My Testimony - Part 9 - Chemo ... And the "C" Word!

My Testimony is very long so I am posting it in parts. Don't forget to read:

Part 1 -  God Calls A Child!

Part 2 -  A Path Of Sin!

Part 3 - Redemption ... God's Amazing Grace!

Part 4 - Angel's Among Us!

Part 5 - 300 Days And Counting!

Part 6 - Sometimes You Just Have To Laugh!

Part 7 - My Darkest Days ... And God's Forgiveness!

Part 8 - An Adoption Story ... Well Sort Of!

"Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall rise him up; and if have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." James 5:14-15

Because I had had so many complications after my surgeries I was sent to another specialist in Boston. He thought I should try a new Chemo treatment that was used to treat Crohn's. I technically am diagnosed with undetermined Crohn's/Colitis because all my tests show inconclusive results. So I agreed to try the chemo and see if it would help. I became so deathly ill and most of my hair fell out. I couldn't imagine why anybody on earth would agree to do this. After the first round of treatments my body had not responded the way they had hoped, so we all agreed to stop them.

Dustin, Sarah and Mazie!

Shortly after J.T. left I went to see an infertility specialist. (I have NEVER claimed that I have infertility! To be infertile is to be unable to become pregnant. And I believe that I will be able to become pregnant. I always tell my nieces and nephews, some babies just take longer to grow.) I knew I wasn't really healthy at the time, but wanted to start the process and see what they could do. Ever since I was a teenager I had a problem with ovarian cysts on my right side. When I was very sick, thankfully, most of this calmed down. But the healthier I got, the worse these became. The infertility doctor determined that I had a blockage in my left tube and a dysfunctional right ovary. Neither side was working properly. Also TONS of scar tissue was blocking the eggs from even getting to the tubes. The cysts on my right ovary had developed into strange looking black masses. They told me black always means cancer. The "mass" (I NEVER claimed it was cancer!) was totally surrounding the ovary and it would have to be removed, as well as the left tube. A left ovary and a right tube doesn't make a great recipe for conception. I was not pleased. The "mass" was extremely painful and was pinching the nerves in my right arm. I needed another miracle!

I went home and quoted every scripture I remembered about faith and believing for the impossible!(I will make a post with them all!) I fasted and prayed asking God to show me His plan in my life.

At the same time my pastor's wife and another woman in church were diagnosed with Breast Cancer. The three of us went in front of church and were prayed for and anointed with oil. As the bible tells us to in James, quoted above! For the first time in my life I felt my healing! Instantly ALL pain was gone! It was beautiful!

I called my doctor and told her nothing would be there, that I was healed! She still wanted to do the surgery and make sure, she didn't really believe me. I decided to go ahead and have the surgery, that way she would KNOW what God had done for me. I had the surgery and she was amazed! NO MASS! Not even a hint that one had ever been there! THANK YOU JESUS!! They did remove my left tube because it was slightly open and if I got pregnant on that side it would 100% be a tubal pregnancy, and they knew emotionally I could not handle that. My doctor tried to say after the surgery that they had mistaken shadows for a tumor, but the ultrasound tech would not budge. She knew what she saw and it wasn't a shadow!! I wish I had the pictures to post for you!

My pastor's wife and the other woman said they also felt pain leave their body, and God healed all 3 of us that day! There is POWER in prayer and in obedience to the word of God!

Two years later I was having pain again in my shoulder. I went to my OB/GYN and he did an ultrasound. It showed another mass over 10cm. In cyst world this is HUGE! It was very dangerous and would need to be removed. And of course they always like to throw in the "C" word whenever they can. I knew God had already healed me and there was no reason for me to have surgery. I went to church to get prayed for again and I knew God would do it. I told my doctor I was healed and he wouldn't need to do surgery. He was not convinced. So I told him to take another ultrasound and he would see. The new ultrasound showed that the mass was growing even bigger. But I did not falter. Every day for a month I cried and prayed, Lord I know you healed me and I don't want to have another surgery.

Whenever I felt pain in my body, I would not acknowledge the pain, but I would say, "Thank you Jesus I am healed". Many days the pain was so bad, all I could say was "Thank you Jesus I am healed! Thank you Jesus I am healed!" over and over and over. The day of surgery was approaching and I was getting upset. I did not want any more surgery! There was no need to have surgery if nothing was there! I consulted my husband and he prayed about it and felt that I should go ahead and have the surgery. I wanted to stand by faith and not have the surgery. I cried and prayed, and cried and prayed. I knew my husband would not make a decision that would hurt me or be bad for me, but I was just not seeing things his way.

So I prayed and asked God to give me peace. And I clearly heard a voice answer back, "Sarah, I'm going to use you to show other people a miracle" Thank You! Now I felt that the surgery had a purpose, it was not for nothing! God gave me the peace I so desperately needed.

The day of my surgery I told my doctor there would be nothing there. This time I was still in pain, but I stood on my faith in Jesus Christ that I was completely healed. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" Hebrews 11:1. My doctor had tears in his eyes and told me he had not slept all weekend because he was trying to figure out how to save my ovary. I only had a right tube, so the right ovary is essential! I just smiled back at him. Time would tell. I wish I could have seen his face after surgery! He came out to the waiting area and just shrugged. There was nothing there! HAHAHA Oh God is so good. Although the doctor never did admit to me it was a miracle I knew God was talking to him.

