THE GREATEST STORY OF OUR LIVES
I wrote this, almost 3
years ago……This
is a testimony to the power and to the glory of GOD'S LOVE.
This
is the very first article I wrote on my Facebook account….
This
is also our story.
Almost a year ago today, my family faced the greatest challenge we've ever had to face. I prayed like I've never done before, and I made a promise to the Lord, that should He grant my wish, I would sing praises to Him and talk about the power of prayer and faith. I've given testimonials at two masses for the elementary students and the high school students at the SJCS auditorium, also at a special mass at the SJCS chapel, and during a special mass for Mother Mary's birthday at the St. Jude church.
Before my wife's last pregnancy with our youngest child, we noticed a mass at her left groin area, it was very small then, couldn't even be seen by x-ray. The orthopedic surgeon, diagnosed it as an osteochondroma, a familial bone disease, that is benign. Familial, because his father and her siblings have the same condition, their masses grew in size, was removed and deemed to be benign. If my wife's mass does not become bigger, then a surgery is not needed, because the said surgery would be difficult owing to it's location Then my wife got pregnant. On one of her regular pre-natal check-ups, the OB noticed the mass, it seemed to have grown bigger, probably affected hormonally, due to the pregnancy.
A year after she gave birth, we decided to see the orthopedic surgeon Dr. B, the mass had grown in size, and a surgery was decided. No need to hurry, as long as it doesn't grow anymore and by family history, it's probably benign. My wife decided to have it done summer of 2008, this year. She was and is a full time mother and wife, she goes to school three times a day, and the devoted mother that she is, she didn't want to disrupt the normalcy of things for our kids.
My practice as a physician is centered on the less fortunate members of the community, so I'm not as well off as most physicians. Also, since the fire that occurred 2001, which burned my clinic, laboratory and pharmacy, I haven't been able to recover. Embarrassing as it sounds, I had to declare this, to explain the next part.
Confident that the condition was benign, for next few months, most of my prayers were for financial assistance, because I knew the operation would cost a lot. as we neared the summer, most of my incoming projects were getting cancelled, so I was getting very worried. I would spend a long time at church every day.
By March of this year, right after vacation started, we went back to the orthopedic surgeon (let's call him Dr. B), to schedule the surgery and to know how much we would have to spend. When we found out the amount, we decided to get a second opinion, and we went to another orthopedic surgeon (let's call him Dr. P), he too said it was most probably benign, and that he would just cut a part of the mass, just so that my wife could walk normally again, because she was then already having difficulty walking normally, and he gave a very reasonable estimate of how much it would cost. So we were very happy. But he asked for an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), to look at the vascularity of the area. to prevent a bloody operation.
MRI revealed the possibility of a malignancy, still we did not get scared, because we held on to what the 2 orthopedic surgeons said, that it was most probably benign. When Dr. P saw the MRI, he declined to do the surgery and referred as to a tumor surgeon (let's call him Dr. R). When we got to his clinic, he wasn't there yet, but we were seen by his team of young surgeons. They examined my wife, looked at all the x-rays and the MRI results, and they too said, this would be easy, and that it was probably benign. They asked us to come back after an hour. So we were still in good spirits while we were having our breakfast. After an hour we came back, and Dr. R was already there, he examined my wife, asked about the history and looked at the examination plates. Then Dr. R said he was 99.5 % sure that it was cancer, it was malignant, and that he may have to amputate my wife's thigh to save her life. He was very frank, bordering on insensitive. My wife started crying. I debated with him, showing a book I had read, but he told me that he was almost certain of his diagnosis. He wanted to do it immediately, I declined and decided to bring my wife back to our first doctor, Dr. B. This was Holy Tuesday.
On our way to Dr. B, my wife was crying profusely, and while consoling her, I was crying too. My brain forgot to remind me, that I was a doctor. My brain gave in to my heart. When we got to Dr. B, he said that the possibility that it was cancer, was there, and the only way to make sure, was to remove the mass and have a histopathology. He was so confident and so encouraging that we agreed to an immediate surgery, right after Holy Week. So we went home..
