Now We All Know…

4/7/20

Since my 30 year Cancerversary post, I have had many other memorable moments that occurred thirty years ago. My diagnosis was March 15, 1990, and then a few days later we left the hospital only to return within a week because of a bowel obstruction. This obstruction was resolved only by God’s sovereign hand because my mom begged the doctor’s not to do surgery which would be the second one in a matter of a couple of weeks. Doctors in Salt Lake City told her if it does not resolve, we must do surgery, but if we do not do surgery she will die. Mom knew surgery would kill me and at that one moment, my parents made the decision that there would be no surgery. Putting me in God’s hand again for the umpteenth time in a matter of a month, God said, “I got this.” Within 36 hours, the bowel obstruction resolved, and we were headed back to Wyoming. Two weeks later, on Easter morning, my hair fell out. This weekend coming up is about Jesus’ Resurrection and one of redemption and saving grace. It means all of that to me and so much more because it is another Cancerversary for me. Reminders of what I went through, spiritually and physically. Redemption, healing, and saving grace.

Since my last post, the whole country’s population has changed the way we do life. I sit outside not watching a baseball game or practice like we have done in the Spring for the last twelve years, but I am watching kids in the neighborhood draw with sidewalk chalk on the driveways and ride their bikes up and down the street. Baby doll carriages and cartwheels mixed with remote control cars and makeshift ramps litter the sidewalks and new grass. I purchased a small little perennial a few years ago and the return of the tiny little perfect, purple flowers show everyone it made it through winter and it is time to shine. Thank goodness. It is so beautiful.

But the reality of why I am in this place this evening sets in, and I sit and ponder. You see, the new reality that we all are living for such a time as this, can be nothing new to a cancer patient. Yes, many of us know cancer patients that still attend events, church services, go to work or school, and do not even wear a mask, but I would submit that the majority live a life like most of us are living right now.

In my experience, my chemotherapy was every two weeks and each time we went in, we had to do blood work to see if my WBC or white blood count was high enough to receive the chemo. Chemo not only knocks down the cancer cells but also the healthy cells that fight any infections. The reason for treatments every two weeks, in my case, were so that the WBC could build back up because they were being knocked down so far by hard core chemotherapy drugs. On at least two occasions, at the two week mark my counts were low, and we had to go home. How I did not get sick is a miracle in itself because I was in 9th and 10th grade, and daily going to school. All that to say, infections were very much a concern after each treatment. Wearing a mask, washing my hands, and homeschooling were the norm at the beginning. I refused a mask, homeschooling, and prayed for low counts not really taking into consideration the magnitude of my susceptibility to infections and germs. My parents worked hard to protect me, especially with the prayers they sent to Heaven on my behalf.

Cancer patients and their families who take treatments seriously, will do whatever it takes to keep those germs away, as we all are doing now. They will skip an event, they will stay home from school, they will use hand sanitizer and masks all because they are highly susceptible to the outside bad stuff. I do not really believe they live in fear, but they know somewhat what the consequences are, as we have heard and are living our lives right now. They live years like this as long as they are on treatments, and they want to get back to normal as soon as possible. Yet the side effects will live on forever. We hope our lives get back to normal soon, yet so many lives are changed forever as well. Now we ALL know, to an extent, how a cancer patient lives.

God tells us in His word there is a time for everything.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and time to die; a time to plant, and time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and time to cast away; A time to rend, and time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”

God has all the time in His hands. As Christians, we understand each and every thing in this life and all the happenings are for a purpose; for a reason that we may not understand at that time. But praise be to God, “He has this.”