“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. ’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” Mark Twain

Doctorese-English Dictionary: God is So Good


Welcome to my Wednesday feature God is So Good.  Here I will share stories - true and fiction, mine and others' - of the  Lord's presence in the midst of trials, struggles, and difficulties.
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33b
 God provided so very many times in the midst of Marc's health issues. This is just one of them. I originally wrote this for the FaithWriters Writing Challenge. I've fixed it up a bit - but the message has NO need to change.

Doctorese-English Dictionary

The person on the other end of the phone line may not have known it, but he was the answer to my prayer. Another one of those perfectly orchestrated "coincidences" that only come from God. I was full of questions, and he, it seemed, had the answers.

Knowledge. I had more than I could manage, but still needed more. To be more specific, I needed information I can actually understand.

Craniotomy. Polycytic astrocytoma. Craniopharyngioma. Optic Glioma. Only a handful of the words I'd heard over the past several days, and whose meaning I barely grasped.

I consider myself an intelligent person, with a fairly broad knowledge base. Yet, these medical terms had me baffled - and when unknown terms are used in reference to your husband, baffled is not a comfortable place to be.

The neurosurgeon--another term I'd barely known until that week--was no specialist in plain English (or bedside manner, but that's another story). I'd gotten some literature on this assortment of terms, but it seemed to have been written for Ph.D. candidates. An Internet search was just as fruitless. All I knew was there was some type of mass on Marc's brain, and it was affecting his eyesight.

What I needed was a "doctorese-English dictionary," or someone who could do the translation for me. And, of course, the more this person knew about the brain and eyesight, the better. Unfortunately, I was confident there was no such reference book, and I didn't have any friends or family who fit the bill.

Well, except one: and he was at the other end of the receiver.

Ever since my mother died when I was seven, I'd been very close with my Uncle Buzzy (her brother) and his wife. They had two daughters - Debbie and Caryn -  who were a couple of my favorite cousins.

As we grew older and started our careers and families, however, we hadn't stayed as close, but still saw each other on occasion.

We had met Debbie's husband, Mark (with a K), before their wedding a few times , but didn't know him well. All we knew was he was a friendly, personable guy and he was studying to be a doctor. Now, three years after their wedding, he was in his residency somewhere in Texas.

Anyhow, just moments before I'd spoken to Uncle Buzzy about Marc's (with a C) health situation.

"Did you know, Dear, that Debbie's Mark is studying to be an ophthalmologist? I just talked to him about your husband, and he told me that the doctor he's training under specializes in neuropthalmology (eye function in relation to the brain)."

How's that for news I could use? Needless to say, I got Mark's phone number within minutes. Shortly thereafter, the answer to my prayer was on the phone with me. The best part was that I actually understood what he said. He was speaking in layman's terms about things totally incomprehensible to me not half an hour before.

Mark even offered to call my husband's doctor with specific "doctor questions" for us and get back to us with the answers. What is better in a stressful situation like this than a knowledgeable, helpful advocate of a cousin on your side?

God on my side--but we've got both. And some people say these things happen by chance.

**

No chance about it - God is in control, and provides. He is SOOO good!
Do you have a story you'd like to share about God's goodness in your struggles? Drop me an email and we can talk!   

 
Traveling Rough Roads With God's Strength

1 comment:

  1. I can't relate on a medical level, but sure can on the part about not by chance. I'm baffled by my circumstances, but I know they are all part of that orchestra that's syncopated just right.

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