I thought I would be a good American citizen and give blood. My work was having a blood drive, and if you signed up, you also got entered into a raffle to win 2 tickets to six Tiger's games, so I thought it would be worth the sacrifice! Well, for years I haven't been able to give blood because of having had Leukemia, but I had heard that as long as you've been in remission for 5 years, you can give. Well, I've been in remission for 23 years, so I thought I'd be good as gold. Wrong. I can't give blood, ever. Funny thing is though, I turned into my mom for moment as the lady asked when I had leukemia. Would you believe, I got the chance to tell my testimony? She was amazed and so interested and, although I had to be brief because others were waiting, I can tell she was touched. Then I went back upstairs to get back to work, and people asked how it went, and I had to tell them I couldn't give. When they wanted to know why not, well, wouldn't you know, there again I had more opportunities to tell of the wonderful Grace of God. Isn't he good?
Growing up I was sometimes embarrassed when people would find out I had cancer. They would look at me so shocked, but I felt so awkward. It came up more often than I would have liked, because it was a part of me. It was my childhood. Now when it comes up, I'm happy to share my story.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Monday, April 2, 2007
Unwritten
So I have decided to jump on the bloggin' bandwagon, finally. Growing up I wanted to be three things. An actress, a writer or a youth pastor's wife. At 27 years old, other than some church plays and classes at EU, I've not become an actress. My husband is great, and called to ministry, but pretty sure it's not youth ministry. All that is left is for me to be a writer, but for years in college, I wrote news articles and to-the-point essays. For the past 8 years I've not been able to write anything "feature-y"! This weekend though I spent some time with some great women and got the juices flowing. I think my writer's block has lifted, so I've decided to blog.
If you're going to be reading my blogs though, let me warn you. I am not airheaded, but I do tend to be scattered in my writing. I like to write what pops in my head! I apologize now:)
So here is where I'm going to start. I've decided I want to write a book. Well, several, so the first of many, I hope. But, I'm having a hard time choosing a topic. In fact, I can't even think of topics for my blog. Writing about my day is too boring. Writing about other people, too boring and frankly just don't care, I guess! Celebrities-whack. So I think I'll make myself vulnerable and start with my story. I'm no one special, so writing my first book as a biography would probably not be much of a hit. I'd sell a few hundred copies, but probably just to my family and a few close friends! But if I start blogging about my story, or as we Christians call it, my testimony, maybe I can eventually develop something great, or at the least, sellable. Is that a word?
If you're reading this, you may or may not know that I am a cancer survivor. Childhood cancer, actually. At the age of 3 (1983) I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. That is cancer of the blood cells, and at the time, one of the most deadly in children (These days it has a a much higher survivor rate). Obviously I survived, and if you keep reading my bloggings, you'll learn more about this time in my life and how it has shaped me and made me who I am and what God has called me to be. I would not be who I am had I never had cancer. It's crazy to think back about what I went through, and mostly what my mom went through.
At the time of my diagnosis, my dad was living in Houston. He had gone down there to get a job with the police department, our house was up for sale and we would be moving once it sold. Well, shortly before I was diagnosed, my dad called my mom to let her know he had a pregnant girlfriend and not to bother moving down. Then my brother, who was 7 at the time, was diagnosed with severe ADHD. After that came my diagnosis. Her life was totally flipped upside down. But you know what? As shaken and upset she must have been, she stood true to her faith and stood on the Word of God. My church prayed for me, and my mom's friends prayed with her. She didn't give up, and even though the doctor's gave me one week to live, she insisted they put me on chemo. Days turned to weeks, weeks to months and then one year and one month later, I was in remission. I've now been in remission 23 years, and have never relapsed. I believe I was healed by the Grace of God for the sake of my mother. She had enough going on! In fact, on a mission's trip to Bolivia, Pastor Galvano wanted to speak to me and since I can't speak Spanish or Italian we got someone to translate. If you've never heard of this man, well, let me tell you, the man hears from the Lord. He flows in the prophetic like nothing I've ever seen. Anyway, he told me that I was supposed to die. I was marked for death and was in Satan's grip. The Lord heard my mother's cry and rewarded her Faith and saved me. Can you stop and imagine that? That changed my life, him telling me that. I WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE. It was intended that I would die. The cancer was in 98% of my blood cells. AND I WAS FULLY HEALED. The doctor's could not explain it, and did not believe my remission would last. And here I am today, a daughter, a wife, a mother. I am strong, happy and saved by grace.
Future blogs, I'll tell you about my scars, some incidents I remember of the time, and how I grew up staying true to the Faith my mother raised me in. My friends will see a different side of me. If you have questions, let me know and I'll answer them!
If you're going to be reading my blogs though, let me warn you. I am not airheaded, but I do tend to be scattered in my writing. I like to write what pops in my head! I apologize now:)
So here is where I'm going to start. I've decided I want to write a book. Well, several, so the first of many, I hope. But, I'm having a hard time choosing a topic. In fact, I can't even think of topics for my blog. Writing about my day is too boring. Writing about other people, too boring and frankly just don't care, I guess! Celebrities-whack. So I think I'll make myself vulnerable and start with my story. I'm no one special, so writing my first book as a biography would probably not be much of a hit. I'd sell a few hundred copies, but probably just to my family and a few close friends! But if I start blogging about my story, or as we Christians call it, my testimony, maybe I can eventually develop something great, or at the least, sellable. Is that a word?
If you're reading this, you may or may not know that I am a cancer survivor. Childhood cancer, actually. At the age of 3 (1983) I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. That is cancer of the blood cells, and at the time, one of the most deadly in children (These days it has a a much higher survivor rate). Obviously I survived, and if you keep reading my bloggings, you'll learn more about this time in my life and how it has shaped me and made me who I am and what God has called me to be. I would not be who I am had I never had cancer. It's crazy to think back about what I went through, and mostly what my mom went through.
At the time of my diagnosis, my dad was living in Houston. He had gone down there to get a job with the police department, our house was up for sale and we would be moving once it sold. Well, shortly before I was diagnosed, my dad called my mom to let her know he had a pregnant girlfriend and not to bother moving down. Then my brother, who was 7 at the time, was diagnosed with severe ADHD. After that came my diagnosis. Her life was totally flipped upside down. But you know what? As shaken and upset she must have been, she stood true to her faith and stood on the Word of God. My church prayed for me, and my mom's friends prayed with her. She didn't give up, and even though the doctor's gave me one week to live, she insisted they put me on chemo. Days turned to weeks, weeks to months and then one year and one month later, I was in remission. I've now been in remission 23 years, and have never relapsed. I believe I was healed by the Grace of God for the sake of my mother. She had enough going on! In fact, on a mission's trip to Bolivia, Pastor Galvano wanted to speak to me and since I can't speak Spanish or Italian we got someone to translate. If you've never heard of this man, well, let me tell you, the man hears from the Lord. He flows in the prophetic like nothing I've ever seen. Anyway, he told me that I was supposed to die. I was marked for death and was in Satan's grip. The Lord heard my mother's cry and rewarded her Faith and saved me. Can you stop and imagine that? That changed my life, him telling me that. I WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE. It was intended that I would die. The cancer was in 98% of my blood cells. AND I WAS FULLY HEALED. The doctor's could not explain it, and did not believe my remission would last. And here I am today, a daughter, a wife, a mother. I am strong, happy and saved by grace.
Future blogs, I'll tell you about my scars, some incidents I remember of the time, and how I grew up staying true to the Faith my mother raised me in. My friends will see a different side of me. If you have questions, let me know and I'll answer them!
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