H7 Story: God is With Me Always
"God is With Me Always"
By Christie Ward
By Christie Ward
About this time last year, my twin girls were Seniors and life was busy! I started biting my tongue while I was sleeping. My tongue got so bad that I would wake up with it bleeding. I went to the dentist and he gave me a mouth guard and some medicine to try to heal my tongue. The medicine did not heal my tongue and a lesion formed on the side of my tongue. I was sent to the oral surgeon. The oral surgeon gave me a different type of medicine to try to heal my tongue, but again healing did not come. In September 2024, the oral surgeon performed a biopsy of my tongue. I never imagined that I would be diagnosed with cancer since I have never smoked or used tobacco products.
On October 2nd, my oral surgeon called me at home to tell me that I had Squamous Cell Carcinoma. I felt like I had been punched in the gut! Those words were so devastating to hear, and I was scared that I would die. I had breast cancer at 32 years old and now I was facing a new cancer at 54 which was totally unrelated. He referred me to a brilliant surgeon at UT.
From that time on, God gave me the vision of being with me in the fire just like He was with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. If you do not know the story, it is from Daniel 3. Look it up and read it! Even though I was going through so many new and scary things, I knew that without a shadow of doubt my God was with me every step of the way. I felt peace in the midst of all the unknowns.
I talked with two different tongue cancer patients to find out what the surgery would be like. Both women had to have part of their tongues removed and then reconstructed with skin from their arms. They also had to be on a feeding tube for a period of time and spent 10-14 days in the hospital. This all was very scary to think about having to do.
On October 17th, I had a consultation with my surgeon at UT. The lesion was on the side of my tongue which was good. He would be able to remove it and not have to do reconstruction. My hospital stay would be overnight with no feeding tube. What an answer to prayer! Praise God!
One of my concerns and prayer requests was for all the bills that I would have since I have Medishare and not health insurance. God answered that prayer too! Medishare put me with a Care Manager who is an RN. She has helped me fight to get my bills paid and prayed with me each time she talked with me. What a blessing she has been!
On Oct 31, 2024, I had a PET scan and CT scan. I was so nervous about the tests and the outcome of the results. There was a white board in my personal waiting room. On the white board in bold letters were the words, GOD IS IN CONTROL. What a comfort and sweet reminder from my Lord! On November 7th my results came back as only my tongue and lymphs nodes were affected. The rest of my body was clear. Praise the Lord!
December 2nd was surgery day. The surgeon removed about 40% of my tongue and all of the lymph nodes in my neck. It was painful to talk, and swallowing was a challenge. My nurse was amazing and took great care of me. I was so thankful for her and her care. The next day I was released from the hospital. The first week was pretty tough. Swallowing was very challenging and trying to control the pain was tough too. Jeff was a wonderful caregiver. I am so thankful for my sweet husband! I had two friends that had already given me pureed soups before surgery and this is what I lived on plus applesauce and yogurt. So thankful for my sweet friends too!
Within a week, the pathology report came back and unfortunately, the pathology results were not good. There were cancer cells in two of my lymph nodes and the back margin of my tongue was not clear. I met with my surgeon and the decision was made to have a second surgery to remove more of the back of my tongue to get a clean margin. As hard as it was to go through a second surgery, we were praising God that the microscopic cancer cells were seen and not overlooked by the pathologist.
Two weeks later I was having my second surgery. The surgeon was able to get a clean margin this time. This surgery was more like a biopsy so not as bad as the first surgery, and I went home the same day. I received the pathology report on the first day of January 2025. I was all clear of any cancer cells! The results also showed that the cancer had not spread to my throat. Happy New Year to me! Praise the Lord!
In February it was time to start chemo and radiation treatments. Chemotherapy was hard the day after with nausea and no appetite, but my oncologist gave me medicine to help me eat. The concern with the chemo drug was that it can damage my kidneys. He told me to drink lots and lots of water to keep my kidneys flushed. I also started the first of 33 radiation treatments that day. The concern with radiation is that it would make my throat so sore that I will not be able to swallow or eat anything. Some patients have to go on a feeding tube while they are taking treatments to be able to keep their weight up, however I did not! I concluded these treatments in March.
From the beginning I prayed for minimal side effects from my treatments and to keep my hair. God answered these prayers! I was able to eat soft foods the whole time, and I tried to drink 40-60 oz of water a day. My throat and tongue were only a little sore the whole time, and I kept my hair! Praise God!
