After 4 days in the hospital, last night my sister Mary got her greatest wish: to go home. Nobody likes the plasticized pillows or the unending interruptions. (…like the nurse who came in to take more blood: “Good morning!” she said in a cheery voice, flipping on the lights. It was 4:00 AM.)
The function of Mary’s stay was to complete a battery of tests so her team of doctors could make an accurate analysis and recommend treatment. Next week she’ll receive the news, whether good, bad, or somewhere in between.
Last night I promised we would hear from Mary today, and below are excerpts from a letter she wrote on Sunday, letting it be known for the first time she had cancer:
Last week I experienced three days of mysterious high fevers. When I saw a doctor on Saturday, he sent us to the emergency room for tests. It was a huge shock to [husband] Berv and me, and it will be a shock to you, to learn I have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The testing will enable them to stage the cancer.
As we learn more, I’ll pass it on to you. Margaret has offered her blog to share any updates, and God has led me to say yes. If there are specific prayer requests, you’ll find them there too.
Having to tell my [7] children what I’ve just told you was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. No mother wants to cause her children pain. But Scripture promises great spiritual gain can result from suffering, and that is my hope and prayer. Please pray for my children, children-in-law, grandchildren, and for Bervin, who is holding up as well as can be expected, trying to stay strong for all of us. But he is understandably sad and upset.
Today Margaret brought me a beautiful beach stone, the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen. On it was inscribed Psalm 71:3. This afternoon six year old [grandson] Beck read it for us. “Be to me a Rock of habitation, to which I may continually come. Thou art my Rock and my Fortress…my confidence from my youth.” I know, without doubt, God will never leave me or forsake me, and I’m clinging to Him and His Word to carry me all the way through.
Thanking the Lord for you,
Mary
* * * * * * * * *
On Saturday when we heard the words “pancreatic cancer,” we all jumped to a radical conclusion: that Mary would follow the same path Nate did. (He died 42 days after diagnosis.) But with great joy we’re now believing we were wrong about that. Mary’s cancer is a very rare pancreatic, occurring less than 10% of the time. In cases like hers, surgery has been known to extend a person’s life for quite a while.
In the mean time, Mary is setting the example by not worrying about tomorrow, because just as Jesus said,
“Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matthew 6:34)