A Rude Awakening

About four years ago the big C word came into our lives and it was such a terrible dream.  My twin sister called me and said would you come and stay with me.  She had recently lost her husband to diabetes and was alone in a big city.  I told her that I would come and rushed home from work to pack a few things and jump in the car to take a four  hour drive to get to her. I also took with me Alexis, my  five week old pom. My sister told me on the phone that she was so sick that she could hardly go another step.  She is the older twin and the stronger one.  I always leaned on her for support and now my time had come.

I arrived about four hours into mid afternoon and her house was empty.  She called me on my cell phone and said I am sitting in the Doctor's Office and he wants to admit me to the hospital with double pneumonia.  I met her at the hospital at the admitting office.  I had just brought home a little pom puppy about five weeks old.  I placed her in a big straw bag with a towel on the bottom and some food in it with her.  I admitted my sister and this little puppy stayed asleep until we started up to the floor where my sister would be staying.  The little Alexis popped  her head over the bag and greeted everyone!  She did not bark and stayed quiet all day long, sleeping most of the day.  The admitting nurse said ,"Don't worry I will never tell! "

My sister stayed in the hospital three weeks and we still thought she had double pneumonia.  Her doctor called a Lung Specialist in and he told us that she needed surgery to wash out this lung.  We agreed to the surgery and set it up.  Our parents who are in their eighties came up and our cousins.  We all waited in her room for them to finish the surgery.  This surgery was to take about forty-five minutes and turned into well over two hours.  The doctor called and said he was going to come and talk to us and so we all waited to hear what he had to say.  He said , "We are all in shock and disbelief that this is not pneumonia but this is lung cancer".  He stayed with us a long time and we all cried and talked with him and asked him many questions about cancer. 

She stayed in the hospital another week and I stayed with her.  She talked with a cancer specialist and told him that she did not want chemotherapy.  This specialist stared at her in disbelief.  He could not believe that she would not want chemotherapy.  I finally took her home  and we talked with her more and looked at her options.  She did have chemotherapy and two lung surgeries.  She is now cancer free and we thank God every day for her healing and her wonderful doctors.  She faces one day at a time and  that is all anyone can ask for. 

I pray every day that there will be a cure for all cancers and I belieive in my heart that God will grant this prayer.

An update on my sister is that she has a new tumor in her right lung in a different location.  She has started chemotherapy again and we are hoping it will shrink this tumor so they can take it out.  I realize that this is an ongoing thing and it really  upsets me to think how fragile we all are to this horrible disease.  Please keep both of us in your prayers as we begin our battle with this new tumor.  We trust in the Lord and we know that he knows what is best for us.