I grew up in a home where we attended church regularly, were involved, etc. but I don’t remember a whole lot of learning, aside from the typical “bible stories”. Fast forward to middle and high school and I wasn’t very involved in youth group or activities at the church. I can look back now and say that I had a knowledge of God but not an intimate relationship with Him.
I hadn’t felt well the last few weeks of the summer before my junior year of high school. I couldn’t seem to eat much or keep it down, I’d get winded walking into work…things just didn’t seem right. A week before school was to start, I worked all day and came home and realized that my ankles were swollen. I didn’t think much about it but my mom knew that it wasn’t “normal”. So, we made a doctors appointment the next day (Sunday) and the doctor thought I had pneumonia. He sent me to the hospital for a chest x-ray and later that day the doctor called and said that it looked like I had an enlarged heart. He wanted me to go in for an echocardiogram the next day (Monday).
Being my last week of summer vacation, I rolled out of bed with every intention of coming back home and going back to sleep! The technician did the echo and we were placed in a room to wait on the doctor. Little did I know…they usually let you go home and call later with the results!
I vividly remember (8 years later) the doctor coming in and saying, “This is life and death. We have to go into emergency surgery immediately.” I automatically thought that God was punishing me (I hadn’t been living the way I should have been) and was scared out of my mind. We had a little time to call friends and family (my dad had just left for a business trip) and they rolled me into the prep room before surgery.
Everything was happening so fast, time was of the essence, and “I shouldn’t have even walked in there that day”. The last thing I remember before going under was seeing my sister and her boyfriend…they’d gotten there just in time.
I woke up later to be told that a tumor had been found, 2 liters (think a 2 liter soda bottle) of fluid had been drained from around my heart (I weighed 120 lbs…it was suffocating me.), and it was stage 2B Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
The fight for my life was just beginning, physically and spiritually…
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J+TMcLamb says
Wow. Amazing. Can’t wait to hear the rest of the story!
Mom to 9 Blessings! says
Praising God for HIS LOVE FOR YOU CHRISTIE! Not punishment – but HIS LOVE and HIS GREAT PLANS FOR YOUR LIFE!
Can’t wait to read the rest!
Hugs and love,
Jill
Christie says
Megan! I accidentally deleted your comment 🙁
Will be sharing “Part 2” tomorrow!
"Are These Kids All Yours?" says
WOW! What a miracle of GOD! Looking forward to hearing more!!!
Dardi says
That is intense! I’m a true believer that God does not waste a single moment, so I can’t wait to hear how He used this circumstance!!
Debra says
I can’t wait to read it either, Christie! I love to know how God is working in and around us all the time!