my story (2)

"What? Nose cancer?"

In early July 2006, after less than 2 weeks of swimming lessons, my left ear developed an unusual ringing sound. I stopped my swimming lesson immediately.

I had a strange feeling something was wrong with my left ear. Maybe water had gone into my ear & it should clear, I thought. When it didn't get better, I went to consult a doctor who prescribed ear drops for infection. But my left ear not only grew worse, it was now blocked. I couldn't hear clearly. I became very concerned. I was referred to an ENT specialist at a public hospital. A biopsy was done on 8 Aug 2006. The result confirmed a malignant tumour behind the nose. I was told I had nose cancer.

The news came as a shock to me. It had started as an innocent ringing sound on my left ear. How could it turn out to be cancer? How could a small problem turn out to be so serious? It just didn't make sense to me. Everything was fine just one month ago. How could things change so fast within a month? I never had problems with my nose before -- no bleeding, no sinus, no running nose. How could I possibly have nose cancer? If it had been breast cancer, I think I would have believed it more easily as my sister had breast cancer. But nose cancer? I wished it was all a dream but it was not. The report was right before me. I had been diagnosed with nose cancer.

I was very calm when the ENT doctor broke the devastating news to me. I was too shocked to cry. But the doctor had tears in her eyes. She probably felt guilty as she knew that her ENT team had failed to do a proper diagnosis of my ear problem. They had time & time again dismissed my fears as unfounded. They kept telling me my ear problem was a "common problem for people your age". It was only after I had made a lot of noise & insisted on more tests to be done that a biopsy was finally performed. And the biopsy result was something they had never expected.

When I came out of the doctor's room, I appeared strong & composed as I walked towards my 3 friends who had come unannounced to be with me. God must have sent these angels although I wanted very much to be alone. They brought me out for dinner. But the minute I reached home that night, when I was all alone in my apartment, I broke down in tears.

........... to be continued in the next instalment.

Lesson : God works behind the scene to protect & care for His own.
Imagine this scenario. If I had not moved into this new apartment, I would not have signed up for swimming lessons. If I had not taken up swimming, I might not have discovered I had cancer until much later. Can you imagine what will happen then?

Application : How will you trust God when things don't turn out the way you had expected?

thanks for joining me in this memorable journey into the past,
tsk tsk