We had to inform her parents, her siblings, my parents, my siblings, and the hardest part of all, our children. At first, we debated the necessity of telling them, but we decided they had the right to know. So for the next few days, we couldn't help but cry. Even my 2 older kids kept on crying. Then one day, my eldest daughter spoke to me and her mom. This is what she said, " Please stop crying, I've prayed to the Lord, I prayed hard and from the heart, and malakas ako sa Kanya, those were her exact words. Malakas ako sa Kanya. Remember 3 weeks or a month ago, when Niccolo (his brother), had dengue and was confined, I was then a contestant at the Essay Writing Contest, when you told me that Niccolo's platelets were alarmingly going down, I prayed to the Lord, sabi ko sa Kanya, make me loose the essay writing contest, but heal my brother, and that's exactly what happened. So don't worry, He won't let us down."
At such a young age, my daughter, Nicole, exhibited the kind of faith that we seem to be missing.
Before all this happened, my wife went to Mass with me every Sunday, but she could never decide if she was a Catholic or a Baptist, so she was half-baked both ways. She would pray a lot, but she didn't make the sign of the cross and never received communion. After our daughter Nicole surprised us with her faith, my wife, on Good Friday, made the sign of the cross, received communion, and kissed the image of the crucified Christ. I on the other hand prayed harder and sincerely. I stopped praying for financial help, I only asked the Lord to heal my wife, because my children needed her, and on the more selfish side, I needed her, I knew I could not live without her. She's my soul mate, my partner, my strength. From then on, till the day of the surgery, we went to different churches everyday, sometimes 3-4 churches in a single day. We also found comfort in the encouraging and enlightening words of dear friends like, Peter and Heidi. Heidi gave us a lot of prayers, and Peter even donated blood for my wife.
April 1, 2008, we were admitted, the surgery was the next morning. On that night, my wife's sister told us to ask for prayers from friends and relatives. At first, we hesitated, because we didn't want to bother them with our problem, but then I read in the bible, that if 2 or more ask something from the Lord, He would most likely grant it. I also realized, that if our problem would make them nearer to the Lord, because they would be praying, then that would be good for them too. So I texted friends and relatives, and the reaction was immediate and heartwarming. I couldn't sleep the whole night, and those messages got me through the night. I asked my children to ask the Lord, to enlighten the surgeons (my wife needed 2 surgeons, an orthopedic surgeon and a vascular surgeon, as so many arteries, veins and nerves, were in the surgical site), to perform the needed surgery to cure my wife, and also ask the Lord, to hold their mom's right hand all throughout the operation, while Mother Mary holds her left hand, just to remind her that They were with her, and would never abandon her.
April 2, day of the surgery. Before her operation, we talked, and my wife asked for three things: first, that she not die during surgery, as she did not want to leave me and the children; second, that her thighs not be amputated, as she did not want to be a burden to me ( as if she ever could be anything but a blessing to me); and third, that she be able to walk, even with crutches.
I was inside the operating room during the duration of the surgery. I would leave for no more than 7-8 minutes, every now and then to pray at the dressing room. The surgeons were very good, they knew exactly what they were doing. After a few hours, they removed the mass, it was purely bone, encapsulated, and the size of a pomelo. They sent it to the laboratory, pathology section for a frozen biopsy. While we waited, I was kissing and whispering to my wife, who was placed on General Anaesthesia, as a mere spinal was not enough. I kept on whispering prayers to her and telling her how much I loved her. I could see the interns and the nurses looking at me, they were probably doubting if I was a doctor. Again, my brain gave in to my heart.
Then the results of the frozen section biopsy came out, after 30 minutes, the mass that was removed was malignant, cancerous. I almost fell down at the operating room. Dr. B spoke to me, told me not to worry, he said the mass looked encapsulated, and seems to be a low grade tumor. Such tumors are slow spreading, so he's going to try his best to clean the area, to prevent and pre-empt any possible spreading, but in the process, he'll have to remove a normal bone, part of the hip bone, the superior pubic ramus, and some muscles and lymph nodes, then send them all to final histopathology. She'd walk first with crutches, then with a cane, then she'll walk normally, but no more weight bearing, esp. child bearing. So they continued with the operation, using the medical equivalent of a chisel, a hammer, a drill, and pliers. After more than 10 hours, the surgery was over. The final histopathology result would take a week.
