Hebrews 11:1 - "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
Linda Marshall is my amazing, God-fearing, loving, kind, gentle, selfless, compassionate, words cannot describe her... Super-MOM! This post is dedicated to her recent journey. A few days ago, I read Hebrews 11. I have read Hebrews 11 a few times before, but never did it become more alive to me than now in view of my mom's battle with colon cancer.
It was July 3, 2010...easily one of the best days of my life. It was the day that I married Josh Kilpatrick. After a wonderful wedding, we went back to Fort Rucker, AL where Josh had to report on Tuesday for work (flight school). We didn't have time for a honeymoon due to Josh's rigorous flight school schedule, but we were overjoyed to finally be together! Plus, Danielle and Casey were planning on coming to visit Thursday afternoon. They would be staying for a week! Josh and I were so excited to have them come!
They arrived on Thursday, and we spent a few wonderful days in Enterprise, Monroeville, and Gulf Shores. On Wednesday, Danielle was getting ready to go back to Louisville. We hugged each other goodbye, and Casey and I had one more day together before I would be driving her back to Louisville. That Thursday, July 15 my dad called to tell me that Mama had been to the doctor for a thyroid check. They did a few other tests while she was there, one was a colonoscopy. She had just had her 50-year physical/colonoscopy the year before, so nothing was expected to come back abnormal. But, the unexpected happened. Daddy called and told me to pray for Mama because they found a medium-sized tumor on her colon.
"What?!" I thought to myself. "It must be benign. She's never had an issue and has no apparent symptoms of cancer." We discussed the situation, and I decided to leave for Louisville the following morning.
About four hours into the trip, Daddy called Casey and I. The results were confirmed. The biopsy had been done, and Mama had a malignant tumor. How could this be happening? Twelve days after the wedding, a time of great joy and thanksgiving. Now, I felt like someone was laughing in my face as they knocked the wind out of me. My mind started racing. What did this mean? What was the next course of action? Surgery? Radiation? Chemo? She is too young. You are not supposed to get cancer at 51 yrs. old, right? My faith...where are you? I would not survive without faith. Faith in the only one true God, the master physician, creator of the universe. Surely He was powerful enough to handle this. Yes, He is.
We entered the season of waiting. Multiple appointments were set. The appointments came and went; they seemed to provide us with no more information than we already had. A CT scan was run, ultrasound, and another biopsy. Mama was scared, very scared. Finally, a course of action was decided. She needed to have surgery followed by 6 months of chemo. She would have 10 inches of her colon removed, including the tumor and several lymph nodes.
I will never forget the day that my mom went to meet the surgeon. I sat at home feeling helpless. All I wanted to do was help in some way. I wanted to be there for my mom, but I was 550 miles away in Enterprise, AL. I had always lived within 45 min of my parents, and now, right after I moved away...this was happening. I cannot explain the pain I felt through the separation. I felt as if I was betraying Mama by not being there. She had always been there for me through my hospital stays, sickness, injury, pain, etc. Now, I could not reciprocate the care. But, what an amazing God we serve. As I sat at home, praying, reading and fiddling around waiting for my dad to call, I got a text. It was Heather Barker. Heather is a dear friend of mine from UofL. She's in Medical school at UofL, and that day, she had been assigned to be the assistant doctor on my Mama's case! Thank you God. It was such an encouragement for Mama to walk into such a scary appointment and see a familiar face. Heather was an answered prayer. She called me and told me the details about the appointment. Mama would have surgery August 5, the day before her and my dad's 27th anniversary.
Praise the Lord, her surgery went beautifully. She recovered exceptionally well, and was discharged by the weekend. Amazingly, that same weekend, Josh and I moved Geena and Casey to Tupelo, Mississippi. My dad received his dream job around the same time as my mom received her diagnosis. But, that is an entirely different story for another post. So, we brought Mama home. Got her settled and then took her baby girls to Tupelo to be with Daddy until Mama was ready to make the move. She would follow as she was physically able.
God is good, so good. Mama was able to come to Tupelo shortly after the surgery. However, there was the question of where she would have her treatment...in Louisville, where my grandparents could take care of her? or in Tupelo, so she could be with her family? Mama met with the oncologist in Louisville, and after that appointment, it was black and white. She would not be away from her family for 6 months. She decided to get her chemo treatment in Tupelo. She has 6 months of treatments, 24 weeks. Week 1 is down...only 23 to go. She goes to the hospital for an infusion on Mondays. They send her home with a pump tied like a necklace around her neck. She gets it changed out on Wednesdays with more medicine, and Thursdays she gets it taken off! Then, she has a week off, no infusions. It's an off/on type of process.
Right now, I am here in Tupelo. It is week 2, so no infusions this week. Mama had a bad headache yesterday, but has been feeling great today! I am sure that God is healing her...I am sure because I have faith....faith through Christ. "Faith is being sure of what you hope for"...I am sure that Mama is being healed, and "certain of what we do not see"...I am certain that all Mama's cells that I cannot see are being restored. And, I have this faith because of Christ.
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