With Wings as Eagles
| But they that wait upon
the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as
eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not
faint. Isa. 40:31. |
In August I
received a clean bill of health after my annual physical. In October I
had gotten an "I see no real problem" from the vascular specialist who
inspected my swollen leg. But by November I started having occasional back
pain. The swelling in the leg was still evident in December, when my sister
eyed it with concern and made a doctor's appointment for me. The physician's
words, "prostate cancer," sent a chill down my spine!
A few days later, back home
in Tennessee, I was feeling somewhat tired. My usual optimistic attitude
was failing. I thought of the words "They shall run, and not be weary."
Then the pain hit, and I begged to be taken to the emergency room. Three
days later the surgeons performed an orchiectomy and predicted I had six
months to live.
During the next four and
a half years I tried treatments ranging from herbs to experimental chemotherapy.
By the fourth year I had sold my accounting business, since the pain was
getting too great to hide, and I began an experimental chemo program at
Vanderbilt. My courage was bolstered one day when I overhead another man
on the same protocol telling his nurse that he was "back on the golf course
again!" "They shall walk, and not faint."
For six months I took treatments
and felt wonderful. My wife and I began traveling. I did odd jobs around
the house and played with my grandson. "Run with me, Papa," he would say.
Around and around I pulled him in his little red wagon, laughing and telling
him stories. Then one day four months after the experimental chemo ended,
the pain suddenly returned. I stubbornly tried pulling the red wagon with
its special load, and I got sick—very, very sick.
I'm still in bed, too weak
to function. My hospice nurse says she is "absolutely amazed" that I have
been able to hang on so long. Maybe there will be a miracle yet. I keep
that ray of hope. Then I think again of Isaiah: "They shall mount up with
wings as eagles." Smiling, I am looking forward to that, too, in case the
miracle doesn't happen!
| Hang in there. God can use you regardless
of your circumstances. And that is a miracle in itself! |
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