At the recovery room, I prayed the rosary, and I made a promise to The Lord, to Mother Mary, to St. Claire and to St. Therese. If my wife is completely healed and cancer free. I would talk about God's healing power and His great love for all of us. I would decrease my consultation fee to 200 pesos, and I would conduct a free clinic every month. All this I would do for His glory. To Mother Mary, I would say the rosary and wear her scapulars everyday. To St. Therese and St. Claire, I would visit their churches, at least, once a month.
When my wife finally woke up, she saw me crying, I just couldn't help myself. But my wife was optimistic, she said, basta ang alam ko magaling na ako, because the mass isn't there anymore. I'll do whatever I have to do to get well. Being able to sing a little, I will sing for the church choir. Stop crying, I need your strength. I realized, she was right, I had to be strong for all of us, for my kids, most of all.
Relatives and friends visited us at the hospital. I had an auntie (Auntie Bheng) who stayed inside St. Anthony's Church, during my wife's entire surgery. I stopped praying for financial help, and then financial help came from everywhere. My parents who wee by then, long retired were the first to offer help. Then my Uncle Edgar and Auntie Bheng, my Auntie Lily and Uncle Magno, also sent financial help. I had a cousin, who was not financially well off, and I would not accept her money, she cried and cried and begged me to accept it, so I did, to make her stop crying. I had 2 more cousins who also gave some financial assistance. My wife's brother, a fireman, with 4 children, borrowed money just to help us, I wouldn't accept it, then my parents-in-law told me about how my wife used to help all her nieces and nephews, when she was still single, and to allow my brother-in-law, to show his love for my wife, I accepted the money with tears in my eyes. "Aanihin mo and tinanim mo," those were their exact words. You reap what you sow. We had an auntie, from Canada, who wasn't well off, but suddenly won at the casino,and immediately sent money. There was another cousin, with whom I had a falling out with, and hadn't spoken with for several years, who also came and gave financial help. Help came from everywhere. Financial assistance and prayers. God works in mysterious ways. He answers our prayers in His own way and in His own time.
A week after, we got the official histopathology result, the removed mass was malignant, but low grade, and the other tissues, bone, muscles, and lymph nodes removed, were all negative for any cancerous growth. I showed it to the Oncologist, and he congratulated us, because according to him, it means that no cancer cells got out of the mass, and since the cancerous mass had been removed, my wife was essentially, cancer-free. It was contained and the removal of surrounding tissues may have been a good pre-emptive move to prevent any further spread. We are required to undergo ct-scan every 3 months for monitoring, as she has other small masses within her body.
We are confident however, that the Lord has answered our prayers and will continue to do so. We have so far fulfilled our promises, and will continue to do so.
2 Weeks after the surgery, my wife started walking with crutches. with the aid of a physical therapist. After another month or so, she started using a cane. Now she walks without the assistance of a cane. We've had 3 ct-scans, and they were all ok.
Everything worked out according to God's plan. We left Dr. B to seek the more affordable Dr. P. Dr. P was then the one who suggested an MRI. He refused to perform the surgery after seeing the MRI, had he performed the surgery and just cut the mass in half, instead of removing the whole thing, the mass would have been opened and the cancer cells might have spread to the neighboring areas. Dr. P then led us to Dr. R who was the first one to accurately say that it was cancer. He wanted to cut off my wife's thigh. But because he was quite insensitive, we went back to Dr. B, who I know was enlightened by the Lord. It was an excellent surgery, he moved as if he had a great plan, because he was indeed an instrument and a part of a grand plan, the Lord's plan. Dr. R however, did his part, if it weren't for his accurate and early diagnosis, we would not have rediscovered our faith in the Lord. They were all a part of God's plan.
Just keep on believing in the Lord. Pray with all your heart. FAITH- nothing else matters
Thank you friends for bearing with me.
Thank you for allowing me to fulfill a promise.
This is how I end all my testimonials: Before my wife's operation, I had this quotation on my prescription pad, " God could not be everywhere, therefore he made mothers and doctors too." A little arrogant, isn't it ? This is the quotation on my prescription pad now, " I am just a tool, a mere instrument, the Lord Our God, He is the divine physician, and the ultimate healer".
