are no more good days. Occasionally, Nichelle will have a few hours when she is able to be somewhat active, but it appears that even days like our 1/2-day MFA trip are now impossible. The pain is more severe, and Nichelle’s general debilitation is both more severe and the episodes last longer. Walking any real distance is nearly impossible, although she did complete a less-than-30-minute trip to Wal*Mart last week, this is exceptional. There are unexplained symptoms, like the tiny purpura spreading through her skin, as well as inexplicably normal test results, such as for free T4 (one of the thyroid hormones) and cortisol.

It’s very frustrating. Our most dedicated doctor admits that this is outside his specialty (neurology), and other doctors seem unwilling to exert the effort to find the cause of these problems. If we were to diagnose based merely upon symptoms, my conclusion would be hypothyroidism on top of fibromyalgia. However, the hormone tests run so far for hypothyroidism have been negative. (But hormone problems are often difficult to diagnose, and may defy test-based diagnosis for years.)

Symptoms such as she is now suffering go back all the way to 1992, although they have been increasing in severity enough to be very troublesome for about the last 7 years, the last two years have been much worse. More detail and history are available by clicking on the fibromyalgia category for our BLOG.

Nichelle has copies now of most of her medical records. We are leaving no stone unturned. The common theme expressed by doctors is, “I dunno.”

On the bright side, the illness did make shopping for Nichelle’s birthday presents easy: DVDs from Amazon.

By the way, if you haven’t read this post about Nichelle, you should!

Symptom Frequency Possible Diagnoses
Severe edema (fluid shift) with weight fluctuations of 5 lbs. in the course of a day. The swelling varies in intensity, especially around the face, but is always bad. Continuing. Cushing’s Syndrome, Hypothyroidism.
Significant weight gain (over 65 pounds) in the past year, despite healthy diet and a significant daily exercise regimen (until last fall, when exercising became impossible). Constant. Weight tends to suddenly shoot up every few weeks. Cushing’s Syndrome, Hypothyroidism, medication interactions (from the tricyclics used to prevent migraines and sleep problems).
Burning sensations, primarily in the hips and back. Many hours each day. Fibromyalgia, hypocalcemia, secondary hyperparathyroidism.
Pain. Moderate to severe pain nearly always. Episodes of severe, stabbing pain on a daily basis. More than one episode per month of pain as severe or more severe than unmedicated childbirth. Daily. Fibromyalgia, migraines, hypocalcemia, myofascial pain syndrome.
Difficulty walking or standing. Constant. Currently able to maintain only a decreasingly short amount of activity at a time. Unknown.
Rapid deterioration of “normal” health over the space of 1/2-hour (normal as defined by the current baseline: still not very good, but able to function with only minor or moderate difficulty). Daily, when basal health is temporarily good enough to demonstrate a decline. Hypothyroidism, fibromyalgia.
Extreme discomfort in having anything touching the skin on her arms. (Skin sensitivity.). Weekly. Unknown.
Pins-and-needles sensations all over, especially the head. Daily. Fibromyalgia, secondary hyperparathyroidism.
Periodic cognitive difficulties. (This is the only symptom that has been less severe than a year ago, we believe because of partly successful treatment of sleep-disturbing migraines.). Several times a week. Hypothyroidism, fibromyalgia, hypocalcemia.
Sudden or prolonged exhaustion. Nearly daily. Hypothyroidism, fibromyalgia.
Painful, unusually strong sensitivity to having anything cold come in contact with skin. Constant. Fibromyalgia.
Feeling very hot or very cold not in conjunction with actual temperature. (Feeling extremely cold often immediately precedes episodes of severe pain.) Night sweats. Daily. Hypothyroidism.
Occasional inability to grip small items, such as table utensils. A few times per month. Unknown.
Inability to raise arms or hold an item such as a cell phone against her ear or face. Constant. Cushing’s syndrome.
Difficulty putting weight on wrists to support. Constant. Possible bone problems, hypocalcemia, secondary hyperparathyroidism.
Hair breakage/brittle hair. Hair loss on arms, legs, and hands. Continuing. Hypothyroidism.
Small spots that look like dark freckles that are appearing all over the skin and slowly multiplying. The ones that are a couple of weeks old are now increasing in size. (I had previously labeled these as purpura, but Dr. Hall told us that purpura describes such spots only when they are caused by platelet problems.) Continuing to increase in number. Unknown.
Severe pain in the bones of her wrists, feet, collarbone, and ribs. Constant. Secondary hyperparathyroidism, possible bone problems, hypocalcemia.
Stretch marks and skin discoloration over an ever-increasing number of areas. Continuing to worsen. Cushing’s Syndrome, may be secondary to the significant edema and weight gain.
Dizziness. Several times a day. Fibromyalgia.
Nausea. Several hours each day. Hypothyroidism, fibromyalgia.
Low body temperature (1 degree or more below normal) most of the time. Constant. One or twice a week temperature approaches (but does not reach) normal. Hypothyroidism.
Low calcium level (hypocalcemia). Current. Vitamin D deficiency, parathyroid problems.
High PTH (Human parathyroid hormone) level. Current. Parathyroid problems, could be secondary to vitamin D deficiency.

