Four weeks ago was when our journey began. That was when life changed forever. My name is Randy, and my wife Becka and I have three kids ages twelve, fourteen, and twenty. We are your ordinary Christian, working, loving, arguing, taekwondo family. We have ordinary problems but exceptional love for each other. We have goals and dreams, plans for the future and for our children. Everything was going pretty well, until four weeks ago. That was when Becka went to Prime Care.
She had a pain in her side, and we thought it was a pulled muscle from Taekwondo, but it wouldn't go away, so she went to get it checked out. I remember very well when she called me that day from the doctor's office, because I could hear in her voice that something was wrong. The doctors wanted me to pick her up, because the xray had revealed what they thought might be a pulmonary embolism in her lung. I took off of work and rushed there, gathered her up, and took her for a CT. They took the Cat Scan immediately, and sent us back to the doctor, who told us that there wasn't an embolism, but there was in fact a mass in her left lung. Life was already changing, and the things that mattered had changed as well. We scheduled Becka an appointment with a pulmonary surgeon, who ordered a PET scan before we met with him.
We had already started praying hard. We had always prayed as a family every day, but our prayers had been of gratitude, or for other people, for a very long time. This time, our prayers were for mercy and healing.
The surgeon was very gentle when he informed us that the PET scan revealed many areas of concern in Becka, and the next course of action was a biopsy. At this point, all joy had left my heart and I felt like falling apart, but I had faith in God, and besides, it couldn't be cancer. Becka had never smoked in her life, and she had lived in the Amazon! It had to be an infection!
We didn't get the results back so we were able to enjoy Thanksgiving with friends and family, but still a dark cloud loomed over us, and we knew that the storm could hit at any time, but still we prayed, and so did many others! Did I mention that Becka is beloved?
Monday came and Becka called me at work. She said that the doctor's office had called and they had scheduled her with an Oncologist, but the doctor wouldn't be in until after 1:00, and he would call then with the results. I got off the phone with her, gained my composure, and called the doctor's office myself. I told them I wanted her results, so the nurse came on and informed me that Becka had Metastatic Cancer-Adenocarcenoma. I hung up, and fell apart. I'm glad I was outside and alone. I couldn't talk or breath, and I prayed out loud for God to give me strength. I knew I had to get home before the doctor called. I couldn't let Becka get her results alone, so I jumped in my truck and broke every law to get to my beautiful wife.
I walked in the house and she met me at the door. She didn't know that I knew, so I took her by the hand and we sat on the couch. I said, "Baby, please don't be mad at me, but you know I have no patience. I called and got your results". I don't know if it was my voice breaking, or the tears running down, but she knew. She asked, "Do I have cancer"? I told her yes, took both of her hands, and we cried together for a time. Then she looked at me and told me she was going to beat it, and I agreed.
We met with the Oncologist, who told her he was going to heal her, but he needed to do an MRI of her head to make sure it hadn't spread to her brain. SURELY it hadn't. God knows what we were going through already. That was enough, but as sure as the world, she had the MRI and there is cancer present in her brain.
All of this has taken place in the last month. It feels like we are being bombed, each time with a bigger bomb. I started crying in the Radiologist's office when he told us about her brain cancer, and I said, "God says he will never put more on us than we can handle, but he's really pushing the envelope here", and the doctor looked at me and said, "God didn't do this. He didn't give her cancer, but he will heal her, and walk with you".
This has truly been a test of faith. Today, I can say, my faith in God has never been stronger, and neither has my love for my wife. She had her first radiation treatment today on her brain. They are going after the tumors there first. Her hair will fall out, her short term memory will be damaged, but she will live. WE will get through this. I'm terrified, distraught, and numb, but I'm here. I'm going to walk beside my wife through everything she has to go through, and when she gets well, I'm taking her somewhere special! This too shall pass, and we will be stronger as a result. Please pray for her. God WILL heal her! I have no doubt! I will be posting as much as I can. I want to document our journey in healing. In Christ, may you be blessed!