Almost a year ago today, my family faced the greatest challenge we've ever had to face. I prayed like I've never done before, and I made a promise to the Lord, that should He grant my wish, I would sing praises to Him and talk about the power of prayer and faith. I've given testimonials at two masses for the elementary students and the high school students at the SJCS auditorium, also at a special mass at the SJCS chapel, and during a special mass for Mother Mary's birthday at the St. Jude church.
Before my wife's last pregnancy with our youngest child, we noticed a mass at her left groin area, it was very small then, couldn't even be seen by x-ray. The orthopedic surgeon, diagnosed it as an osteochondroma, a familial bone disease, that is benign. Familial, because his father and her siblings have the same condition, their masses grew in size, was removed and deemed to be benign. If my wife's mass does not become bigger, then a surgery is not needed, because the said surgery would be difficult owing to it's location Then my wife got pregnant. On one of her regular pre-natal check-ups, the OB noticed the mass, it seemed to have grown bigger, probably affected hormonally, due to the pregnancy.
A year after she gave birth, we decided to see the orthopedic surgeon Dr. B, the mass had grown in size, and a surgery was decided. No need to hurry, as long as it doesn't grow anymore and by family history, it's probably benign. My wife decided to have it done summer of 2008, this year. She was and is a full time mother and wife, she goes to school three times a day, and the devoted mother that she is, she didn't want to disrupt the normalcy of things for our kids.
My practice as a physician is centered on the less fortunate members of the community, so I'm not as well off as most physicians. Also, since the fire that occurred 2001, which burned my clinic, laboratory and pharmacy, I haven't been able to recover. Embarrassing as it sounds, I had to declare this, to explain the next part.
Confident that the condition was benign, for next few months, most of my prayers were for financial assistance, because I knew the operation would cost a lot. as we neared the summer, most of my incoming projects were getting cancelled, so I was getting very worried. I would spend a long time at church every day.
By March of this year, right after vacation started, we went back to the orthopedic surgeon (let's call him Dr. B), to schedule the surgery and to know how much we would have to spend. When we found out the amount, we decided to get a second opinion, and we went to another orthopedic surgeon (let's call him Dr. P), he too said it was most probably benign, and that he would just cut a part of the mass, just so that my wife could walk normally again, because she was then already having difficulty walking normally, and he gave a very reasonable estimate of how much it would cost. So we were very happy. But he asked for an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), to look at the vascularity of the area. to prevent a bloody operation.
MRI revealed the possibility of a malignancy, still we did not get scared, because we held on to what the 2 orthopedic surgeons said, that it was most probably benign. When Dr. P saw the MRI, he declined to do the surgery and referred as to a tumor surgeon (let's call him Dr. R). When we got to his clinic, he wasn't there yet, but we were seen by his team of young surgeons. They examined my wife, looked at all the x-rays and the MRI results, and they too said, this would be easy, and that it was probably benign. They asked us to come back after an hour. So we were still in good spirits while we were having our breakfast. After an hour we came back, and Dr. R was already there, he examined my wife, asked about the history and looked at the examination plates. Then Dr. R said he was 99.5 % sure that it was cancer, it was malignant, and that he may have to amputate my wife's thigh to save her life. He was very frank, bordering on insensitive. My wife started crying. I debated with him, showing a book I had read, but he told me that he was almost certain of his diagnosis. He wanted to do it immediately, I declined and decided to bring my wife back to our first doctor, Dr. B. This was Holy Tuesday.
On our way to Dr. B, my wife was crying profusely, and while consoling her, I was crying too. My brain forgot to remind me, that I was a doctor. My brain gave in to my heart. When we got to Dr. B, he said that the possibility that it was cancer, was there, and the only way to make sure, was to remove the mass and have a histopathology. He was so confident and so encouraging that we agreed to an immediate surgery, right after Holy Week. So we went home..