The official diagnoses, which have not helped with a treatment or identified the causes (most are merely descriptions of symptoms), for the most part, the following:

  • Fibromyalgia
  • Myofascial pain syndrome
  • Secondary hyperparathyroidism
  • Vitamin D deficiency
  • Hypocalcemia (probably caused by vitamin D deficiency or parathyroid problems)
  • Neurosomatic syndrome
  • Periodic limb movement disorder (believed being successfully prevented with medication)

What We’ve [Mostly] Ruled Out:

Fibromyalgia is, itself, generally diagnosed by ruling out everything for which a definitive clinical test exists. Here are the few other things that have been ruled out:

  • Lupus (this has been repeatedly tested for about the past 10 years; it has always been negative)
  • Heart problems/heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Sickle cell anemia
  • West Nile virus
  • Lyme disease

In addition, Cushing’s Syndrome seems less likely than hypothyroidism, due to the fact that some classic symptoms of Cushing’s are absent.

This analysis is hardly complete; there are certainly other possible explanations of these symptoms. If you have other suggestions, please let us know. Personally, I think it’s just Munchausen Syndrome. (Or maybe it’s Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, just like in The Sixth Sense.)

At any rate, keep praying.

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Remote Debugging Attachment to a WebLogic Server

Don’t believe everything you’ll find online. If you work in a moderately complex environment (meaning, you’re running a managed server instance via an admin server instance on WebLogic), you’re sure to be led astray by the dozens of articles offering guidance into this elusive technique. You don’t have to emulate Ray Milland, if you follow this advice:

If you Google “Remote debugging WebLogic” you’ll find a host of discussions about modifying the startWebLogic.cmd or startWLS.cmd files. Ignore them all (assuming you’re using WebLogic 8.1 or later)! (Also remember, never verb a noun.)

Let me review the scenario that I am actually addressing here:

  • You will be remote-attaching to a running WebLogic instance, rather than launching the instance from within your IDE. (I use Eclipse, because I’m cheap—and because version 3.1.1 really works great, unlike its predecessors—but these instructions apply to just about anything.)
  • You run your WebLogic application as an instance under a WebLogic managed server, and start/stop it using the Remote Start options in the WebLogic console.
  • You’ve tried desperately to get your debugger to attach, or your breakpoints to be hit, to no avail.
  • You have deadlines looming, and if you don’t get this one problem solved, you can never see your family again.

Okay, perhaps I went a bit overboard on the scenario, but if you’re reading this, I expect, like me, BEA’s WebLogic isn’t a platform you use every day, but one that you need to work on occasionally.

