Life Lines

When we were pushed into the deep end of the pool named Cancer--Late Stage III Melanoma, I bobbed to the surface by instinct.  Doggy paddles while gasping for a clear breath.  Eyes blurry from trying to see underwater.  Where's the bottom?  When will my feet touch?  How far to the side, or the step?

 

I would come to understand though, that God already had some clear life lines in place. 

 

The first person I called from the Day Surgery Waiting Room on July 6th was a friend and sister in Christ with whom I had been meeting on Monday mornings for prayer.  Her voice cracked and quivered.  And she promised to pass along my prayer requests to what I would come to experience as a powerful life line--the Prayer Chain in our little country church.

 

One member of our church had buried her husband less than a year prior.  Pancreatic cancer had taken him quickly.  On this day, that shy widow of few words knocked on our kitchen door.  As she handed me a copy of an article, she confessed deep regret that they didn't seek a second opinion.  "Do it," she said.  Her courage and transparency were a life line.

 

A toll-free life line to the National Cancer Institute
Information Service.

 I began to research and record information that might help process our new life.

A Chappell Hill neighbor and friend had retired from her job as Lab Tech at MD Anderson.  She called a trusted co-worker at the Melanoma/Sarcoma service at Anderson, and passed along a recommendation.  This major life line was attached to a sturdy life boat!

Our friend Joan had contacts, and she researched the go-to doctor
for us to request for a second opinion.

In hindsight, God had been at work for years weaving a network of family and friends that would be precious touchstones and supporters over the next 5 months of battle.  God's back story with us is fascinating.  If you had dusted my life for fingerprints, you'd have found God's hand all over the place.