We had to inform her parents, her siblings, my parents, my siblings, and the hardest part of all, our children. At first, we debated the necessity of telling them, but we decided they had the right to know. So for the next few days, we couldn't help but cry. Even my 2 older kids kept on crying. Then one day, my eldest daughter spoke to me and her mom. This is what she said, " Please stop crying, I've prayed to the Lord, I prayed hard and from the heart, and malakas ako sa Kanya, those were her exact words. Malakas ako sa Kanya. Remember 3 weeks or a month ago, when Niccolo (his brother), had dengue and was confined, I was then a contestant at the Essay Writing Contest, when you told me that Niccolo's platelets were alarmingly going down, I prayed to the Lord, sabi ko sa Kanya, make me loose the essay writing contest, but heal my brother, and that's exactly what happened. So don't worry, He won't let us down."
At such a young age, my daughter, Nicole, exhibited the kind of faith that we seem to be missing.
Before all this happened, my wife went to Mass with me every Sunday, but she could never decide if she was a Catholic or a Baptist, so she was half-baked both ways. She would pray a lot, but she didn't make the sign of the cross and never received communion. After our daughter Nicole surprised us with her faith, my wife, on Good Friday, made the sign of the cross, received communion, and kissed the image of the crucified Christ. I on the other hand prayed harder and sincerely. I stopped praying for financial help, I only asked the Lord to heal my wife, because my children needed her, and on the more selfish side, I needed her, I knew I could not live without her. She's my soul mate, my partner, my strength. From then on, till the day of the surgery, we went to different churches everyday, sometimes 3-4 churches in a single day. We also found comfort in the encouraging and enlightening words of dear friends like, Peter and Heidi. Heidi gave us a lot of prayers, and Peter even donated blood for my wife.
April 1, 2008, we were admitted, the surgery was the next morning. On that night, my wife's sister told us to ask for prayers from friends and relatives. At first, we hesitated, because we didn't want to bother them with our problem, but then I read in the bible, that if 2 or more ask something from the Lord, He would most likely grant it. I also realized, that if our problem would make them nearer to the Lord, because they would be praying, then that would be good for them too. So I texted friends and relatives, and the reaction was immediate and heartwarming. I couldn't sleep the whole night, and those messages got me through the night. I asked my children to ask the Lord, to enlighten the surgeons (my wife needed 2 surgeons, an orthopedic surgeon and a vascular surgeon, as so many arteries, veins and nerves, were in the surgical site), to perform the needed surgery to cure my wife, and also ask the Lord, to hold their mom's right hand all throughout the operation, while Mother Mary holds her left hand, just to remind her that They were with her, and would never abandon her.
April 2, day of the surgery. Before her operation, we talked, and my wife asked for three things: first, that she not die during surgery, as she did not want to leave me and the children; second, that her thighs not be amputated, as she did not want to be a burden to me ( as if she ever could be anything but a blessing to me); and third, that she be able to walk, even with crutches.
I was inside the operating room during the duration of the surgery. I would leave for no more than 7-8 minutes, every now and then to pray at the dressing room. The surgeons were very good, they knew exactly what they were doing. After a few hours, they removed the mass, it was purely bone, encapsulated, and the size of a pomelo. They sent it to the laboratory, pathology section for a frozen biopsy. While we waited, I was kissing and whispering to my wife, who was placed on General Anaesthesia, as a mere spinal was not enough. I kept on whispering prayers to her and telling her how much I loved her. I could see the interns and the nurses looking at me, they were probably doubting if I was a doctor. Again, my brain gave in to my heart.
Then the results of the frozen section biopsy came out, after 30 minutes, the mass that was removed was malignant, cancerous. I almost fell down at the operating room. Dr. B spoke to me, told me not to worry, he said the mass looked encapsulated, and seems to be a low grade tumor. Such tumors are slow spreading, so he's going to try his best to clean the area, to prevent and pre-empt any possible spreading, but in the process, he'll have to remove a normal bone, part of the hip bone, the superior pubic ramus, and some muscles and lymph nodes, then send them all to final histopathology. She'd walk first with crutches, then with a cane, then she'll walk normally, but no more weight bearing, esp. child bearing. So they continued with the operation, using the medical equivalent of a chisel, a hammer, a drill, and pliers. After more than 10 hours, the surgery was over. The final histopathology result would take a week.