The key is that most of the documentation presumes you won’t be running your application from the WebLogic Server Console, and gives no indication that the JVM arguments, in such a case, go in a completely different place. Here’s how to prove to the world that you weren’t going insane:

  1. Log on to the WebLogic console, via http://{servername}:9999/console. YMMV as far as the port number (after {servername}) is concerned.
  2. Using the navigation tree, click on the domain on which your application resides, open the Servers branch beneath it, and click on your application’s name.
  3. With the Configuration tab in the top row selected, click on the Remote Start tab in the second row. (Be sure you don’t have Control selected in the top row, otherwise you’ll think I am just as batty as the authors of the previous 743 help documents you’ve read.)
  4. Scroll down to the Arguments: field, and add your debug settings to the JVM arguments in that field. In my case, I added -Xdebug -Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,address=8787,server=y,suspend=n, which (among other things that are too cool for me to share) allows the debugger to attach to port 8787 (address=8787), and the server to start without waiting for a debugger to attach (suspend=n).

  5. Click on Apply.
  6. Then click on Control in the first row of tabs, and be sure Start/Stop is selected in the second row of tabs.
  7. Finally, you’ll need to either gracefully or forcefully shut down the server by using the links provided, and then restart the server. (You’re actually only restarting your application; the ambiguous language surrounding server is another problem.)
  8. Attach Eclipse to the server by Configuring a new Remote Java Application under Debug … Feed it parameters of the server name and 8787 (or whatever port you provided in the JVM arguments).

  9. Debug your problem.
  10. For goodness’ sake, go home and see your family!

Drop me an e-mail using the link in the sidebar, or leave a comment, if I’ve goofed anywhere. I never claimed to be perfect. Sheesh.

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Mostly Mummies: Our MFA Trip

Never visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston without being accompanied by Debi Costine. Back on February 27, we got to do just that.

Nichelle spent the three days before the trip in “intense rest,” hoping to be well enough to go with us. (I hadn’t seen her so determined to do anything major since singing in the Christmas program in mid-December.) Thankfully, she was able to go, although by the end I wished I insisted she use a wheelchair for at least part of it. (In the weeks since, her condition has gotten worse, and I don’t think we’d even try such a trip now.)

We also weren’t sure we could convince David to come. He seemed fascinated, several years earlier, by the mummy at the Museum of Science in Boston, but in the interim years, that fascinating had turned to fear. I spent three weeks trying to psych him up, but it was Debi who spoke to David the night before and convinced him that he would be fine. By the end of her call he was eagerly anticipating the trip.

Above: Debi Costine provides an introduction to ancient Egypt.

What a wonderful trip! The kids loved it, John especially favored this museum over the science-centered ones that I typically drag him to.

Outside the Egyptian wing, Debi sat us down, gave us handouts, and introduced us to things to look for in the Egyptian artifacts. Among them was a cartouche—generally an ellipse with a line on one side, that would be marked with one or two sets of hieroglyphs. This would indicate the name of a god or a king. We also learned about the burial and afterlife beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, including the false door that the spirits would use to retrieve food offered to them.

One of the things Debi stressed was the grain of truth that many cultures preserved after the Flood in their understanding of spiritual things. It was very interesting to see how a proper understanding of death and eternity became corrupted over the years.

Above: Pointing out the hieroglyphs adjacent to a cartouche, indicating the name of a god. (Note Debi’s red hair.)

One of the ideas I found fascinating was that the existence of one’s name carved in stone allowed the existence in the afterlife to be perpetuated. In some cases, pharaohs or other leaders who fell out of favor were “eliminated” after death by having the names chiseled out of their places, as well as statues destroyed. One pharaoh ordered his name hieroglyphs to be carved especially deep. I wonder if it occurred to them to carve it someplace and then hide it.

Above: Barley (along with a crude mortar and pestal) dating from up to 6,000 years ago.

When Nichelle and I attended the MFA last year, we were awestruck by the Egyptian artifacts. They project such a feeling of age. It is truly amazing to walk among them. The barley shown above is a small thing, but it’s astounding to find it preserved for five or six millenia.

Above: King Menkaure (Mycerinus) and queen (possibly Khamerernebty II).

I absolutely love this statue of King Menkaure and his queen. This couple is elegantly and lovingly rendered, and it impresses me that the artists were able to perfectly recreate the effects of sheer cloth in a stone statue. Note that they are actually clothed, at least in the custom of the time. The statue is unfinished. (There is no name on it; the king’s kilt pleats are not carved, and the base is unfinished.) There are more photos, a write-up, and an audio piece here at the MFA site. Note the folded napkins in Menkaure’s hands. These were authority symbols. Some later statues had rectangular napkins that look more like blocks of wood.

