For all was not well with me. For some time I'd been experiencing nagging pain between my shoulder blades, along with loss of appetite and extreme fatigue. After numerous tests, I finally got the news that there was a tumor on my spine. There was no possibility of doing a biopsy on it since it was so close to the spinal cord, but the neurosurgeon I was referred to said, "Cancerous or not, that tumor will have to be removed." And removed it was, in an 8-hour-long operation--and yes, it was cancer. The surgeon was candid with me; he said, "This will be a long and painful recovery." How right he was. And, if that wasn't bad enough, the wires, screws, plates and rods that replaced living bone didn't hold together, and the whole operation had to be done over--10 hours this time.
It was a living nightmare. I'd wake up in the morning to another day of pain and misery and try to hang on until the time came when I could once again push the magic button that would send more painkiller through my system. It was never enough, though. I had my faith, and God never failed me through it all, but there were times I wished that He would just take me home. And then Sunday evening would roll around, and SSD would come on. And for an hour I knew I would be able to laugh, to shed healing tears, and simply to enjoy something again. The nurses soon found out that it was my special time, and they would try to leave me alone during that hour; or, if they had to do a procedure, would do it with the minimum of noise. In fact, a couple of my night nurses started recording SSD so they could watch it themselves--and they soon became as hooked as I was! |
Well, I got my happy ending, too! After long weeks of physical and occupational therapy, I was finally able to walk again and be in my own home. Then came months of chemo and radiation, spinal taps and bone marrow aspirations--and SSD helped me through those, too. I've been cancer-free for a little over 2 years now. Some people may think it's quite a stretch to credit a TV show with helping someone recover from a health crisis, but that was my experience and I'm ever so grateful! Sincerely, Stephanie |
The Living Letters series will continue as long as there are stories to share. If you would like to contribute something about how Signed, Sealed, Delivered has impacted your life that you'd be willing to share here on A&D, feel free to email me.