An Answered Prayer

In 2008, before I started this blog, my dad got a mysterious tumor in his lung. It was growing fast, and cancer was a possibility, but lung surgery was the only way to get rid of or diagnose it. So that November, after months of uncertainty, he had lung surgery. The experience was pretty rough for my whole family, but thankfully, the doctor knew immediately that it wasn't cancer. It was histoplasmosis. This disease is fairly common in the South, and for most people it's no more severe than a cold or flu. But my dad was one of the very few who caught the lung-invading, long-term version. They removed the large tumor completely, but there was another, smaller one in his other lung. It can't be treated with medicine, so the only way to eliminate it is to remove it.

So for four years, he's been checked every six months to see whether the tumor is growing, and we've all known that it's only a matter of time before he needs another lung surgery. Although I'm thankful that it's not life-threatening, I've dreaded him going through all that again, knowing that he has this thing lurking that makes him uncomfortable and can only get worse. But this week, his pulmonologist confirmed that the tumor is shrinking, and they now think his immune system will kill it off! THIS IS HUGE and unusual for this type of tumor.

So I want to publicly thank God for His healing and grace. I have several friends who have faithfully prayed for my dad's health, and this is a clear answer to those prayers. For years I've lived under a shadow, half waiting for something bad to happen, and while none of us are guaranteed anything, that shadow feels much lighter now! I'm so relieved.