When I think back, I can put what I learned into four main points:
1. God is with me always and brings comfort in the hard times in my life.
2. Fear comes when my focus is not on the Lord but on my circumstances.
3. God is in the details. We just need to ask Him and pray specifically.
4. God had provision for me every step of the way.
Thank you to all of you that prayed, sent cards, texts, flowers and food during this hard season of my life. I feel so blessed to know each and every one of you! God is Good! I want to thank you for reading my story! My prayer is that it encourages you today!
On October 2nd, my oral surgeon called me at home to tell me that I had Squamous Cell Carcinoma. I felt like I had been punched in the gut! Those words were so devastating to hear, and I was scared that I would die. I had breast cancer at 32 years old and now I was facing a new cancer at 54 which was totally unrelated. He referred me to a brilliant surgeon at UT.
From that time on, God gave me the vision of being with me in the fire just like He was with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. If you do not know the story, it is from Daniel 3. Look it up and read it! Even though I was going through so many new and scary things, I knew that without a shadow of doubt my God was with me every step of the way. I felt peace in the midst of all the unknowns.
I talked with two different tongue cancer patients to find out what the surgery would be like. Both women had to have part of their tongues removed and then reconstructed with skin from their arms. They also had to be on a feeding tube for a period of time and spent 10-14 days in the hospital. This all was very scary to think about having to do.
On October 17th, I had a consultation with my surgeon at UT. The lesion was on the side of my tongue which was good. He would be able to remove it and not have to do reconstruction. My hospital stay would be overnight with no feeding tube. What an answer to prayer! Praise God!
One of my concerns and prayer requests was for all the bills that I would have since I have Medishare and not health insurance. God answered that prayer too! Medishare put me with a Care Manager who is an RN. She has helped me fight to get my bills paid and prayed with me each time she talked with me. What a blessing she has been!
On Oct 31, 2024, I had a PET scan and CT scan. I was so nervous about the tests and the outcome of the results. There was a white board in my personal waiting room. On the white board in bold letters were the words, GOD IS IN CONTROL. What a comfort and sweet reminder from my Lord! On November 7th my results came back as only my tongue and lymphs nodes were affected. The rest of my body was clear. Praise the Lord!
December 2nd was surgery day. The surgeon removed about 40% of my tongue and all of the lymph nodes in my neck. It was painful to talk, and swallowing was a challenge. My nurse was amazing and took great care of me. I was so thankful for her and her care. The next day I was released from the hospital. The first week was pretty tough. Swallowing was very challenging and trying to control the pain was tough too. Jeff was a wonderful caregiver. I am so thankful for my sweet husband! I had two friends that had already given me pureed soups before surgery and this is what I lived on plus applesauce and yogurt. So thankful for my sweet friends too!
Within a week, the pathology report came back and unfortunately, the pathology results were not good. There were cancer cells in two of my lymph nodes and the back margin of my tongue was not clear. I met with my surgeon and the decision was made to have a second surgery to remove more of the back of my tongue to get a clean margin. As hard as it was to go through a second surgery, we were praising God that the microscopic cancer cells were seen and not overlooked by the pathologist.
Two weeks later I was having my second surgery. The surgeon was able to get a clean margin this time. This surgery was more like a biopsy so not as bad as the first surgery, and I went home the same day. I received the pathology report on the first day of January 2025. I was all clear of any cancer cells! The results also showed that the cancer had not spread to my throat. Happy New Year to me! Praise the Lord!
In February it was time to start chemo and radiation treatments. Chemotherapy was hard the day after with nausea and no appetite, but my oncologist gave me medicine to help me eat. The concern with the chemo drug was that it can damage my kidneys. He told me to drink lots and lots of water to keep my kidneys flushed. I also started the first of 33 radiation treatments that day. The concern with radiation is that it would make my throat so sore that I will not be able to swallow or eat anything. Some patients have to go on a feeding tube while they are taking treatments to be able to keep their weight up, however I did not! I concluded these treatments in March.
From the beginning I prayed for minimal side effects from my treatments and to keep my hair. God answered these prayers! I was able to eat soft foods the whole time, and I tried to drink 40-60 oz of water a day. My throat and tongue were only a little sore the whole time, and I kept my hair! Praise God!
When I think back, I can put what I learned into four main points:
1. God is with me always and brings comfort in the hard times in my life.
2. Fear comes when my focus is not on the Lord but on my circumstances.
3. God is in the details. We just need to ask Him and pray specifically.
4. God had provision for me every step of the way.
Thank you to all of you that prayed, sent cards, texts, flowers and food during this hard season of my life. I feel so blessed to know each and every one of you! God is Good! I want to thank you for reading my story! My prayer is that it encourages you today!
Posted in Tell the Story