APRIL 20th - A VERY MEMORABLE DAY

There was so much sad tragedy in Colorado, but for me it was a day for a miracle!

I had my cancerous left kidney removed by Dr. Black in Alliance Community Hospital. There are two types of kidney carcinoma – Renal Cell and Transitional Cell. Thank God, mine was Transitional Cell because Renal Cell does not respond to chemotherapy.

So I did have chemo, and it was just as grueling as I’d heard, but it saved my life. I have had some long term side effects, such as peripheral neuropathy, plus I have Chronic Kidney Disease in my right kidney. But I’m very much alive thanks to Dr. Black’s and his associate’s skill, and for modern medicine.

 And thanks also to my wonderful wife for sitting with me during the chemo treatments and helping to nurse me back to health. She even drove me around so I could make sales calls that summer. And she’s been so supportive ever since.  I’m so blessed to have such a great helpmate. God was very wise to provide Eve for Adam!

When you look into death’s door, it changes your perspective. The initial fear I felt after the cancer diagnosis has been shared by all those who faced this health threat. It’s always unknown if the cancer is treatable or how long you’ll live and the quality of your life after any surgery or treatment.

I feared the worse, which is natural I suppose. So when I went to the hospital that morning I was ready to wake up from the operation with the most negative prognosis. But I’ll never forget the overwhelming peace that God gave me when Sherman Brantingham, one of our pastors, prayed over me and anointed me with oil. Calmness blanketed my mind and soul like I’d not experienced before nor have felt since. It was God’s peace that “goes beyond comprehension.”

So I’ve been blessed with an additional twenty years with family and friends. Even though the cancer didn’t get me, I know that someday something will – this is life. But the good news that we celebrate each Easter is that beyond death’s door is the door to Heaven. Because Jesus was crucified and rose again, those of us who have put our faith in Him and received his salvation will pass through the door of death to the door of eternal life.

COPYRIGHT 2019 BY CARL E GUSTAFSON