Sunday, March 25, 2012

Medical Update

Ok, here we go. I went on Tuesday with my student to the hospital for the consultation with doctor whose English is very good.

As it turns out, they do not want me to have a "pot" CT, but a PET Scan. They are trying to either confirm the presence of cancer or rule it out. It seems that there are small lymph nodes  making an appearance in abdominal area, and they also want to better identify the small spots on the top of my kidneys.

I will have to say the gall stones were a blessing in disguise. As big of an emotional crybaby as I can sometimes be, I have a pretty high tolerance for physical pain. And let me tell you, those gall bladder episodes were as painful as anything that I have experienced. The pain got my attention and told me "YOU NEED TO SEE A DOCTOR!" If not for those gall stones, I would not have been going to a doctor, and wouldn't have had any of these tests done. So, God, in His infinite wisdom knew how to get my attention.

Now, this may turn out not to be cancer, but the doctor told me that is what they suspect. So, if it is, the gall stones have brought an early discovery, and that is always more desirable. I will have to go to Shanghai to have this test as the hospital here does not have the equipment to do it here in Zhangjiagang. Next weekend I will go to Zhenjiang and meet with Mr. Yang at the school and see about them helping make arrangements for the test in Shanghai. Until then, I will just place my trust in the Lord, and let Him be my peace, courage, and strength.

The doctor in Zhangjiagang Dr. Sheng, has given me his phone number and has told me to call him if I need any more assistance. He will help me to get all of my CT films put onto a USB so that I if needed, I can bring them back to the states. He has also recommended that if the tests do confirm cancer, to return to the U.S for treatment. Seems like and easy call, but I really still do need to pray about that for a number of reasons. I would ask you to also be praying. God is good. He put this doctor in my path. As  a side note, he is a cardiac surgeon, just goes to show you how different our health care system is, not many cardiac surgeons in the U.S. would be working on Saturdays seeing patients for ordinary internal medicine maladies.

As it "just so happens" there is a man who comes to the Thursday bible study who is also a doctor and whose English is also excellent! He has also offered his help to me. I figure between the two of them, I can get a good understanding of where to go in Shanghai, and then they can help me with interpretation of the results. Although, I figure that in Shanghai, I have pretty good chances of getting doctors with good oral English abilities.

Even as "bad" as all this may sound, God has given me quite a few opportunities to tell and demonstrate the "good" that is found  in "All things". One way you can know about this is at the end of my next blog(warning warning- if I was speaking, you would say it is long winded) that God has been prompting me to write for a few weeks now.  Other ways, is that I've also been able to share this with my students, telling of my trust and faith in God, and also with the Thursday bible study.  A dear lady named Nancy has reminded me several times that she is praying and that we are "marooned on the island of God's sovereignty" Think about that for a minute. There is no place I'd rather be. So, in closing, I just ask for your continued prayers, asking God to give the doctors ans me wisdom, for their are many things I need to consider. Ask him to continue to give me a Romans 8:28 foundation for my attitude. Healing, if it is in His will, and most of all trust and peace in His purpose. Thanks for reading. Until the next time...

2 comments:

  1. Hi Shawn, I did not realize that you write a blog until this morning, Bro Joe mentioned it after service. So, I think I "joined" your blog (I'm not "hip" to blogging and how it works). Excited to read about your daily adventures there, and will definitely be praying for you and your health. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Tracy, yeah, just really got more serious about it this year. Glad to have you aboard. I am not sure if you are on my email newsletter list or not, but if you want to receive that as well you can just drop me line at som1com.china@gmail.com and let me know if you want to be added.

    ReplyDelete

Whether you agree or disagree, please be respectful. All comments with abusive or foul language will be removed. I will try to answer all questions.