Above: The Egyptian kings would place these stories about their conquests on the borders of their lands. Debi was able to explain the story carved here in much more detail than the museum plaque next to it.

Above: Check out the cartouches on the base of this statue. These have the hieroglyph pairs we were hunting: a sun with a bird, and a bee with a sedge plant. David just told me, “I was the first one who found that one!”

Above: All the geeks in ancient Egypt used these these snazzy pocket protectors. Seriously, it’s a scribal palette, belonging to “The royal draftsmen of the Lord of the Two Lands, Amenemwia.”

Above: The center of the Egyptian funerary room. That’s a bolt of linen in the left foreground that is over 4,000 years old. Amazing!

The funerary room was astounding. It offered much more than the few things we think of as stereotypical Egyptian art surrounding the funeral rituals. Interestingly, the Egyptians were quite reluctant to change the formulae of their rituals, even over the centurals. So, even when the custom of removing the organs and storing them in jars had changed, faux jars were still placed in the burial chamber.

Above: These ceremonial eyes were painted on the sides of coffins to allow the body entombed within to see out.

Above: Debi noticed something about this mummy mask that she had never seen before: It has a beard. This mask (dating from the time around Joseph’s life) may show the result of a Hebrew influence, as the Egyptians didn’t wear real beards, perhaps as a result of Joseph’s revelation of his origin and rise to power.

Above: You’ve read the Old Testament many times, but always wondered what Baal looked like. Now you know! (This one is missing his weapon or thunderbolt. Maybe it was a child’s action figure. It’s about the same size. “Hey, kids! Collect all the Canaanite deities!”)

Above: This Hittite stamp-cylinder seal was impressive, as were the other seals and commercial artifacts, including a set of balance weights and numerous cuneform tablets.

Outside of the Egyptian area, was one of the things we were all really looking forward to seeing: A fragment of a plate (probably smashed by the forces of Alexander the Great) from one of Xerxes four palaces. Debi likes to encourage her students to imagine that Queen Esther herself may have touched it.

Above: Fragment of a Royal Plate
Southwest Iran (probably from Perseopolis, Palace of Xerxes), 485–464 B.C. Diorite. Queen Esther just might have used it. (My photo is blurry, so I’ve linked the image to a better one at the MFA.)

By the time we got to the few more modern things we looked at (much of the 1st century A.D. art, especially from Corinth, is, shall we say, inappropriate for children), they just couldn’t compare to the marvel of the ancient Eyptyian work. They all seemed so … recent.

Above: This painting contains owls hidden within it. I was terrible at finding them, but the kids did well, and really enjoyed the task. This photo isn’t perfect, but I couldn’t find the painting this evening when I searched the online MFA database—even though I found it a few weeks ago.

I’ll also include what is one of my absolute favorite paintings in the MFA. When I first saw it, during my company’s “Winter Thaw” event, I was struck by how beautiful it was. The color is amazing, and it seems photographic in its realism. It really stands out.

Above: Portrait of a Young Woman, possibly Countess Worontzoff, by Marie Louise Elisabeth Vigée‑Le Brun. French, 1755–1842.

And David, the little weasel, announced that his favorite part had been the mummies.

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Another Dead End: Endocrinologist II

Nichelle heard back from the most recent endocrinologist’s office. Here are his notes:

  • No further assessment
  • Fasting plasma glucose at some point in the future, not running any more tests.
  • Maybe another fasting glucose—talk to the PCP about that
  • Can find nothing from an endocrine standpoint

However, the office is checking on a referral to an endocrinologist in Boston.

This is really, really frustrating. Hypothyroidism on top of fibromyalgia explains nearly all of Nichelle’s symptoms. Every doctor except the endocrinologists Nichelle has seen seems to think this exhibits as a clearly endocrinological problem.

I’m going for a walk.

Later news:

Nichelle has been referred to a specialist in Boston. The endocrinologist did agree to the referral, and will be following up on the results. This is some progress.