Yesterday, I woke up with a start. I dreamed that I had cancer and only had a few months left to live. It was a horrible feeling, leaving all that I'm familiar with, leaving my family and friends, preparing for the unknown. Yet, within me, I know, death is not the end. It's a new beginning.
I guess, you could aptly say, what I'm thinking in the daytime, surfaces as dreams at night.
Since last year, we've had friend after friend sharing their struggles and their sorrows with us. First, it's a dear friend's daughter (she's 6) who has an inoperable brain tumor. At first, the doctor's prognosis was not good, saying she has only a few months, but a miracle from God pushed through, and she's doing considerably well for over a year. http://www.carepages.com/carepages/nickylee
Then, we heard that a woman (John knew about their family since they also grew up in Dallas) a few years younger than me (she's only 34) had Severe Aplastic Anemia. It's a disease of the bone marrow, where it stops producing enough red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets for the body. So, all of a sudden, she had to stay away from her children and husband, because she could get sick from them. Her friends, family and strangers heard of her story, rallied and organized bone marrow drives to find a bone marrow match. Recently, Jodie had a bone marrow transplant and is reported to be doing well. Praise God! http://www.carepages.com/carepages/jodiegee
Beginning of this year, we heard from a girlfriend in town who found out she had breast cancer, and Flora's my age (36). They acted really quickly, so she had a mastectomy done within a month, and later started on chemotherapy. I couldn't help feeling for her and her family for what they had gone through in the short months of discovering the cancer. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/flora (password: floralin)
Soon after, we started hearing from John's friend (I think he's younger than John) from college that he had been ill while serving as a missionary doctor in China. At first, they couldn't figure out what he had, but he was in really critical condition, he had kidney failure, lung failure, bone fracture, lung infection, and inability to walk. Then, they flew him out to Hong Kong, and finally the doctors there figured out he has cancer, Multiple Myeloma. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/wayneho He has a wife, and two young children.
All these friends are American Chinese friends we have in the States. All these incidences made me think, "Has cancer become more and more prevalent, even in our generation, or is it just us?" When we talked to our friends in general, it seems like it's just us. Some even commented, "Well, you guys know lots of people!" But, really, we don't. We're not really a 'social' family compare to most of my counterparts, so I doubt we know 'more' people. But these incidences are alarming! Why's this happening? Is it the place we live in? Is it the food we eat? Or is it our genes have gone totally bad? Flora's not my first girlfriend who has breast cancer. My spiritual mentor who's about five years older than me had breast cancer in her early 30s. My girl cousin in Australia died of Leukemia at the young age of 19.
Some days, I feel like I can't bear to read one more update from them. Some days, when I don't get any email updates, I think, "No news is good news!" My heart weighs heavy, but I also see God's faithfulness shines through in all these people's stories. Their faith in God is unwavering, they all know, even in their sufferings and sorrows, God's love is enough. They are letting God carry them on His wings, so they will soar like wings of the eagles. |
