When my friend, Mary, posted a photo of herself skydiving on Facebook, I knew I had to ask her to do a guest blog for me. I found there was much more meaning and depth to her floating through the air than I could have imagined. Thank you, Mary, for sharing your story with us!
I
have had the pleasure to meet and get to know Barbara Hettwer in our
Women of the Word Bible Study we belong to. Barbara is truly a
Proverbs 31 woman; within these verses we learn that if the virtuous
woman will give herself to her God-called work, she will be
successful in her efforts. Our Father God gives us women definite
instructions in Proverbs 31 and describes what our rewards will be.
Ultimately, He will “give her the fruit of her hands, and let her
own works praise her in the gates.” (Proverbs 31:31) I am honored
and humbled to have been asked by Barbara to guest blog for her Life
is an Adventure blog. This is a virtuous woman I am truly blessed to
know.
Barbara
saw this picture of me sky diving and said, “Now that’s an
adventure!” My sky diving was a celebration for me of turning 40
and receiving a cancer free diagnosis. In February 2002, I was
diagnosed with stage 4 tongue cancer. I had been to see my doctor
every month starting in August 2001, and we tried several treatment
options for what looked to be a canker sore I was told was due to
stress. In December there was a four month wait to see the Ear, Nose,
& Throat (ENT) specialist and I didn’t think anything of the
time wait, because the sore had stayed the same size so I could still
eat; and other than having a fever and what I thought was an ear
infection that wouldn’t go away, I just needed to wait for my
appointment.
Within the first week of January
2002, my canker sore had erupted into a full blown open tumor that
filled my mouth, and I could no longer eat. My now ex-husband came
home every day to find me crying on the couch; and after a week of
not being able to eat, he called the ENT specialist and told them I
would not make it to my appointment scheduled in April. It was
arranged for me to be seen at the doctor’s lunch time. Looking at
my tongue, she immediately knew it was cancer. She arranged for me to
have the biopsy the insurance company needed on Saturday that week;
her day off. Within a week I had a feeding tube and port put in, and
I had started Chemotherapy every Friday for eight hours and Radiation
every day.
I am a non-smoker and limited
social drinker; I had no reason why the medical community would be
looking for any kind of oral cancer. My ENT said during this time
they were seeing more and more oral cancers, and they did not
understand where it was coming from. Since then a lot of hard work
from researchers and the medical community have linked oral cancer to
the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV16). I will not go more in-depth at
this time, but here is a link if you are inclined to follow up:
http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/hpv/
My plan of treatment was
scheduled for a 3 month period, and then would be starting all over
again with another round of Chemotherapy for 3 more months. My first
round of therapy took a lot out of me due to the medication and side
effects. I never made it to starting my second round; I got so sick
that the doctors wanted to give me time to recover before starting
again. In September 2002, my colon perforated and I ended up in
Portland Providence ICU for 2 months and then a care facility for
another month before going home. I now had an Ostomy, and between
being bedridden and the medication I was on, my right hip
deteriorated to the point it needed to be replaced. I had my Ostomy
for a year and a half before it was taken down, and I had my hip
replaced three months after that.
My bad health had a snowball
effect with one problem leading to another. Yet through it all,
because of the group of women I had around me, I knew and felt I was
in God’s hands, and He would never let me go. In September 2001, my
son Isaac went into kindergarten. His teacher, Gloria, invited me to
join her ladies bible study group. These women studied the word of
God with me, were there from the beginning, took me to appointments,
held my hair back while I threw up, told me not to worry when I lost
my hair, and always shared their homes with my family taking my Isaac
in as one of their own.
I
am not glossing over this most difficult time in my life with my head
in the clouds and rosy glasses saying everything was fine and my
faith was rock solid. While in the hospital I flat lined, I was
depressed, I was scared from one day to the next about what was
coming my way and what would happen to my Isaac. I had to make a
choice; our Lord taught me through these women who were there to
support me that I could choose peace or wallow in self-pity and
despair. Other than giving myself a five minute crying pity party
when I needed to release that negative energy, I purposely chose
peace, because my peace was not dependent upon my circumstances. I
truly believe our Lord Jesus guarded my heart and mind through peace
that surpasses all human understanding. (See Phil. 4:7) God’s word
is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God’s word will never
change; perfect peace is promised, but not perfect circumstances.
A Song of Salvation in Isaiah
26:3 says, “You will keep him
in perfect peace, whose
mind is
stayed in You, because he
trust in You.” (Italics mine) We serve a Prince of Peace who makes
a way where there seems to be no way. We can choose self-pity amongst
our difficulties or look to the One who is peace. If we keep our
minds on Him, He will keep us in perfect peace. Yes, I could say my
sky diving was an adventure, but getting there was the
adventure. Skydiving was the celebration of the way that was made for me
through a very difficult time.
MaryKathleen
Copeland
October
2013
