09/27/2024
10 years ago today, we heard these words from my doctor, “Well. It is cancer.”
This was after months and months of tests and MRI’s and blood work and biopsies when nothing definite was ever diagnosed. It was also the day after our daughter’s wedding.
I was in pain during the wedding, but was able to make it through the ceremony before I had to go home. Early the next morning, Phil drove me to the ER to check back into the hospital I was just released from the day before to attend the wedding.
The staff wheeled me into a side room saying “Dr. Elliot wanted to be here when you check in.” And I thought “Oh how nice! He’s so busy. I can’t believe he’s going to be here when I check back in.” Not thinking that he might have some news! 🤦♀️
He kindly delivered the news. We smiled kindly back at him, knowing that it was hard for him to tell us. Then, when he left the room, we fell into each other’s arms and cried.
In the next few days, they gave me morphine to handle the pain as they did more tests. I don’t remember a lot, but I do remember friend after friend coming to pray with me and over me. What a fun blessing.
They were able to quickly get a surgery ready to biopsy the tumor they knew was in my spine. It was so enmeshed in the nerve bundle at the base of my spine they had to use a brain surgeon 🧠 to biopsy it! She was wonderfully skilled! 💕
When I came out of surgery, Phil was there. I asked him, “What did they find?” He said, “It’s confirmed. You have Stage 4 CNS Lymphoma” He started telling me some other things, but I started quietly crying. He started praying over me and I said “Tell me about God.”
He immediately began thanking God for His mercy and grace over my life, for His healing power, for God having His hand on my life. For God’s presence in this room and for the future He still had for me.
And that was the beginning of our cancer journey.
Many of you know that 9 months later, my doctor told us that miraculously the chemo had done its work and although in the beginning they weren’t sure of the outcome, I was now cancer free!
I asked my oncologist, “Do you mean that I’m in remission?”
“No.”he said. “There is no tumor, there is no cancer in your blood and we don’t see any cancer anywhere else we thought we might find it - and we looked everywhere! So you are cancer free.” Wow!! What a miracle!!
And 10 years later, I’m still cancer free!!
I wanted to share that story with you because so many of you were part of it! You cheered me on with cards, letters and gifts that overwhelmed me!! We got so many, I think our mail carrier thought I had died and they were condolence cards! 😂😂
Phil was always so happy to come into my hospital room with grocery bags full of those cards and gifts! We read each one aloud to each other. Many of you sent monthly letters and gifts! I was so touched and encouraged.
Your prayers were part of my healing and I can never thank you enough! I really didn’t think I’d ever see many of you again - but you guys never gave up hope and faith.
If my time on earth was done, I knew where I was going and that I would be in the presence of my Savior Jesus Christ, and see my parents again. But my earthly emotions made me “miss” the future I might have had (knowing my grandchildren, growing old with Phil).
As I prayed for healing, God told me “Melody, this isn’t about you. This is about my name being glorified in this.” I didn’t take this as a promise for healing. I knew God was telling me to not give up and live my life, for as many days as I had left, in pointing people to Him.
I started a routine of asking all my care givers “How can I pray for you?”
Oh my goodness! What God did then was allow me to pray about the most intimate and desperate things in their lives! To be able to have a baby. To be able to find a new place to live and get out of an abusive relationship. Prayer for a 12 year old son who just had to have his legs amputated because of diabetes and her husband had just left. Prayer over a single nurse who felt alone and lonely.
So many would hear that I would pray for them, that sometimes they would just come to my room for prayer!
God was so good during that time. And He is still so good today.
What concerns or worries are you carrying right now? I know what it is to carry that burden with you daily and to go to sleep at night when it’s all you can think about.
Instead, turn your thoughts to Him. His character, His wisdom, His love, His faithfulness, His goodness, and His promises.
“Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.”
Colossians 3:2 NLT
“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.””
Deuteronomy 31:8 NLT
How can I pray for you today?
