Before the operation part 2

After all the tests I was booked into hospital early November for the operation.  How did I feel during the time, living and working in a foreign country where I can only understand the basics of the language, being away from our two girls?   When I look back I almost think I was living a dream world and this was happening to someone else.  Perhaps that is how I got through or that I was being protected by God and He helped me get through.  There were times during the tests I just wanted to cry as I couldn’t understand the Portuguese nurses although most of them were really great and spoke just a little English to help me, perhaps I was a novelty by being a foreigner.

During this time I was amazingly blessed by having Isabel who works in the hospital, Gabi who is a doctor and came with on various times to translate and Julie who is just a great mate and was there when I needed someone to talk to.  As well as that they are just a few of the people who have been totally amazing over the last couple of months.  Not least of all I should mention Ruth and Sarah who both gave up their time to fly over from the UK to help us both out.  We could not have managed without them.


Bill's View

Tina was referred to the IPO, the principal cancer hospital in the North – and one which has a really good reputation as a research centre for cancer.  At this time I was still hopeful that the whole thing would turn out to be a false alarm.  However, in praying about the matter, I believe that God gave me a verse from the bible that became very important to me (probably to both of us).  It is found in the book of Romans; chapter 8; verse 28.  In the New Living Translation this reads:  “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.”

Now I knew that we both love God; we are convinced that we are called according to His purpose – so we could safely believe that He causes all things to work together for the good!  However, in the way that I understood what God, through His Word, was saying; there is a very important point that is often overlooked.  I was very convinced that the verse was NOT saying that nothing could or would go wrong.  What I believe strongly that the verse is saying is that no matter what does go wrong, God DOES cause even the wrong to work together for good.  Now that starts a whole train of thought going and, although we continued to pray that the best would happen, we became slowly resigned to the possibility that it might not turn out as well as we hoped. 

In fact, the problem with Tina’s armpit was a bad sign and she was scheduled to have a mastectomy operation.  The week before she was due to go to surgery, I preached that message to the church!  I had no idea at all how I would be tested by that – over and over again.