Just recently I had another ultrasound and my doctor found another "mass" on my ovary. I went back to the same OB?GYN and he just said, "I am not worried. I know with you there's really nothing there!!!" Even my doctor is now speaking faith! Hahahaha I love it!!

I am so thankful that my pastor taught me not to have confidence in a doctor's report, but to have confidence in God! What a GREAT and MIGHTY God I serve!! It does not matter what situations come your way, or what death sentence a doctor tries to put on you! God's word says to speak life!

Pro 18:21a "Death and life are in the power of the tongue:"

I SPEAK LIFE!

REFLECTIONS:
~Did you know you DO NOT have to accept the doctor's diagnosis as truth! God can change your diagnosis if you stand by faith!
~God's answer may not always be what you want to hear. I did not want to have another surgery, but God wanted to use my as a vessel to reach someone else. How humbled I am that God can use me as his servant!
~Submission is so important! I asked my husband for godly council and he gave it. I did not initially agree with his answer, but after prayer I realized God had given him the correct answer. Trust those that are your leaders and covering. They have a great task to watch out for us and give us godly wisdom. I believe my obedience to my husband was key to my healing
~If you are having difficulty making a decision, PRAY about it! Do not make a move one way or the other until you have peace from God about it. Be open to hear the answer God has for you, whether it is what you want to hear or not. God talks to his people, we just have to listen and hear the answer he has for us!


Thank you for following along with my story! If you are enjoying this series, please share with your friends. You never know who needs encouragement today! If you would like prayer please leave a comment below or contact me via email (in my tabs above) and I will gladly pray with you for direction! Please join me tomorrow for Part 10 - With God Nothing Shall Be Impossible!

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My Testimony - Part 8 - An Adoption Story ... Well Sort Of!

My testimony is very long so I am posting it in several parts. Don't forget to read:

Part 1 - God Calls A Child!

Part 2 - A Path Of Sin!

Part 3 - Redemption - God's Amazing Grace!

Part 4 - Angel's Among Us!

Part 5 - 300 Days And Counting!

Part 6 - Sometimes You Just Have To Laugh!

Part 7 - My Darkest Days ... And God's Forgiveness!

"But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for such is the kingdom of Heaven!" Matthew 19:14

During my sickness all I could think about was having a child. Children are such a blessing, and somehow in my crazy mind I convinced myself that if I had a child, that would mean I was healthy. Because I still weighed less then 100 lbs the not so important parts of my body shut down. So I began to pray that we would be able to adopt. I'm going to keep most of this info general for the privacy of those involved.

My dear boy J.T. was born in October 2001. He was 10 weeks premature and couldn't remember how to eat or breath. He stopped breathing at least 10 times an hour. It really wasn't as scary as it sounds because he was on an apnea monitor and as soon as it would beep, he would jump and start breathing again. J.T. was my life! I had only had surgery 6 weeks prior to him being born, but all of a sudden nothing about me mattered! He was my world! Really things had felt so bad for so many years, this was my first real ray of sunshine!

I was so in love with this child I can't even begin to write about it. He was so fragile, and he needed me. I finally felt like I had a purpose. I rocked to him and sang to him. Prayed with him and cried with him. A biological mother could not love their child more! I knew within the first week that it didn't look like we were going to be able to adopt him, but how could I leave this precious little boy? My boy? I couldn't! So I went every day, not knowing if it was the last kiss I could give him. The last prayer I could say with him. The last time I would ever hold him and tell him how much I love him. Still I went because none of that mattered. All that mattered was he was struggling for his life and needed me.

Like most preemies J.T. struggled with his vitals. There was just too much for his poor little body to do. The nurses tried their best but for some reason I was the only person who was able to stabilize him. I held him in the kangaroo position, skin on skin, and his vitals would be perfect. Somehow my body knew how to regulate his temperature and blood pressure. His breathing became more regular and he was able to rest. I know this was a match made in heaven and God put us together! WHEW even after 10 years I cannot write this without crying! He was my boy!

We were able to raise our dear son for almost a year, and when he left he was very healthy and his doctor's were amazed at how well he had grown and developed. They had never seen anything like it. I still feel blessed that God allowed me to be part of his life! And although losing him was an enormous loss in my life, being his mother even for a short time was an even bigger gain. I honestly believe God sent him to me to save my life as well. It help me to forget what was going on with me, and to focus on someone else for a change. I have never been the same since!

REFLECTIONS:

~Have you ever prayed for something, but God's answer was no? Did you have a hard time submitting to God's will?

(I tried to keep this post as upbeat as possible, but as you can imagine, it was a great struggle for me letting my son go. You can read more about Saying Goodbye To My Son!)

Thank you for following along with my testimony! If you are enjoying this series please share with your friends! Please continue to Part 9 - Chemo and the "C" word!

I linked up today with:


Have you been encouraged by Treasures of Faith?If so, won’t you subscribe and receive our latest posts sent to your inbox or RSS feed?You may also connect with us on Facebook and Twitter, or follow us via Google Friend Connect.