Smallbones Saga 2025

2025 is a year I don’t want to repeat!  It wasn’t all bad.  But the bad was, in my books, bad.  Life took a bad turn in early June 2024 (but I’ll get to that) and went downhill from there.

First, the good.  In December 2024 I flew back to South Africa to spend Christmas with family, and a week at the beach south of Durban.  Perfect weather and great times with family.  The picture above is the view of the Indian Ocean from the verandah.  Enjoyed many a cup of tea relaxing and enjoying the view and the sound of the sea.

But that’s where bad happened—I wrecked my knee my first day walking across the beach.  I’d had minor surgery in May (’24) and was fine until I walked on soft beach sand.  I limped in pain the rest of my time in S. Africa and planned to call my knee surgeon as soon as I got back to the US, which didn’t happen (keep reading!).  Despite a bad knee, I enjoyed wonderful times with family and friends.  One was a delicious birthday breakfast, thanks to my younger brother, overlooking the sea on the Wilderness coast (a little east of Cape Town).  The day ended with dinner with my niece and her two girls.

Some other highlights of my trip were meeting with a few classmates from schooldays.  As you can imagine, we had a lot to talk about.  I also caught up with students from my first years of teaching.  It was wonderful to hear their story and their accomplishments since graduating.  They continue to learn and grow, going beyond what I even hoped for them.

Warm summer days in South Africa came to an end all too quickly.  I arrived back in Iowa in time for another cold winter, but not much snow.  (I’m hearing rumors that this winter will make up for the snow we didn’t get last winter.)  I also came back to multiple medical appointments, that didn’t begin with the orthopedic surgeon!  My medical saga really begins in early June 2024, although I ignored it!

That’s when I had the first of two episodes (the 2nd was on my last day in KwaZulu Natal in January 2024, a few days before I returned to the US) that were eventually diagnosed as seizures.  After the 2nd episode family and a medical friend in Johannesburg urged me to see my doctor.  I made an appointment and put my sore knee on hold.  She sent me to a neurologist who gave me multiple tests to thoroughly examine my brain.  I can now assure my mother, who often said to me, ‘You need your head read,’ that I had my head read and she’ll be happy to know I’m normal!  They found nothing to indicate what happened or why.  Next was a cardiologist and my heart was thoroughly read.  That too is normal.  It was time to see the surgeon about my knee.  I had total knee replacement end of April.

The most difficult hurdle for me in 2025 was the ban on driving.  Iowa State law requires a person to be seizure free for 6 months before driving again.  I could neither walk, before and after surgery, nor drive!  Many friends offered to drive me whenever and wherever I needed.  I realized how blessed I am to have such good friends.  I no longer need drivers since I’ve remained seizure free.  Walking is progressing but knee replacement has been a slow and painful one for me, and I’m still working on it, exercising twice a day and making little steps of healing.  For all who prayed for and/or helped me, thank you.  Blessed be the Lord who watched over me in 2025 through so many friends.

I kept up with my writing in 2025.  I’m currently completing a devotional on the Gospel of Luke: Face to face: 100 days with Luke’s Jesus.  Hopefully, that will be published sometime in 2026.  Will keep you posted.  I continue to write Len and Advent daily meditations, posting them on this site under “Read Your Bible.”  For now, both Lent 2025 and Advent 2025 are available.
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Because of my knee, my summer activities were curtailed this year and so was travel.  I’m still not ready for any long trips, hence Christmas will in wintery Orange City this year and not sunny warm S. Africa.