At the recovery room, I prayed the rosary, and I made a promise to The Lord, to Mother Mary, to St. Claire and to St. Therese. If my wife is completely healed and cancer free. I would talk about God's healing power and His great love for all of us. I would decrease my consultation fee to 200 pesos, and I would conduct a free clinic every month. All this I would do for His glory. To Mother Mary, I would say the rosary and wear her scapulars everyday. To St. Therese and St. Claire, I would visit their churches, at least, once a month.
When my wife finally woke up, she saw me crying, I just couldn't help myself. But my wife was optimistic, she said, basta ang alam ko magaling na ako, because the mass isn't there anymore. I'll do whatever I have to do to get well. Being able to sing a little, I will sing for the church choir. Stop crying, I need your strength. I realized, she was right, I had to be strong for all of us, for my kids, most of all.
Relatives and friends visited us at the hospital. I had an auntie (Auntie Bheng) who stayed inside St. Anthony's Church, during my wife's entire surgery. I stopped praying for financial help, and then financial help came from everywhere. My parents who wee by then, long retired were the first to offer help. Then my Uncle Edgar and Auntie Bheng, my Auntie Lily and Uncle Magno, also sent financial help. I had a cousin, who was not financially well off, and I would not accept her money, she cried and cried and begged me to accept it, so I did, to make her stop crying. I had 2 more cousins who also gave some financial assistance. My wife's brother, a fireman, with 4 children, borrowed money just to help us, I wouldn't accept it, then my parents-in-law told me about how my wife used to help all her nieces and nephews, when she was still single, and to allow my brother-in-law, to show his love for my wife, I accepted the money with tears in my eyes. "Aanihin mo and tinanim mo," those were their exact words. You reap what you sow. We had an auntie, from Canada, who wasn't well off, but suddenly won at the casino,and immediately sent money. There was another cousin, with whom I had a falling out with, and hadn't spoken with for several years, who also came and gave financial help. Help came from everywhere. Financial assistance and prayers. God works in mysterious ways. He answers our prayers in His own way and in His own time.
A week after, we got the official histopathology result, the removed mass was malignant, but low grade, and the other tissues, bone, muscles, and lymph nodes removed, were all negative for any cancerous growth. I showed it to the Oncologist, and he congratulated us, because according to him, it means that no cancer cells got out of the mass, and since the cancerous mass had been removed, my wife was essentially, cancer-free. It was contained and the removal of surrounding tissues may have been a good pre-emptive move to prevent any further spread. We are required to undergo ct-scan every 3 months for monitoring, as she has other small masses within her body.
We are confident however, that the Lord has answered our prayers and will continue to do so. We have so far fulfilled our promises, and will continue to do so.
2 Weeks after the surgery, my wife started walking with crutches. with the aid of a physical therapist. After another month or so, she started using a cane. Now she walks without the assistance of a cane. We've had 3 ct-scans, and they were all ok.
Everything worked out according to God's plan. We left Dr. B to seek the more affordable Dr. P. Dr. P was then the one who suggested an MRI. He refused to perform the surgery after seeing the MRI, had he performed the surgery and just cut the mass in half, instead of removing the whole thing, the mass would have been opened and the cancer cells might have spread to the neighboring areas. Dr. P then led us to Dr. R who was the first one to accurately say that it was cancer. He wanted to cut off my wife's thigh. But because he was quite insensitive, we went back to Dr. B, who I know was enlightened by the Lord. It was an excellent surgery, he moved as if he had a great plan, because he was indeed an instrument and a part of a grand plan, the Lord's plan. Dr. R however, did his part, if it weren't for his accurate and early diagnosis, we would not have rediscovered our faith in the Lord. They were all a part of God's plan.
Just keep on believing in the Lord. Pray with all your heart. FAITH- nothing else matters
Thank you friends for bearing with me.
Thank you for allowing me to fulfill a promise.
This is how I end all my testimonials: Before my wife's operation, I had this quotation on my prescription pad, " God could not be everywhere, therefore he made mothers and doctors too." A little arrogant, isn't it ? This is the quotation on my prescription pad now, " I am just a tool, a mere instrument, the Lord Our God, He is the divine physician, and the ultimate healer".
JONATHAN
LIM DE GUZMAN, MD
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