Amazing Story – Celebrating 1 year

Last year an incredible gal in our church, Chrissy Calderwood, found out she had a brain tumor right behind her eyeball and needed immediate surgery to remove it.  As we prayed together at the hospital with her husband Rex and the rest of the family, I was amazed at Chrissy’s faith in the face of some distressing news.  Yesterday she celebrated her 1 year anniversary of the surgery, and posted some thoughts on her facebook page.  With her permission, here is her post…

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” Phil 4:4-7

This is the passage I clung to in the early months of 2009 as I was ill, and its the passage that brought me great comfort one year ago today as I went in for neurosurgery. I had been diagnosed two days earlier with a large brain mass (racquetball size) behind my right eye. The first hospital I was sent to diagnosed it as a glioblastoma (100% terminal). Due to a neurosurgical conference on the east coast, there were no surgeons available and they transported me to the Barrows where they had a few neurosurgeons that stayed behind from the conference. They began immediate testing. By 4 am the following morning, there was Hope. They wouldn’t know for sure until the biopsy was done, but their preliminary diagnosis was a meningioma tumor (non-benign). Real HOPE.

The following day was surgery. All went well and the mass was benign. What a blessing! Today, May 7, I am a year out and I have my health. The Lord has been good to me.

My friends, I faced death and the Lord delivered me. His perfect plan allowed me health and a renewed reliance on Him.

In my moment of terror (the phone call from my neurologist), the Lord brought so much good- my amazing family flew in from CA within a few hours and our amazing church family, Palm Valley (palmvalley.org) was by our side- immediately. The peace of God was all around us. I am so very grateful for my experience. To be chosen by God to walk the plank and gain perspective I wouldn’t have had otherwise. You know, aside from my kids’ salvation, nothing really mattered the night I was told I was going to die.

As Rex and I sat completely silent in the first ER room, I vividly remember the few words spoken over the hours of silence. “Promise me you’ll raise our kids in church,” I said. “I will,” he replied. “That’s all that matters, I can live with the thought of you raising them without me on earth, but I cannot live with the thought of not spending eternity with them” I responded. He said, “I will raise them in church, knowing the Lord, I promise.” And that was it. That’s all that mattered.

And in those moments of painful silence the Lord brought great comfort to us through our family, our church family and our friends. I’ve learned that you can trust God right now to supply all your needs for today. And if your needs are more for tomorrow, His supply will be greater also. The Lord gave me what I needed every second of every day from illness to diagnosis to surgery and now recovery.

“No eye has seen nor ear has heard and no mind has imagined what God prepared for those who love Him” I Cor 2:9

So that’s my story. The Lord has blessed me, Greatly, & today is my 1 year anniversary from my surgery blessing.

PS- I have attached pics from post-surgery. A few weeks ago, our Pastor said in service that everyone loves scars. He knows what he’s talking about. I love my scar and the story that goes with it!