One Year Ago Today

This day last year David had his biopsy. He couldn't button the top button in his collared shirt for our Christmas picture and decided that he had been eating way too many Christmas cookies. The next day I could see a lump in his neck and I told him he should see a doctor just to make sure it was nothing. I had a hunch it was a swollen lymph node, but he hadn't been sick or anything recently. The doctor he went to did blood work and nothing showed up, and then they did an x-ray, and again nothing showed up. David told her that his brother had died from lymphoma so she decided to send him to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor for piece of mind. That doctor told him it was definitely a lymph node, and to find out more info he could do a needle biopsy or a surgical one. He said the surgical one was more accurate, but left it up to Dave to decide. He didn't seem too concerned. David decided to have the biopsy on the 19th and in we went. We weren't really worried or expecting it to turn out to be anything major. That day however, everything changed. As soon as we met the surgeon in the morning he started talking about cancer for the first time. Then, we met with the anestigiologist (sp?) and he began to give us all kinds of warnings like the tumor is close to a major artery and if I cut a nerve he may have his face be paralyzed and never be able to smile again. I really started to feel the seriousness of the day and I called Karen to ask her if she could ask the people at church and the kid's school to pray. She called our church office and Pastor Dave came straight to the hospital. I am so glad he did. Right before I saw him in the hallway, the surgeon has just come out and told me everything went well in surgery, but his best guess was that David had some kind of Lymphoma and he wouldn't know for sure for about a week. He sent me to the pharmacy to pick up some pain killers and I was in a daze. We had the choice of getting the news the day before or after Christmas. I remember that week of not knowing and I think that was the hardest part. Trying not to think ahead too far, but yet preparing to hear bad news. God was with us every step of the way, and used so many people from church to encourage us and help us to think biblically in a time where it was so easy to be anxious. So many people asked us if it was ruining our Christmas, but I remember thinking No way. It was because of Christ's birth that we had joy and the forgiveness of sins, and the hope of eternal life. I remember how special that time was leading up to Christmas, and thankful I was to know the Lord. It is hard to believe a whole year has gone by already, and I have no idea what the future will hold, but the whole experience has strengthened our faith and I know that God took care of us and gave us peace when we needed it and I know he will be faithful in the future too. I hope we don't ever have to go through this again, but it was a time in our lives that I don't think either of us would change.