One thing I’m sure of is that life is unpredictable and will always be filled with ups and downs. Sometimes though, I’m not sure whether I’m in the middle of an up or a down? I know that sounds crazy but let me explain.
Around August of last year when the pandemic was in full swing, I got a lump in my throat. No, not the kind you get when you’re scared, although this particular lump was starting to scare me because it was making it hard to swallow. That stupid lump was becoming a growing bump and to make eating even harder, in September I drove through a Carl’s Jr. and broke a tooth when I bit into a Famous Star cheeseburger.
The broken tooth forced me to go see my dentist, who by the way is an amazing guy. He’s younger than me, better looking than me, and way better at golf than me. He surfs, plays guitar, and makes everyone around him feel good about themselves, including his patients and staff. His warm personality and infectious smile make me actually want to go see my dentist… how crazy is that! While I was there getting my tooth fixed, I asked him to check out my lump/bump and he immediately referred me to an excellent oral surgeon.
I waited for months because of Covid, but finally went to the oral surgeon this April after being fully vaccinated. He didn’t like the look of my lump, called it a nasty looking bump, and said he needed to do a biopsy on it right away. I went back in for the surgery and they sent the biopsy sample to the lab at UCLA Medical. Two painful, hard to eat weeks later, I was informed that my biopsy sample had been lost? What the heck! Are you joking me! So unfortunately, I had to go back to the oral surgeon and have a second biopsy done. Now I really was starting to get a lump in my throat from worrying about this situation for so long.
For six straight days I prayed for a good outcome and let my faith keep me strong and positive. On the seventh day, I received a phone call from the oral surgeon. The first thing he said was, “Your lumpy bump is non-cancerous.” He let that sit for a moment while I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Then he went on to explain in unintelligible medical terms what caused it and how it should eventually go away on its own. For the rest of that day, and every day since, I have been giving thanks for my good health. Even this morning, before I sat down to write this Monday Message, I said a prayer of thanks for being healthy, a prayer of thanks for my friend the dentist, and a prayer of thanks for the oral surgeon. (For some reason though, I may have forgotten to say thanks for the lousy post office courier that lost my biopsy sample!)
Anyway, that got me thinking about what happened… Was that an up? Or a down? Being worried that I might have cancer was a definite downer but waking up every day being super thankful that I am actually healthy is the ultimate upper. Maybe I just need to remember that the road of life is always going to be filled with lumps and bumps… but faith and friends sure can help to smooth it out!
Epilogue… While waiting
for the outcome of my biopsy, I forced myself to consider what would happen if
it came back as some form of bad cancer. How would I handle that outcome? Would
my intense faith enable me to stay strong and positive, or would I freak out
and give up? As I pondered this extremely difficult question, my mind kept
drifting back to my friend the dentist, who is also a man of very strong faith,
a man that makes the world a better place through his commitment to others. And
that’s when it became very clear to me exactly how I should live my life…
regardless of the outcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment