Today I am so excited to have my friend, Tricia Russell, guest post for me today. Tricia is in the process of compiling stories of how God has brought her family from the back side of the desert through health issues with both her children among other things. She agreed to go ahead and share one of those stories here today. Be sure to leave her a comment here to encourage her in her book writing.
Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
One sunny Saturday in August, my 5 year old son was attending a birthday party at a relative’s house. All of the kids were running around, climbing up the steps, and jumping off the edge of the porch. He had done this a few times, but the last time he was slow standing back up. He complained about a hurting knee but went right back to playing. By Monday, he was in severe pain and complaining with his knee hurting to the point that he was crying. I made a doctor’s appointment for the next day, but the doctor was puzzled by my son’s pain. He ordered x-rays just to check. He called me to the hallway to show me the x-rays, and he circled a gray area on his femur bone. He told me it was some type of cyst but it didn’t look like cancer. I couldn’t believe it. My perfectly healthy child had a cyst inside his femur bone but it didn’t look like cancer. I fought back tears and tried to stay calm for him. We were given an appointment to see the orthopedic specialist for the next morning. We spent the rest of the day trying to absorb this shocking news. We arrived early for the appointment. More x-rays were taken. The doctor came in a sat down beside my son, looked straight at us, and said he has a unicameral bone cyst. Basically it is a fluid filled cyst inside the bone usually near a joint that wears away the bone normally resulting in a broken bone. Jumping off the porch should’ve broken his leg but God had other plans in mind. His jump was actually a blessing in disguise because if we had not found the cyst, it would’ve worn through the bone and his leg would’ve broken into. The cyst was very close to his hip joint which caused some concern that his hip could break. We were told not to let him put any weight on his leg at all, not to let him get on his knees, and not to allow any pressure at all on his leg. We were then sent straight to Children’s Hospital to be admitted and have surgery the following morning. The ride to the hospital was chaos. We were still trying to absorb all we had been told and prepare ourselves for what was ahead. All through the day phone calls came in by the dozens, many visits, and most importantly prayers. This was truly a test of faith, but God who is so gracious to us so much more than we ever deserve, sent all those calls, visits and prayers to help us get through. I could feel the strength and love coming from those people. He was scheduled for surgery early on Wed, August 11, 2004. I didn’t sleep very much the night before. I just couldn’t understand why this was happening. This should’ve been a day of celebrating his first day of Kindergarten but instead he was having major surgery. I woke up early and just started to cry. My thoughts soon switched to being upbeat for him and trying to make the best of our situation, but in the back of my mind I was struggling. He was taken to surgery and we were led to a small waiting room. The waiting was hard, but we knew God was in control. I knew God had a plan for this even though I didn’t understand why and had been watching over him all the time. God had protected him from breaking his leg and hip. Even though our circumstances had caused chaos, God had provided peace in the middle of the storm. I found this quote which fits perfectly “Peace - it doesn’t mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the middle of those things and still be calm in your heart knowing God is in control” (Unknown). Peace definitely reigned in that waiting room that day. He did come through surgery fine and recovered. We faced several other storms with his leg but God was there every time supplying our every need.
Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
One sunny Saturday in August, my 5 year old son was attending a birthday party at a relative’s house. All of the kids were running around, climbing up the steps, and jumping off the edge of the porch. He had done this a few times, but the last time he was slow standing back up. He complained about a hurting knee but went right back to playing. By Monday, he was in severe pain and complaining with his knee hurting to the point that he was crying. I made a doctor’s appointment for the next day, but the doctor was puzzled by my son’s pain. He ordered x-rays just to check. He called me to the hallway to show me the x-rays, and he circled a gray area on his femur bone. He told me it was some type of cyst but it didn’t look like cancer. I couldn’t believe it. My perfectly healthy child had a cyst inside his femur bone but it didn’t look like cancer. I fought back tears and tried to stay calm for him. We were given an appointment to see the orthopedic specialist for the next morning. We spent the rest of the day trying to absorb this shocking news. We arrived early for the appointment. More x-rays were taken. The doctor came in a sat down beside my son, looked straight at us, and said he has a unicameral bone cyst. Basically it is a fluid filled cyst inside the bone usually near a joint that wears away the bone normally resulting in a broken bone. Jumping off the porch should’ve broken his leg but God had other plans in mind. His jump was actually a blessing in disguise because if we had not found the cyst, it would’ve worn through the bone and his leg would’ve broken into. The cyst was very close to his hip joint which caused some concern that his hip could break. We were told not to let him put any weight on his leg at all, not to let him get on his knees, and not to allow any pressure at all on his leg. We were then sent straight to Children’s Hospital to be admitted and have surgery the following morning. The ride to the hospital was chaos. We were still trying to absorb all we had been told and prepare ourselves for what was ahead. All through the day phone calls came in by the dozens, many visits, and most importantly prayers. This was truly a test of faith, but God who is so gracious to us so much more than we ever deserve, sent all those calls, visits and prayers to help us get through. I could feel the strength and love coming from those people. He was scheduled for surgery early on Wed, August 11, 2004. I didn’t sleep very much the night before. I just couldn’t understand why this was happening. This should’ve been a day of celebrating his first day of Kindergarten but instead he was having major surgery. I woke up early and just started to cry. My thoughts soon switched to being upbeat for him and trying to make the best of our situation, but in the back of my mind I was struggling. He was taken to surgery and we were led to a small waiting room. The waiting was hard, but we knew God was in control. I knew God had a plan for this even though I didn’t understand why and had been watching over him all the time. God had protected him from breaking his leg and hip. Even though our circumstances had caused chaos, God had provided peace in the middle of the storm. I found this quote which fits perfectly “Peace - it doesn’t mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the middle of those things and still be calm in your heart knowing God is in control” (Unknown). Peace definitely reigned in that waiting room that day. He did come through surgery fine and recovered. We faced several other storms with his leg but God was there every time supplying our every need.
