On February 17, 2003 in an Odessa delivery room, I had the honor of witnessing the birth of my grandson, Brennon. The labor was done, the pushing was in full swing. As a tiny head emerged, the silence of the moment was broken with the doctor's command to the nurse, "CORD!" I touched the nurse's shoulder and asked, "What???? Did he say cord?" At that point, things moved very quickly. I watched in awe as this baby boy's little neck was freed from the lifeline that had kept him alive for nine months. Soon after, my little guy began crying, but I was still stuttering from what I had witnessed, Dr. Lively's eyes raised to meet mine. Through his surgical mask, he spoke these unforgettable words. "Now you know how fragile life is!" A few seconds later, we were happily counting little fingers and toes.
Days have passed; weeks have blended into months; months into a full decade. Once again, I have been reminded about just how fragile life is. This time, I have come face to face with my own mortality. My personality is that of a "fixer" of other's problems ....... suddenly I have become the one who has caused concern for myself and for those I love. With the diagnosis of cancer, the trajectory of my life has been sent into a spiral.
I am eternally grateful that my disease was discovered early. Waldenstrom's macroglobulemia and I will co-exist. My medical team and I will work hard to maintain that delicate balance that will keep me alive. I am determined to live my life with Jesus Christ in the foreground and cancer in the background. Thank The Lord, I am on my way to that end.
"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. For you ought to say if the Lord will, we shall live." James 4: 14-15
Now I know how fragile life is, and I am confident that I will never be the same!
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