Our life detour continued as we arrived in Indianapolis on Wednesday, March 27th for our daughter Erica’s appointment to see the Minimally Invasive OBGYN surgeon. She talked with Erica and confirmed that surgery was going to be needed ASAP. The problem was that this surgeon’s schedule was full for the rest of the week and she was going to be on vacation the following week. BUT, (and sometimes the word “but” brings good news!)…another surgeon had just started at IU Health who was also a Minimally Invasive OBGYN surgeon and she, more than likely, could do the surgery. This was this surgeon’s first day in the clinic. If Erica’s appointment there would have been on Monday or Tuesday, when we thought it should have been, this doctor wouldn’t have been there to see Erica. Once again…God’s timing is always perfect!
Dr. Oshinowo, or as she called herself Dr. O, walked into the room and immediately put us at ease. She was amazing. She examined Erica and looked through all of her test results. She concurred that surgery was needed and she could do it. But, she brought that dreaded “C” word back into the picture. She was not willing to rule out that Erica didn’t have cancer. Her test results were way too high for her liking and she wanted us to realize the possibilities.
Dr. O said that it would probably take a few days to get surgery scheduled, since other surgeons would also have to be lined up to assist. An oncologist because of the possibility of cancer and a urologist because of the involvement of the kidneys. Finally, Erica received the phone call she had been waiting for…surgery was scheduled for the following Wednesday.
I’m not going to lie…those days of waiting were difficult. Especially since we felt like we were dealing with a ticking time bomb. All we could do was trust in God’s power and in His timing.
Wednesday finally arrived and we checked in at the hospital in Indianapolis. Since the surgeon didn’t know exactly what she would find when she looked inside, Erica had to sign papers giving her approval for every possible scenario that could happen. Erica might come out of surgery with all of her organs intact…or…everything involved may have to be removed. Dr. O went over all the different possibilities and then she inquired as to whether we had asked a chaplain to come in before surgery. Erica told her that we had not. Then her surgeon informed us that she had already been praying for Erica and for this surgery, along with her mother who was a very strong prayer warrior. We were overwhelmed. Not only did God lead us to an excellent surgeon…He led us to a very strong Christian surgeon who wasn’t afraid of sharing her faith with her patients!
The surgery was scheduled to last three hours. Fortunately, a close friend of ours lives in the area and was kind enough to come and spend the time of waiting with us. Having Mary with us was such a blessing and we just couldn’t thank her enough for her willingness to be Jesus with skin on for us that day.
We started to receive updates from the doctor after the first couple hours. The word was that Erica’s condition was much worse than expected. It was discovered that her entire abdomen was “frozen” together with endometriosis, and many organs were involved. We learned in one update that a general surgeon had to be called in to remove her appendix. Another update told us that one of the cysts had been painstakingly removed from a ureter…still another one to go. And one update gave us information we had been waiting to hear…there was no cancer! Oh, that was music to this mama’s ears.
We approached the three-hour mark…and then the four-hour mark. Five, six and seven hours went by and all we were hearing was that she was still in surgery and the doctor was still carefully working on repairing everything in Erica’s abdomen. Finally, after eight, very long hours, we were told that surgery was over.
We soon met with Dr. O and her assistant as she shared with us all that had to be done. She shared that Erica’s condition was one of the worst she had ever seen and that was why it had taken so long. One of the cysts was the size of a grapefruit and the other the size of an apple. These doctors were willing to spend eight hours, doing all they could do to save Erica’s organs and, in the end, the only thing removed besides the cysts, was her appendix. All other organs had been preserved.
What a miracle that was because we had been told by one of the doctors in North Carolina that it was a given that Erica would automatically lose one ovary and a very good chance both ovaries. There was even the possibility that she would need a complete hysterectomy. If the surgery would have taken place in North Carolina…where we thought it should have happened…more than likely that would have been the outcome. But…because all doors were slammed shut there and the doors were opened in Indianapolis…she had a very positive outcome.
We thanked the doctors over and over again for all they did for Erica and I told them that we knew the Lord had led us to them. Dr. O then told us that not only had she and her mother been praying…but her husband and brother had also been praying for Erica throughout the day. God is SO good!
Yesterday we celebrated Easter…the day when our Jesus rose from the dead. I know there are those who don’t believe this happened and deny that there is a living, risen King to worship and serve. I’m here to tell you my friends…I have seen our living Jesus intervening is such powerful ways these past six weeks, that there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that He is alive and well and still in the miracle business. HE gets all the glory. HE gets my complete trust. HE is coming again so that we can spend eternity with Him. Are you ready?
“He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise,
the one who has done these mighty miracles
that you have seen with your own eyes.”
No comments:
Post a Comment