Do you like putting together puzzles? Somehow connecting the pieces satisfies my soul. Maybe it’s because each one reveals more of the whole until the entire image becomes visible.

The toughest puzzles don’t fit on a table. Along with my doctors, I’ve been working on a mystifying one over the past few months. Trying to resolve it illustrates concepts critical for comprehending the bigger picture whether related to personal relationships, politics, church drama, or sensationalized court cases. Over time the lessons I’ve been learning might help you figure out the truth about puzzling things that could be stumping you.

A Pile of Pieces

A few months ago, my doctors and I started trying to understand what’s behind an incredibly annoying medical problem. A wound on my left lower leg wasn’t healing. Soon after I noticed that, a rash started. Think chicken pox with welts scattered from my shoulders to my ankles. It itched like bites by those horrible ankle-biter mosquitos. Only this annoyance can’t be swatted away.

At first, my GP diagnosed dry skin. To me, that didn’t fit–at all. When the strongest steroidal cream didn’t make any difference, he sent me back to the dermatologist, who had recently frozen the wound. The shingles shot around that time provided another puzzle piece. Did either of those cause the rash or did those pieces even belong in this picture?

Trying to Make the Pieces Fit

About a month later, my dermatologist biopsied the wound and rash. Fairly certain I had basal cell cancer, he thought the problems could be resolved quickly. However, those itchy bumps everywhere scared me. If cancer, it might be serious.

But thank God, it wasn’t cancer.  Nor was there any connection to herpes zoster/shingles.

The biopsy only revealed swelling That led to my blood pressure medication being changed. Compression socks made the itch worse. Elevating my foot above my heart made sleeping harder. This picture was definitely not to my liking.

Evidently the swelling that prevented the wound from healing also kicked my immune system into a reaction, which led to stasis dermatitis. Did you know that’s a thing? I didn’t. Although I’m still not convinced that’s the problem (mine looks nothing like pics on the Internet) with these puzzle pieces in place, after a few more weeks the wound finally started healing.

Now there’s genuine hope for the big picture to be completed. Although there might still be a few hidden pieces, the wound is on the mend and the rash subsiding. Herein, lies critical concepts to consider whenever you’re trying to figure out the big picture.

Putting Puzzle Pieces Together

Whatever the situation, it takes time and effort to put enough puzzle pieces together to find out what’s happening. I can’t say it enough–that’s true for everything from physical conditions to politics to sensationalized courtroom dramas to scandals in the church to problems in personal relationships. Sometimes we’re convinced we have the answer only to discover a piece that doesn’t fit. That makes it imperative to:

• Assess all available information before trying to convince others we’re right. Have you ever tried to complete a puzzle only to find a piece missing? That’s why my dermatologist froze the wound in the first place. He was convinced he didn’t need more information. However, he did. Sometimes we act prematurely. To be honest, despite being very grateful for this doctor and his excellent communication skills, I wonder if the wound would have swollen had he not frozen it. Months of anguish might have been prevented if the original wound had been left alone. (Word to the wise, consider options before having something frozen that’s the size of a walnut. Especially on your lower leg when you’re no longer young.)
• Test assumptions. My son and I once put together an entire puzzle, but couldn’t finish because the border didn’t connect. After testing different possibilities, we moved one piece that made all the difference. As mentioned, my dermatologist assumed my wound would heal. When it didn’t, he thought it was basal cell cancer. Testing through biopsies of wound and rash, he discovered a piece he hadn’t noticed before. Swelling. Putting it in place provided what we hope is the solution.
• Value teamwork. My son and I realized that our work on puzzles is most effective when we work together. Fresh eyes on a dilemma provides extra insights. That means we must not become entrenched in our perspectives, because we might be mistaken. Although my GP didn’t think my blood pressure medicine was a problem, on the advice of my dermatologist, the doctor changed it. That took humility enough not to insist he knew better. And, I’m grateful that my GP responds in the best ways he knows how.

Their joint efforts make me hopeful for a full recovery. Yet, the truth is that may not happen. Despite all our efforts over the past few months and much improvement, a few new welts have appeared.

Stay Open to A Different Solution

The dermatologist and I both realize that the big picture might not be what we hope it is. Despite the wound healing and great improvement with the rash, it may be coming back. If it gets any worse, I’ll be sent for allergy testing. Some additional pieces may yet to be discovered.

Unfortunately, in our society, way too many of us think we have all the answers, even when we’re not privy to classified information or inside that courtroom hearing and seeing all the evidence. Listening, asking questions, testing our assumptions, and valuing teamwork can help us become better informed. And, even then, we don’t know what we don’t know. That should keep us humble enough to process new information.