Thankful

The last few weeks have been stressful, and aside from feeling under the weather right now, I am feeling hopeful. As mentioned before, my handicapped aunt was undergoing some health issues, and last Thursday she had a complete hysterectomy, due to the mass that was found on her ovary. The preliminary tests, prior to surgery, indicated it was cancerous, but the quick biopsies done during the surgery were inconclusive and merited further testing. Yesterday, we received the news. In my mind, after getting an initial cancer diagnosis, I was praying God would work some kind of miracle, and after hearing the results I fully believe that He did. The tests came back, and she did indeed have cancer. But here is the thing, the mass of cancer, was inside a much larger mass, that was not cancer. Weird, huh? Furthermore, the cancer cells indicate that this type is pervasive and often spreads to many different areas of the body. Yet, hers was contained in that one area. Because of these oddities, the oncologist, wants to test it again, to make sure that some mistake was not made in determining the type of cancer cells. Test away! I feel like this was completely a God thing. And I am thankful for what I believe is His intervention. My aunt still has a bit of a road ahead, but the chemotherapy, should be minimal. At this time, they are speculating she will have four rounds of treatment.

I was impressed with the oncologist last night when she came in to talk to my aunt. She was calming, but upfront. During my aunt's hospital stay doctor had her kidneys tested as well, because they were concerned that they were not functioning properly. The doctor stopped by to announce that the kidneys were fine, and my aunt asked, "So there is no cancer?" She knows what cancer is, and that it is scary and ugly. The doctor told her that there was no cancer in her ANYMORE, that they removed it all during the surgery, and her kidneys were not affected. The doctor laid out a plan of recuperation for my aunt, and told her when she would be seeing her next. My aunt was in very good humor, joking and teasing, and ultimately elated by the news that she would be heading home today. Finally!

Additionally, I am thankful that my aunt is in a living situation, where she is under someone's watch 24 hours a day. While family would have done their best in this situation, it still would not have been as thorough and attentive as what she currently has regarding care. Living with her roommates, with caregivers available 24 hours a day, is such a huge blessing! And, her roommates missed her! In fact, her one roommate called their care administrator everyday to find out when my aunt was coming home from the hospital. This overall health situation is one that I would have preferred to avoid, but I guess that I need to see God work every now and then and show me just what He can do if He chooses too. Apparently, I needed that reminder.