A Lump and God's Favor

 


When you feel a firm lump on your body, you know it’s not a good thing. That’s what I found Sunday night while I was getting ready for bed when I was washing my groin area.

I won’t keep you in suspense, I am going to have surgery in three weeks to remove the lump and the doctor will have it biopsied. What I really want to tell you is the awesome way God showered grace and favor on me when I went to the doctor’s office on Wednesday.

Since the lump was not hurting me on Sunday night, there was no need to go to the emergency room. I told my wife on Monday morning and started making calls to urologists. My insurance (Tricare Select) allows me to go straight to a specialist without getting a referral. There was no doubt as to which type of specialist I was going to see; I did not have to waste my time with going to a general doctor.

The first urology office I called said they could see me in six weeks. Since I was in charge of my care, I decided to keep trying for a better deal. The second urology office had an opening in two days on Wednesday. Sold!

My wife and I arrived at the office and it was SO nice to NOT wear a mask. Iowa is a great state!

The doctor examined me and confirmed what I had felt. He said I needed to have an ultrasound before he could determine what was needed next. He went to see what the closest date would be as getting a date for an ultrasound can take many weeks or even a month. When he came back, he told us there had been a cancelation and asked if I could come back and get one done in an hour. 

Sure! But wait, it gets better.

I came back in an hour and was called into the exam room by the technician. As she was doing the exam, there was a knock on the door. In walked the same doctor I had just seen an hour ago. He stood there watching the exam, asking the tech to look at the lump from this direction and that. Then he told me it definitely was not a cyst and it had to be removed – did I have a problem with that? I said no as I had expected this. The doctor then said for me to see the lady who schedules surgery after I was done in the ultrasound room.

If the doctor had not come in while I was getting examined, I would have had to wait for him to read the results of the ultrasound and then call me to discuss what to do. That may have been the next day or day after that. Instead, I got an instant diagnosis!

After I got myself in order, I walked down to the lady who schedules surgery and she finds a date just three weeks out! She then says I will need bloodwork and an EKG. Could I do that immediately? 

Sure!

Fast forward 20 minutes and I am walking out of the Urologist office having done everything I need to do for the surgery – from initial exam, to complete diagnosis, to final bloodwork – in about two and a half hours.

We do not always see God’s hand in our lives, but it is there. However, every now and then, God kind of “shows off” and makes things happen in a way that only He can. I think it is His way of reminding us How truly magnificent He is and how much He loves us. 

He "showed off" for me this past week and all I did was make that second phone call.


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