It has been a few weeks since I last posted. The desire to post has been there but I have lacked the strength to do so. Two days after my last post, my dear cousin Julie passed away. What a whirlwind of happenings since that day. There was finishing up with my last week of school, all the happenings for Christmas and my mom's birthday and the services for my cousin.
Julie is one of my hero's. What a testimony of strength, dignity, long suffering, hope and even joy despite her brutal battle with ovarian cancer. Julie was an amazing woman. Every time I had the opportunity for a visit, attend a family party or chance meeting (we ran into each other at Costco, DVC, a grocery store and at a sporting goods store), I always walked away with a smile on my face from my time with her.
Julie was young, 38 years young. She leaves behind a wonderful husband and a 6 year old son. Some of the pain that I felt in my heart was thinking about her son. My heart continually goes back to my source of truth and strength, the God of the universe. God is sovereign and He knows the pain and struggle of this family. A friend recently gave me a few lines from a hymn, "O Father You are Sovereign". It goes, "O Father you are sovereign, the Lord of human pain, transmuting earthly sorrows to gold of heavenly gain; all evil overruling, as none but Conqueror could, Your love pursues its purpose, our soul's eternal good." Through the tears and the pain, God has a good plan for those whose lives are anchored in Him. My cousin did have faith in God, she took this trial in stride, rejoiced with each and every day that she had. I do believe that my cousin is surrounded by His glory, face to face with her Savior, and is rejoicing around the Throne.
If you received my Christmas letter, I have already mentioned a few things that my cousin would encourage you to do and I too want to encourage you. These include: be faithful to your regular check-ups (all of them, the easy routine ones and the one's that are uncomfortable and embarrassing), be your best advocate, if something does not appear to be normal- keep up with the doctors, have your will in order and if you have children designate who will be the care takers in case something happens to you and your spouse. There are other things you can do to help others who may have a need, give blood or be an organ donor.
I want to stress the point about getting your regular check-ups and taking every possible outcome seriously, using my cousin as an example. About 4 years ago, my cousin went in for a routine check-up that included the routine woman's exam. The doctor discovered a smaller "cyst or tumor" in one of her ovaries. The doctor deemed it as nothing serious and would re-examine the tumor in 6 months. Well, my cousin did not make it to the 6 month check up. 2 weeks before her next exam, she was in exteme pain, could not hold food down and felt a larger lump in her abdominal area. She went to the doctor and he said she needs to go into surgery within a few days. The doctors and the family still did not think this was anything serious. In surgery, the doctors discovered that Julie had a softball/grapefruit sized tumor in her ovary and that cancer was all over her abdominal area and several organs had cancer on them. This was the start of her courageous battle with cancer for the next 3 1/2 years.
I know that this was the plan that God had for Julie and there would have no been changing it for her but maybe God might use her story to have another at the first sign of a tumor to be treated immediately and to have victory over cancer.
If you received my Christmas letter, I have already mentioned a few things that my cousin would encourage you to do and I too want to encourage you. These include: be faithful to your regular check-ups (all of them, the easy routine ones and the one's that are uncomfortable and embarrassing), be your best advocate, if something does not appear to be normal- keep up with the doctors, have your will in order and if you have children designate who will be the care takers in case something happens to you and your spouse. There are other things you can do to help others who may have a need, give blood or be an organ donor.
I want to stress the point about getting your regular check-ups and taking every possible outcome seriously, using my cousin as an example. About 4 years ago, my cousin went in for a routine check-up that included the routine woman's exam. The doctor discovered a smaller "cyst or tumor" in one of her ovaries. The doctor deemed it as nothing serious and would re-examine the tumor in 6 months. Well, my cousin did not make it to the 6 month check up. 2 weeks before her next exam, she was in exteme pain, could not hold food down and felt a larger lump in her abdominal area. She went to the doctor and he said she needs to go into surgery within a few days. The doctors and the family still did not think this was anything serious. In surgery, the doctors discovered that Julie had a softball/grapefruit sized tumor in her ovary and that cancer was all over her abdominal area and several organs had cancer on them. This was the start of her courageous battle with cancer for the next 3 1/2 years.
I know that this was the plan that God had for Julie and there would have no been changing it for her but maybe God might use her story to have another at the first sign of a tumor to be treated immediately and to have victory over cancer.
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