Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
‘I just thought that life was hard’ (Fall fundraising)

‘I just thought that life was hard’ (Fall fundraising)

Last updated on: October 14, 2025 at 3:07 pm by Fred Clark

0 Comments

‘I just thought that life was hard’ (Fall fundraising) 2025-10-14T15:07:55-04:00 Fred Clark

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

We’re digging our way out of the hole.

Earlier this year, my wife finally got the surgery she had needed for more than three years. (Never, ever come at me with a defense of America’s health care system that criticizes Canada or the UK for having “waiting lists.” I do not believe in violence, but if you suggest to me that American health care is better because it doesn’t have “waiting lists” I will hit you.)

The procedure worked. The pain and threat of recurring infections went away and she was getting back to normal.

Sort of. We didn’t expect her to leap right out of the hospital bed and be back to 100% the next day, but despite the enormous relief now that the pain was gone, she still wasn’t getting “back to normal.” Her recovery was taking a long time and we were starting to worry that this was just how it was always going to be from now on.

Happily, her doctor soon figured out why.

It turns out the fatigue that had her sleeping most of most days ever since her stint in the ICU two years ago was not entirely, as we all thought, a response to all that pain and infection.

She also apparently had Lyme disease — undiagnosed because, the doctor said, it was “hiding behind all that other stuff you’ve had going on.”

Eli Yudin has a great bit about this in his “Humble Offering” stand-up special:

You guys ever do that thing where you just have Lyme disease for six months and you don’t know about it because you just thought you were tired? … I went to the doctor for something else and while I was there I mentioned to him, I was, like, “Hey, I sleep a lot. Is that a problem?” And he was like, “How much do you sleep?” And I was, like, “Well, you know, I like to get a good solid 12 to 14 — just sort of a 50-50 consciousness split.” … And he was like, “Are you tired and fatigued all the time?” and I was like, “I just thought that life was hard.”

My wife finds that bit hilarious — much funnier now after her long regimen of doxycycline worked its magic and she was finally, by late summer, back on her feet and finally, actually, “back to normal” with the energy she used to have way back in the before times prior to this whole multi-year health saga.

We take turns quoting that line to one another — “I just thought that life was hard” — and giggling with relief and gratitude.

Life was very hard for her (for us) for quite a while there. And of course, for all of us, in one way or another, it always is.

What’s hard now is digging out from the rather deep hole we’ve wound up in as a result of our two-income household getting by (mostly, sort of) on just one income for the past several years. And that one income was sharply reduced due to her losing her job, and thus her health insurance, and us needing to put her on my employee plan, which is pretty good but also clearly priced to discourage us from including spouses in our coverage.

We’re finally headed in the right direction, rebuilding the second income with her not just getting back to work, but getting back to work pain free. And it’s a great relief, of sorts, to look at the bills and realize that, for example, this month’s mortgage payment is, at last, the only mortgage payment we currently owe.

The relief of that is, alas, qualified by not knowing how we’ll be able to manage paying it.

And so I am turning again to the wonderful people who have carried us through the worst of the past several years and I am holding another fundraiser here.

My PayPal link is here. I am also on Venmo as @George-Clark-61.

If you are able and willing, we would deeply appreciate whatever financial help you can provide at this time.

Thank you in advance for that generosity. And thanks to everyone, again, for all of the support you’ve provided to this blog, to me, and to my family, in the past. A few years ago when my wife was in the ICU in a coma and our house was headed to a sheriff’s sale, the readers and supporters of this blog were a lifeline providing hope and help when we truly could not have survived without them. It’s been a long road and it’s a long road back, but we’re getting there.

“I just thought that life was hard.” But thanks to so many of you, it’s not as hard as it seemed.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

October 13, 2025

At least that's what I've read

Next Post

October 15, 2025 A 'Hardcore' theological crisis

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Thank you for the Vanity Fair link. I had forgotten about that article.Ozymandias slaps gold ..."

Ellie Still in the Mix in 26

On the aesthetics of Saddam Hussein

"There's another factor at play, more than level of intelligence. There's the just plain old ..."

WingedBeast

On the aesthetics of Saddam Hussein

"https://youtu.be/9wGWtDXndPc?si=xN9G_00lUIHJWnq_"

Lucy Steichen

On the aesthetics of Saddam Hussein

"The day before the verdict (whilst the jury were deliberating) "Tommy" had the temerity to ..."

Scurra

Cycling down the widening gyre

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category class warfare evangelicals Iraq Left Behind Mammon music Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Where was Paul headed when he encountered the risen Christ?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Antioch Rome Jerusalem Damascus