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CANCER SURVIVOR'S STORY #1
A Moment in Time "A Moment in Time" by Linda L. Abreu Copyright by Linda L. Abreu November, 1993 We were stationed at Ft. Benning, Georgia, when on a cold and rainy December day, my husband came home with the exciting news that we had orders for Panama and were to leave in just two months. I was elated about this news - our dream of traveling the world had come true. We were young and had a lifetime of adventure ahead of us. We kept busy for the next two months sorting, packing and doing all the things that needed to be done. Also, moving to another country required passports and shots, so we went from one office to another, rushing about getting paperwork in order. We spent the last night in Georgia at a cheap motel on the outskirts of Fort Benning. Despite the excitement of the move, we were exhausted and had a restful night's sleep. We left early the next morning and drove to Memphis to visit my aunt before going on to Charleston where we would fly to Panama. After a few days of visiting, we said our goodbyes. I wasn't feeling well when we arrived in Charleston, so after checking into the guest house I asked my husband to take me to the clinic. I was seen by a doctor, who ran a few minor tests, but nothing unusual showed up. The doctor said to me, "When you arrive in Panama, it would be best to see a doctor there and get a complete physical." The next day we left on a plane headed for Panama. I put the pain I was in out of my mind to enjoy the new adventure we were on. An exciting life was ahead of us, and I wasn't going to let a little pain interfere - not knowing the long journey that was ahead of me. When we arrived in Panama, I was awed and amazed at the beauty of the country - the palm trees waving in the warm breeze and the jungles filled with beautiful flowers, fruits, and butterflies - I fell in love with the country. As we explored our new surroundings, I thought, "This is going to be a wonderful and exciting experience living here." We found a house to rent downtown Panama City and settled in. One hot and humid night as I lay in bed listening to the frogs croak their nightly songs and watching the fireflies light up the darkness of the night, I looked out the window up into the moonlit sky and felt a sense of contentment and emptiness at the same time. I wondered about God. The next morning as I tumbled out of bed, I experienced excruciating pain shooting through my body and after taking a few steps, I blacked out. The next thing I knew, I awoke in a hospital room where nurses and technicians were taking blood from my arms every few minutes. As I lay there, not really knowing what was happening to me, I asked one of the nurses, "What's wrong with me?" She answered, "I don't know, but the doctor will be in to see you soon." Shortly, a tall, handsome man wearing a white doctor's coat came into the room. His look and expression were solemn. He came in and sat down on the chair next to my bed. He was quiet for a few seconds, looking at me with his compassionate eyes, probably collecting his thoughts. Finally, he said, "We are sending you back to the states to Walter Reed Medical Center where they can supply you with better care. We don't really know for sure what is wrong, but we do know you have a blood disorder, and we don't have the facilities here for the proper care and treatment you need." I could feel that he knew more than he was saying. After a few minutes of silence, Dr. Harrison got up, patted my hand, and walked out with his head lowered and shoulders drooped. I was numb with fear! As I lay there in that hospital bed, I started to cry. I sensed it was a matter of life, my life, that was in jeopardy. It was there in that hospital room, in a faraway country, that my life changed. What I had been taught in a Christian home came back to me. God is there for us. The Bible verse, Psalm 46:1, came to my mind. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Alone, as I looked out the window of the hospital room, with tears rolling down my cheeks, I saw a garden filled with beautiful flowers. A single rose caught my eye and it brought back childhood memories of a story about a little girl who went to her mother's rose garden and saw "an old brown twig, and out of that old brown twig there came roses, oh, so big!" But she would look and look and never could see one growing. So, she asked her mother, "How does such a pretty rose come from such an ugly old brown twig?" Her mother said, "That goes to show when God touches anything, miracles happen." I looked up to heaven and asked God to touch me, and at that moment, in that cold and frightening hospital room far from home, I felt God's warm touch. I knew my life was in His hands now, and I needed to trust Him. The plane trip back to the states was long and painful. After arriving at Walter Reed, I was taken into a room where unpleasant tests were taken. One of the tests was a bone marrow biopsy. I cried with pain. As I laid there crying, I overheard one of the doctors say, "We have a patient here who has leukemia." I thought to myself, "Boy! That's a form of cancer and people die from it." For a moment I thought he was talking about someone else when I realized it was late at night and I was the only one in the examination room. My heart started to pound out of my chest. Suddenly, it stopped pounding and I felt suspended in time. When I finally collected my thoughts, I remembered God's touch and knew I was in His hands. With chemo-therapy treatments, I lost my long hair, experienced nausea, weight loss, and was in and out of the hospital for one infection after another. There were days, months, and years of crying, pain, and depression, but I never forgot the "old brown twig." No matter where you are or where you go, God's miracles do happen - just look at the rose and me eighteen years later. PART 2: Please read Linda Abreu's "Looking Up," her follow up to "A Moment in Time." Just click the 'PLEASE READ THIS #2' on the navigation bar on the "Welcome, Friends" Home Page. [Note: It is 2007, 32 years later, and the author of this true story, Linda L. Abreu, is alive, well, and cancer-free. Praise the Lord!For your interest, there is a December, 2006, photograph of Linda and her son and daughter under the "Linda Abreu Family" link on the Navigation bar at left; take a look.] If you have been touched by this true story and would like to send an e-mail message to Linda Abreu please click here: Linda L. Abreu |
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