My neighbor Bob is 87 years old. He has been watching his
wife slip further away every day because of Alzheimer. Bob has a daughter Janet
about my age. She and husband Mike have seen more pain and joy than anyone I
have ever known. Mike lost his first wife about the same time Janet lost her
husband both killed in tragic car accidents. The Holy Spirit brought these two
together in a supernatural way. They later had a daughter Julie that blessed
them in such a mighty way. When our children are born we never know what struggles
they might face. Some have health issues like cystic fibrosis. No one but
parents that have lived with sick children can ever tell you how difficult it
is. We don’t have a name for a parent that loses a child. The thing that most
parents hold so dear after such a thing is the joy that child brought them, however
brief or long that might be. Death is a part of life and we all want to grow
old with all of our faculties.
I never knew Mike and Janet’s daughter Julie but I have seen
her spirit manifest in the both of them. This gift of eternal life and the
promise of heaven is the hope and joy that requires faith. It is that peace
that passes all understanding.
Patti and I took the shuttle to Mayo and met a couple named Mike
and Leslie Meadows. They owned Meadows Furniture Inc in Richland Center, WI. I find out that they are acquaintances with Rob and Joyce Pearson,
Tarkio friends of ours. The town of Richland Center is praying for Leslie. She
has the cancer mesothelioma. God gave us an opportunity to intercede in prayer
for a couple we will never see again.
I had an MRI today and the woman that started my IV had an
unusual last name. I asked her if she could pronounce her last name. She laughs
and says yes. She had an indistinguishable accent. “Where are you from?” I
asked. “Bosnia”, she said.
I have an intuitive gift or curse depending on how you look
at it. I can see people that have suffered emotional pain. I see it in the
spirit and seldom acknowledge it to them. In this case I felt she needed me to.
I looked at her and said, “ I am sorry. Did you lose your family?” She said, “All but my two boys”.
I gained my composure and spent the hour in the MRI machine in mediation and
prayer for her. I did not open my eyes the entire time. I would not have been able
to do it without that woman. Back in to see the Doctor and talk about the
surgery I’m about to have. Its
called a superficial parotidectomy and we hope it reveals that I have no cancer.
I have complete faith in God and Dr. Olson. He has kind eyes. I will finally have the truth when I wake
up from surgery. I was released the next day and Patti drives me home. We stop
in Clear Lake, Iowa to have some lunch at a Culver’s. When I come out of the
restroom Patti is talking with Keith & Sheri Worrel, members of our church
in Olathe. Sheri leads the bible
study that Patti attends and they were driving back from vacation. Another God
connection and they were delighted to hear the news that I didn’t have cancer. They
found no cancer after a very serious operation to remove a benign Warthin’s
tumor. When we got home and looked at the mail we had a letter from KU. It was
a very nice letter from Dr Girod. He was very concerned that I get a second
opinion to positively rule out cancer. At one point they had me convinced I had cancer when they went looking for a primary and took out my tonsils.When the pathologist at Mayo thought the
slide showed cancer I had no choice but to have a second operation to get a
tissue sample directly from the tumor.This should have been done from the start at KU because the only way to prove you don’t have cancer
is from a tissue biopsy. The scars will be my reminder that I am a cancer survivor
even if I never had cancer.
