Blessings - One After Another
Mary Ellen Ferderber
On
November 19, 2009, my mom went home to be with the Lord after struggling for
seven months with pancreatic cancer.
Unfortunately, numerous other health issues prevented her from
attempting any treatment for the cancer.
Because I had worked in healthcare since 1980, I tried to guide her to
make informed decisions each time a new challenge arose. I soon realized she was not interested. It made me so sad to think she had no hope
for this life.
As
time went on we talked and reminisced.
Through our discussions she became reassured that as a believer in Jesus
she would be made whole when she finally reached her heavenly home. She was looking forward to this promise.
Before
the tragic event of my mother's passing, I was a very healthy person - never
sick a day in my life. I was very happy
as well - made joyful by my fellowship with the Lord and by my having a
wonderful marriage. However, the following
year after her death, I was consumed with the nagging thought of pancreatic
cancer. I decided to have a CT scan to
ease my fear of having cancer myself.
The doctor called with the results. He said, "All looks good, but
you have a cyst in one of your ovaries. You
should probably have an ultrasound to make sure."
For
the next three years we kept a close eye on the cyst. Then it started to change. I decided immediately to have both ovaries
removed - foregoing the biopsy step - since cancer is prevalent throughout my
family tree.
On
December 13, 2013, the doctor called to see how I was doing following the
laparoscopic procedure. "I'm doing
well," I replied. Then the bomb
dropped. He said he was sorry to have to
inform me that I had a rare form of ovarian cancer known as "clear
cell." He then referred me to an
oncologist.
During
the next month my life took a 180-degree turn. In February I had laparoscopic
surgery performed by the oncologist. I feel very blessed that neither one of
the surgeries caused me any pain.
Three
weeks later I began having 21 doses of chemo.
Blessings from God - one after another - got me through this time. During
most of these treatments, I had enough strength to work. During the last few weeks, however, I did
become very weak making it hard for me to even get out of bed. My blood count was very low. I lost my hair; I felt very cold a lot of the
time. Although this period of time was
brutal, God stepped in to rescue me. Godly
women friends- some I hadn't even seen in ages - surrounded me with their
loving care. They fixed meals for me, watched
me while my husband was at work, drove me to appointments, and read scripture
to me as I was being infused. In addition, someone in Tabitha's Treasures, a
ministry group at the Church of the Good Shepherd that makes and gives blessed
caps to cancer patients, gave me a very soft one that provided me with much
needed comfort and warmth at night. My wonderful
husband never once complained. Hundreds
of people were praying for my healing. I
felt a peace that surpassed all understanding during the entire time!
Interestingly enough, I had a
scripture verse on my work desk - one I had gotten when at chemo treatment
-which is one of my favorites:
All
things work together for good to all those that love the Lord, to those that
are called to his purpose.
That
verse happens to be Romans 8:28. As I
noticed this reference, it suddenly came to me that my mother's birthday was August 28 which also happens to be
referenced as 8.28 - the same numbers that corresponded to that Bible
verse. How wonderful to have that connection with my
mother! Coincidence. I don't think so.
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