Monday
Dear Elsie,
The highlight of the day was David coming up to talk about his weekend and his chess channel. As he was away with friends over the weekend, he wasn’t constantly glued to his phone watching his channel blow up, which was a good thing. Neither did he talk much about it, choosing not to tell his friends that he had a chess video that was going mega-viral. He did tell Anna, of course.
Apart from Anna (!), for David this is the biggest thing this year. Anyone who is a YouTuber wants a viral video. David had one last year, just 6 months into his major health issues. It was September and that encouragement gave him a boost. He had made this video of Magnus Carlson going under cover while playing an online chess game against another grand master. It did very well & now has 2.2 million views, but that’s since September 2023.
Compare that to this one, released on Thursday evening – 4 days ago.
If his latest video had got 44 448 views, David would have been happy – it would have done well. That he can add 1.7m in front of that, is, for all of us, mind-blowing. It’s huge. It’s a rarity that may come along once in a very, very long time, so we are enjoying every moment. When David came up this morning, that’s all we wanted to talk about. I’d love to see it overtake the Carlson video.
It was 22 months ago yesterday that he collapsed after a fast 5k run, and has not been able to exercise since. His Long Covid journey has been one of some serious lows, especially last year. From not having a clue what was wrong with him, to getting a diagnosis of LC and, having the only plausible treatment, only to have it not work. It was back to the beginning. Over time, he has learned how to manage his condition, but for 22 months, he has not been able to do anything more than mild walking/ cycling. Now-days, he can walk about 3km and cycle about 5. He can no longer climb a mountain or do a park run. He can’t train for a marathon or ride the Argus. That may come in the years ahead, but for now, we are so super grateful he can socialise, work, go swimming, go away for the weekend and go shopping. The other day he went to the Blue Route mall and walked through it. He passed the bench close to the Blood Transfusion office. His mind went back to just after he collapsed. He tried going on as normal. He had gone to the Blue Route and was just exhausted. He got to that bench and had to sit down. He just knew there was something very wrong with his body. As he walked past that bench last week, it was an indication of how far he had come.
And then there’s Anna.
She’s a joy and a pleasure and we have enjoyed getting to know her.
Life is hard.. I’m watching a couple at the moment. The wife has short term memory loss. The husband is caring for her, providing for her; everything he does is with her in mind. It’s not easy. I admire him so much. She is so sweet; so child-like; so vulnerable. He builds her up, tells of her accomplishments, involves her, compliments her and takes full responsibility for her needs.
So when there is a break in the rough times; when a glimmer of sunshine comes through the cloud, we appreciate it, embrace it & enjoy every moment of it. 
Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
It’s not about now – we are only passing through.
Keep the smile going.
God Bless you.
In His Grip,
Gran xx 🙂