Late in August 2013 I discovered a lump sticking out below my ribcage on my left side. After poking at it for a few days I made an appointment with my primary care doctor for a Friday morning.
After my exam, Dr. S told me that my spleen was very large and there were many possible reasons for this condition. Since I was so healthy and active he thought it must be some "benign process." The nurse drew some blood for a test and the office staff made an appointment for me to have a CT scan the following week. As I carried my file to the desk to check out I noted the wording of the order, "splenomegaly."
When I got home I Googled splenomegaly and found out that, sure enough, there were many possible reasons for an enlarged spleen. Some were very dangerous and others not so much. I was comforted by the words "benign process."
That afternoon the weather was glorious. My wife was just pulling in the driveway coming home from school when my phone rang. The voice on the other end identified himself as Dr. W, another doctor in the family practice I had visited that morning. My doctor had left for a conference, but Dr. W had talked with him and they agreed that I should go to the hospital immediately. They had already pre-admitted me.
Surprise!
I argued with him. "I feel fine. Can't this wait until next week? I am a pastor and I have to preach on Sunday. What is the rush?"
He played his trump card. "We can tell from your blood counts that it is a leukemic process." He explained that they wanted me to go into the hospital, meet the oncologist, have the tests and figure out what was going on as quickly as possible. While the normal range for white blood cell counts goes up to ten thousand, my WBC was almost fifty thousand.
Not a benign process, but a leukemic process. That certainly changed fast!
As I said, I was very active and apparently healthy. I exercised four mornings a week. I controlled my diet and tracked my weight. I was very busy with ministry, enrolled in doctoral studies, serving on the council of our state fellowship of churches and even doing some teaching overseas. Things had never been better and I had never before spent a night in a hospital as a patient.
That night I was rattled. What was going on? What were my prospects? What were God's purposes for me in all of this? Where would it lead?
After my exam, Dr. S told me that my spleen was very large and there were many possible reasons for this condition. Since I was so healthy and active he thought it must be some "benign process." The nurse drew some blood for a test and the office staff made an appointment for me to have a CT scan the following week. As I carried my file to the desk to check out I noted the wording of the order, "splenomegaly."
When I got home I Googled splenomegaly and found out that, sure enough, there were many possible reasons for an enlarged spleen. Some were very dangerous and others not so much. I was comforted by the words "benign process."
That afternoon the weather was glorious. My wife was just pulling in the driveway coming home from school when my phone rang. The voice on the other end identified himself as Dr. W, another doctor in the family practice I had visited that morning. My doctor had left for a conference, but Dr. W had talked with him and they agreed that I should go to the hospital immediately. They had already pre-admitted me.
Surprise!
I argued with him. "I feel fine. Can't this wait until next week? I am a pastor and I have to preach on Sunday. What is the rush?"
He played his trump card. "We can tell from your blood counts that it is a leukemic process." He explained that they wanted me to go into the hospital, meet the oncologist, have the tests and figure out what was going on as quickly as possible. While the normal range for white blood cell counts goes up to ten thousand, my WBC was almost fifty thousand.
Not a benign process, but a leukemic process. That certainly changed fast!
As I said, I was very active and apparently healthy. I exercised four mornings a week. I controlled my diet and tracked my weight. I was very busy with ministry, enrolled in doctoral studies, serving on the council of our state fellowship of churches and even doing some teaching overseas. Things had never been better and I had never before spent a night in a hospital as a patient.
That night I was rattled. What was going on? What were my prospects? What were God's purposes for me in all of this? Where would it lead?
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