Have you ever stood outside in the freezing cold for a long time but not until you were back inside a warm house, standing next to a roaring fireplace, did your teeth begin to chatter or your body start to shiver?
I felt that way six weeks ago at my post-op doctor’s appointment when I heard my doctor say, “Because of what I saw in there, I was positive you had a uterine carcinoma.” Apparently he’d never seen anything like it ~ “it was a bubbly, watery, oozing mess of a tumor.”
He went on to tell me that because of the rarity of the tumor, there was a large team of Pathologists who were pulled together at the hospital to analyze my tumor and make a determination. But when they came up 50/50 as to whether or not they believed it to be malignant, they sought out the world expert in tumors, who practices at Harvard Medical School, who ultimately determined my tumor to be benign.
And there in my doctor’s office, after months of battling and struggling and waiting and wondering, I found myself stepping in from the cold, suddenly shivering with emotion, as months of fear-induced tears began to stream down my face for the first time.
It wasn’t until I heard my doctor say “You don’t have cancer” that I realized how close to a fatal diagnosis I really was and in that moment, I felt the weight of this long, exhausting and emotional journey fall off my shoulders ~ and I completely broke down in tears and I cried out, “THANK YOU!”
This Thanksgiving, I want you to know that that I will never take for granted the fact that you dipped into your pockets to help ME ~ and in a time when this world is in economic turmoil no less. It’s a truth that overwhelms me and pulls at my soul every time I look at my scars. I don’t think I will ever talk of this experience without tearing up. I am so grateful for the part you played in changing my life ~ and I will smile every day as a result.
What I am trying to say is that I will never be the same because of people like you and I wanted to take a moment today to say THANK YOU. I pray in some way that this letter may carry with it the full-measure of all my gratitude and appreciation.
Thank you (ute) so very much and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Debbie
Leave a Reply