If Only You Believe in Miracles, Baby, So Would I

I have never been a big believer in miracles.  Having never actually witnessed one, I have certainly questioned the reality of their existence.  It’s not like we live in biblical times where everyone was walking around getting cured or brought back to life.  I guess I might be a lot like the kangaroo on Horton Hears a Who – if you can’t see, hear, or feel something – it doesn’t exist.  Well, this week may have changed all that.  Stay with me here.  We are going a little off topic, but this is all a crucial part of our journey.

Someone extremely close to me was diagnosed in February of this year with Stage 4 Colorectal Cancer that had metastasized (or spread) to their liver.  They were deemed incurable and given 2-3 years to live.  It’s important to know that this person (who has asked to remain nameless on the internet) should have another 30 years left if you base life expectancy on that of your family, so 2-3 years was really cutting things short.  While extremely devastated, this person was not defeated and set out for a second opinion.

The second opinion was surprisingly different.  They were told that while it was a long shot, there was a possible chance of a cure through some aggressive chemotherapy and extremely difficult surgeries.  So they would set off on their journey into curable through their first round of chemo.  After a few months of chemo it was time to check the progress.  Devastation set in again when they were told that the cancer appeared to have spread and they were no longer a surgical candidate, thus making them – once again – incurable.  They had switched from ‘curing’ mode to ‘prolonging life’ mode.  They knew what this meant.  Back to 2-3 years…

Well, the doctors decided to try one more thing along with their ‘prolonging life’ chemo.  They did some genetic testing on the tumors and cancer to find a drug that was supposed to be the most effective with this person’s type of cancer.  They were checked again and to everyone’s surprise, this chemo was shrinking the tumors to the point where surgery was actually back on the table!!  Again, they were reminded that it was a long shot, but definitely a possibility. 

So, the first surgery was on.  They had what is called an embolism done to their liver to start with.  The purpose of the embolism was to shut off the blood supply to the bad side of the liver and redirect it to the good side to try and enhance its growth.  While they waited to see if the embolism worked, they underwent radiation to try and tackle the colon tumor.  Much to everyone’s surprise, the embolism did work – increasing liver function by 5-10%, which was all that was needed to remove the tumors from the liver.    

In the beginning of November, this person had an all day surgery to remove the entire right lobe of their liver and a smaller tumor from the left lobe.  All in all, about 60% of their liver was removed.  A couple of days following this very dangerous surgery, they were given the news that all cancer had been successfully removed from their liver!

A couple of days ago, they went in for their post-op appointment.  It was at that time their surgeon indicated that he could no longer locate (through ordinary measures) the tumor in the colon.  It doesn’t mean it’s not there – it just means that it has likely gone from obstructing to nearly obsolete.  They won’t know how much is truly left until they do another exam in a couple weeks, but they have already scheduled the surgery to remove what is left about a week after Gabriel is to arrive.  Once that surgery has been a proven success, this person will officially be cured!!! 

Long story short, I believe there is a distinct possibility I have witnessed my first miracle.  It is truly as if the hand of God has reached down from the heavens to touch this person and make them whole again.  While I am still cautiously optimistic (because of the way things have gone in the past year), I find my faith to be stronger and believe that the possibility of miracles truly does exist.  Perhaps my Gabriel will be spared some of the rotten things that go along with having cleft.  Perhaps he won’t need surgeries past the first year.  Or perhaps, despite all of this, he will be the happiest, healthiest kid I know.  Perhaps we will get our own little miracle for him.   At least now I believe it’s possible.