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| Birthday celebration |
The journey began with prompting that it was all right to celebrate my 75th birthday with a party. To be honest, I had never had a birthday party so, ironically, it was my FIRST birthday party--sort of a beginning. I had no idea what a beginning it would be. So the party went on with lots of friends and family celebrating me and my life's journey as they knew it.
When I thought of the party, my plan was to have an informal gathering of people I knew but who may not know each other. I wanted them to mingle, talk to one another and discover the gifts that were inside each. I hoped they would connect in ways that would increase their reach and spread the good work they all do for the Kingdom of God and, consequently in their respective communities, My loving party planners had other ideas,and instead the party became one of testimonies about me. I was somewhat embarrassed by this turn of events but God gave me grace to appreciate my awesome supporters, AND I discovered how much people liked and respected my work in outreach and the various arenas where God has given me favor.
As the treasurer for the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World Convention Evangelism Outreach Services (C.E.O.S.), I was to depart for Detroit, Michigan, the next morning following the party.This was to be my last year to serve with them because I wanted to focus on the work being done in Arizona and with other organizations in which I had accepted responsibilities. Glad to be finished with this phase of my life, I looked forward to new endeavors and to joining relatives in Maryland for a family reunion.
Rediscovery
While this was not the first reunion for me, it was the first one this with branch of the family. Over the past few years, I had begun to research our family genealogy, and this reunion was from my maternal cousins' families. Our common ancestors were two sisters, and we had linked our family trees. I wanted to reconnect with childhood friends, cousins I had played with and my "bestie" cousin who was now in a care facility with Alzheimer's disease. Mission accomplished with great satisfaction and I connected and reconnected with the loving family I remembered from my childhood, I discovered a great love and acceptance from family simply because we shared a bloodline. What joy of discovery!
Unwelcome Discovery
Now I was ready to return to Phoenix for the final part of my birthday celebration--my annual physical and mammogram.
My physical exam at the primary care doctor's office went off without a hitch, and I was pronounced to be in my usual good health with the caveat that the mammogram is next. I promptly made the appointment for the mammogram, expecting the usual NORMAL examination.
The mammogram, however, was NOT normal, and in early September I received a dreaded letter asking that I return for another exam, following which I was told I needed an ultrasound. The ultrasound was done and I was then referred to a breast center for more definitive views and biopsy. I was at one of my meetings when I received the call that the biopsy reviewed an aggressive, invasive intraductal carcinoma--yes, the dreaded word CANCER.
My primary care physician called me personally because she didn't want to deliver this awful news by voice message. She referred me to the best breast surgeon she knew. From that point (sigh), a flurry of exams and evaluations over the months of September and October, I found myself on the day before Thanksgiving in surgery undergoing a left radical mastectomy (removal of my left breast). By God's grace and mercy, the two small tumors were stage one and there was no lymph node involvement. I fairly danced away from the hospital, not realizing the next step(s) I would discover.
