Cancer.
The word that people dread hearing from their doctor.
We've all heard the stories. There are so many stories of battles with cancer that sometimes it is hard for it to really sink in.
Well, last August it began to sink in for me. A long time friend's mom found out that she had cancer & 2 weeks later she was gone. Just like that.
It hardly seemed real. The floor was ripped right out from under their feet. Even now it is hard to come to terms with her home going to be with the Lord.
Well, on May 20, 2013 my families journey with cancer began. My mom was diagnosed with Adino Cancer in her uterus. The outlook was promising: a slow growing cancer in the early stages.
The second pathologist did not agree.
They detected the presence of another, more agressice type of cancer, one that spreads through the blood stream. (Adino cancer has to literally grow through the organ and take over another organ)
We got another second opinion and this time the pathologist agreed with the first opinion. The presence of Adino cancer only in the uterus. Praise the Lord!!!
Mom had surgery last Monday. The surgery went fine. Well the surgeon was operating he examined all of the surrounding organs to make sure that there was no cancer had grown onto them. He found none.
Mom came home Thursday evening June 13, 2013 at 5pm. The next day she called to have a chat with the Dr. said that they had found some small aggressive cancer cells. We are still waiting for the full biopsy report.
Waiting.
Wow! Such a hard thing to do on a regular basis, but when the news is something this life changing it makes t even more intense and hard. Some think of waiting as simply sitting around. That is not what waiting looks like around here. Around here, waiting is busy. My mom did SO much. I mean, how often do we think about how much work it takes to keep up with the laundry, make the schedules, play chauffeur, make the meals, keep the fridge and pantry full(NOT an easy task with 10 still living @ home), and keep the family together. wow! That is a LOT of work! Not to mention the roles of caretaker, counselor, medic, and wife!
Well, we are all pitching in a little more. But it's far from smooth sailing.
Since I had last week off from work I was mom's primary caregiver here @ home. Making sure she had her meds and food. Talking with her. Helping her get up and walk and reminding her that healing takes time.
I have also been able to read scripture with her, to pray with her, and to cry with her. And as sweet as those times are, they are also the hardest.
It's not easy to see superwoman needing help for every little thing. That's what she was to me. Superwoman. She could do anything(or so I thought when I was young.) As I've grown older we became more than Mother & Daughter, we became something sweeter, Mother & Daughter AND Friends. It's hard to see the woman that I look up to so much so weak. She has been stripped of her earthly strength, depending on others to bring her food and medicine. and at her point of greatest weaknesses she has found Strength. "How?" you might ask. Not strength in herself, Strength found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is giving her strength for each moment. And right now, when I feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders, I find strength too. Psalm 66:12 has brought comfort to me and has helped me to rely more upon God. "You have caused men to ride over our heads, you have brought of through water and through fire, Yet you will bring us out into a place of abundance."
God has not deserted us. He is here, with us, giving us strength. Strength, when we need it most.
All for now,
Lou
Ps 18:29
No comments:
Post a Comment