"God uses experience to motivate us to find truth."
~Derek Prince
What does being "healthy" mean to you? I have had to redefine that idea for me in the last few years. I realize that it means much more that "poor", "fair", "good", or "excellent". I have had to change that definition due to my experiences here lately. I have come to realize that health has so much more to do with my spiritual and emotional well being than it does to just be physically "well". I have come to embrace that being healthy is being able to wake up everyday identifying the gifts that God has given me and continues to provide. From the breath that sustains my life to the job He has given me, and especially my beautiful, supportive wife, He is truly the Great Provider.
So what caused me to come to this point, I am glad you asked. I think it is because God is the only true guarantee we have this side of Heaven. I love my wife, i mean for real...I LOVE MY WIFE...but just like our own life, our future on this Earth is not a guarantee. Knowing God is our true destination, enjoying Him forever, even while we are here. Over the last few years, I had developed quite a few health problems, actually I counted at least 13 specific things that seemed a little strange for someone my age. They included, but are not limited to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, joint problems, glaucoma, a retinal hemmorrage, chronic fatigue, weight gain, muscle loss, muscle weakness, kidney stones (OUCH!), irregular stretch marks, Type II Diabetes, and bone density loss. I think I even broke a couple of ribs at one point. Those are the ones that came off the top of my head. As these appeared, my doctors kept on trying to fix what they could with the easiest new medication, but the source of the problem was nowhere to be found, or was it even being searched for? Finally, I was fed up and had to get a new doctor to take a look. Immediately, the doctor thought I had too much Cortisol (a life sustaining hormone produced by the adrenal glands), and after a few further tests it was confirmed.
What frustrated me the most is that this should have been noticed earlier. The stretch marks alone are a clear giveaway. I guess all my bitterness is not quite gone yet. I'm praying about that one. Anyways, after being diagnosed I was sent to the MAYO clinic in Rochester, Minnesota where they did some further testing and discovered that I had a microadenoma (small tumor) in my pituitary gland producing ten times too much ACTH (which sends a signal to the adrenal glands to produce Cortisol). I then had transphenoidal surgery where they enter in through the sinus cavity to reach the bean-sized pituitary gland between the two optic nerves in front of the brain. However, we had to face the very discouraging news that the tumor (so small that it can't even be seen in an MRI and is basically eating up my muscels and destroying my body) wasn't found. They said our only other option was an adrenalectomy, which means my adrenal glands would be taken out and I would be forced to take two hormones for the rest of my life. While not ready to make that decision, we flew back to Alabama quite discouraged but still "Healthy" in knowing that God is always in control and is never surprised at anything.
So what was next? I was back at work after missing only 1 1/2 weeeks of school (I teach fifth grade). I was still feeling horrible. Remember, one eye was still one big fuzzy spot, I felt like crawling in bed at 3 or 4 in the afternoon and got exhausted from climbing one flight of stairs, I had chicken legs and arms (if they had arms), and I feel like I am running a pharmacy with all of the drugs I took. Yes, I even started using a pill box that had the days on it (You can laugh now, it is kinda funny). What was next. We didn't feel comfortable with losing the adrenal glands and knew that another attempt at the first surgery was a good idea. We ended up going for another opinion and ended up getting yet another free opinion from Dr. Edward Oldfield at the University of Virginia. My wonderful medical advocate and researcher of a wife found him and did not realize that she had contacted the top of the top in the Pituitary field in him and the endocrinologist Dr. Mary Lee Vance. We decided to proceed and about four months later we took a short vacation to Charlottesville, VA to retry it. The surgery could not have gone any smoother. The hand of God was all over it. He found and removed the tumor without any trouble. I had the most horriffice next 16 hours I have ever been through, but the tumor was gone! HALLELUJAH! Let the recovery begin!
It has continued to be a long road and still isn't quit done as I am having to wean myself off of the oral cortizone so that my body will wake up, but I do see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am now off of blood pressure medicine, my insulin tolerance medicine, one of the two eyedrops I take, and my cholesterol medicine was changed to something much better for me, and I have even gotten some muscle back along with hair on my legs! It has been really to see what God has spoken to us has come true. It has been a great faith-building activity. It still is a daily struggle to trust God when I am still physcially challenged right now, but we truly have experience what the body of Christ is supposed to be like. We know what it is like to have people praying for us and to have Christ holding us up when we are weak. Also, my wife and I have become extremely close and grew together so much throughout our journey thus far.
God has motivated us to find truth in many more aeas than this, but being "healthy" means so much more to me now...knowing that God is in control and that we are blessed! Knowing that God loves us with an "I got your back" type of love (props to John Mayer from his "Where the Lights are" DVD).
Remember, God is awlays motivating you to find the truth.
~Chris
