Cancer Story

My daughter, Hannah, loves it when I tell this story.

She saved my life.  Well, God used her to spare my life.  

I had been going in for regular pap smears from the time I was 16.  Things were pretty normal until 1998 when my results came back with mild dysplasia.  No worries, right?  Well, I certainly wasn’t worried and I wasn’t going to be.  Later that year my periods were a bit whacky… not regular, mild spotting in between, etc…

My doctor, after examining me, was sure it was still nothing to worry about, prescribed some antibiotic cream for what she thought may be a small infection and I was on my way.

I had expressed that my husband and I were wanting to begin trying for a family and I was told to hold off for a few months to let my “infection” clear up.  That’s exactly what we did.

It didn’t take long at all after that “break” for me to know I was pregnant.  What tipped me off was how repulsed I became at the idea of PASTA when meeting a dear friend for dinner at the local Macaroni Grill.

Sure enough, I was pregnant!  We were going to be parents!  What a rush of emotions finding out was - EXHILERATION, EXCITEMENT, ABSOLUTE AND UTTER FEAR…

Well, fast forward to my first pre-natal visit…  the doctor examined me and the look on her face was nothing short of disturbing.  I said “well, am I pregnant?” and she said “ummm, if your at home test said yes, then you are.”

What kind of response was that?

Come to find out, my cervix had not closed properly and she had never seen anything like that before.  Excuse this next description (if you are easily grossed out, skip this part…) She basically equated it to looking like a piece of bloody broccoli when it is supposed to look like a smooth purplish well, jellyfish.

So that began the ups and downs of the pregnancy.

Actually, the pregnancy itself was amazing.  I never got morning sickness and just felt GREAT both physically and emotionally.  Well, until I had to visit my OB/GYN and watch her facial expressions upon examining my baffling cervix.

Fast forward to about week 30 of the pregnancy.

It was around midnight the Saturday of fourth of July weekend.  As I prepared to go to bed I had to use the restroom.  What happened next was absolutely mortifying.

I felt as if something was between my legs… I looked down only to find I was bleeding quite profusely.  I had never felt that kind of fear before in my life.  All the way to the hospital, my husband just prayed and prayed.

The diagnosis?  My cervix had prolapsed.  The doctor was sure I would need to be there in the hospital for the remainder of my pregnancy.  God was there, though, and my cervix gradually contracted back.

So here we were still wondering what was going on with me.  Hannah was thriving but something was definitely wrong.

On the Wednesday before Labor Day 1999, my doctor let me know that it was time and that if I didn’t go into labor by the weekend, they would induce me.

Lo and behold that Thursday I woke up with contractions! OUCH!

To make this long story shorter… little Hannah was born that Friday morning at 7:50 in the morning via C-section.

We were all doing well, or at least we thought so, until my 6-week post delivery OB/GYN appointment.  My doctor informed me that things were still not looking right and that it was time to make an oncology appointment.  As you can well imagine, our hearts sank.  Oncology?  Really?

She got us referred to someone and as it turned out this person wasn’t available to see us for two more months.  God was in it, though, as we were able to get in with the founder of the group that next week.

We went to my appointment, the doctor performed a quick biopsy and assured me that all was fine.  He told me that they would give me a call with the results in about a week.

When the phone rang only two days later, we knew something was terribly wrong.  Rather than share the news with us over the phone they asked to come in the following day, my husband’s birthday.  It was then that we got the news.

I had cervical cancer and would need a radical hysterectomy.

My husband and I just looked at each other fighting off the tears and said “we can always adopt.”  We always knew we wanted more than one child and this was the first thing we both said.

Two weeks later, I had my radical hysterectomy… Hannah was 2 months old and miraculously slept through the night for the first time the night before my surgery.

As of this posting I have been clean and clear from cancer for 10 1/2 years. And we now have a beautiful 4 year-old daughter, adopted from China over 3 years ago! God truly works all things for good. She is a light in our family and we cannot even begin to imagine our lives without her.