The C Word – Day 23 God’s Will

We have had a number of people comment to us about the fact that we were never told about the small, calcified growth found on the small bowel back in 2007 and the fact that the radiologist had suggested, at that time, that this should be further explored with a full CT scan.  The reactions have been from those of pure anger and rage to surprise that the doctors let it slip through or maybe even never saw this scan. 

We had a lovely conversation with our dear Christian friend, Dinah, yesterday.  She is the one I have spoken of in the past when who, after a tragic turn of events ended up with husband her husband going blind, responded to her pastor with “Why me, Lord?”  Her pastor said to her, “Why not you?” 

For we, as Christians, are told that God will never give us more than we can handle.  We often find that hard to believe, we struggle with life’s situations, we do battle with the Lord’s will, we do not always enjoy God’s timing or His sense of humor.  In hindsight, though, we often find that we have grown tremendously during those struggles and have figured out how to rise above and conquer the trials that befall us.

Dinah shared some profound thoughts about why it was that the 2007 scan went unmentioned, untreated, and so on.  She said that “back then” our choices for treatment would have been minimal at best.  Finding an experienced surgeon in our locale would have been more difficult.  In fact, the surgeon who will be performing the surgery had only entered into clinical trials with this disease in 2006 and in 2007 would have had limited exposure and practice with this HIPEC technique. 

So, while it is true that George’s condition continued to grow and spread in seven years, it is truer still that this procedure has become more widely known, improved upon and the surgeon now has eight years of experience under his belt.  Those are all things that improve the odds of a more successful treatment. 

The fact that we are able to provide the surgeon a CT scan from 2007 so he could actually note that the changes have occurred slowly and can verify that this is likely a low grade cancer is a plus.  Nothing can change the fact that there is cancer, and it’s not a good one, but the odds for improved health and prolonged life have become better with the passage of time.  All things happen for a reason – all things are revealed when they are to be revealed.  Had George not gotten another kidney stone we would not have knowledge of this disease and, had it been allowed to progress much further the odds of survival would have grown increasingly lower. 

God’s Will and His wisdom?  His hand is written all over this script.