Personal Journey Entry # 27

It is very humbling to have someone say they are praying for you, so what should I feel with a small army of friends and family telling me I am in their daily prayers for a successful recovery from this evil cancer? So far, those prayers must be reaching their target, for every test, procedure, and surgery has fallen our way. Hopefully, we just need you to hang with us for a few more days as we have a second date on Wednesday with Dr. Boston at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. If, and I don’t want to go there, but, if Dr. Boston is unable to get at or remove the cancer via her endoscopic wand, we are not out of options. But the next step will be radical surgery. We are pulling for DR. B, and I hope you might throw a prayer or two her way.

There are a lot of wasted efforts on Facebook, including horror stories of how Esophageal Cancer stole a loved one. The incident rate and death rate for EC are very similar. The best way to beat this silent killer is early detection. I was fortunate to have the good fortune of Dr. Hillary Tompkins who did my initial screening of Barrett’s Esophagus in January. Three of my surgeons credit the sharp eye of Dr. Tompkins for saving my life. Early detection gave us options, and we have used every one of them on this journey. I believe that God has spared me for a reason. I think he has a plan for me, which is to spread the word about screenings and tests on a regular basis. Catch Esophageal Cancer in Stage One, and you have a fighting chance to beat it and have an everyday life. Let it progress, and you are looking at years of chemical and radiation treatments and a low chance of survival.

A wonderful contributor on Facebook is Kelly Boa Kulhay’s daily musings and a site called your_light_within. Today’s message was timely:

“When life knocks you down, rise again, not in your strength but His. God made you to endure, to overcome, and to thrive”. Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”

God and my Angels have been with Shay and me every step of the way. I have no fear about the surgery next Wednesday, plenty of anxiety, but not fear. I put my life in His hands on day one, and He has shown there is a plan, and part of it is remission.

God Bless all of you who have been praying, calling, or reaching out. You have made this journey easier and have pushed me along when the stress was wearing me down. It is impossible to repay your kindness and love, but I will do whatever God has in store in your name. If we can save just one life, we will all be square. Thank you for stopping by, and hopefully, the next you hear from me will be the sound of a bell ringing three times. What a joyous sound it will be.