GOD ALWAYS PROVIDES: PAM TO THE RESCUE

As soon as PCI in Williamsburg opened on the 13th, I scheduled my first appointment with Dr. DeRidder.  As I was waiting for my family to wake up, this was the time that I had tried to reschedule the PET scan for an earlier day.  After not getting the scan scheduled any sooner, I started begging God to help me not to worry and to trust in him.

I then texted my family and friends informing them of my cancer diagnosis and asking for prayers to have my PET scan scheduled sooner.   My nephew Ian told his mother, Pam, my ex-sister-in-law.  Pam texted that she was willing to assist with setting up an appointment with the doctors at Johns Hopkins (JH).  In 2019, Pam’s sister-in-law went to JH, and they cured her of her lung cancer.  Pam was the one who arranged everything for her, and she still had all the phone numbers of the staff who assisted her sister-in-law. 

After talking with Pam about my need for a PET scan to be done sooner, she reached out to the staff at JH. We had a conference call with Margaret, one of the schedulers of the lung cancer clinic.  My PET scan was scheduled for Friday, December 16th.  Amazing right!  Margaret even said a powerful prayer for us.  But what was even more incredible was that when a JH doctor ordered an MRI of the brain, it was miraculously scheduled for the same day immediately before my PET scan. 

Later I found out that having both an MRI of the brain and a PET scan can help to identify if the cancer had spread to any other parts of the body.  I also learned that it was very unusual to get an MRI appointment so soon.  All I could say was “WOW” and “YOU GO GOD!”  God has been showing me how he is intricately involved in every aspect of my life so there is really no need to worry.

Matthew 6:25-26 (NIV)

25 “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

With the MRI and PET scan set up and because of the enthusiastic review from my ex-sister-in law of JH staff and their success in treating lung cancers, I decided to schedule an appointment with the lung cancer treatment team at JH.  I needed to meet the team at JH before I could decide where I would like to get my treatment.  I knew the team at Riverside, and I felt that my needs could be met there, but I needed to see what exactly JH could offer me.

My new patient appointment with Dr. DeRidder was scheduled for Wednesday, December 14th, the MRI and PET scan on Friday, December 16th, and the new patient appointment with JH team on Wednesday December 21st.  AMAZING!  God was providing for me and orchestrating all these events so that I could be where I needed to be.

COMMENTS WHEN BLOG WAS FIRST POSTED ON CARING BRIDGE SITE:

Gertha Jean-baptiste: God is with you along the way!

Jeri Franz: God is an awesome scheduler! I’m praying for you, Keem! I am so very blessed that you are my sister!

Pam Franz: When we sit with Jesus in Heaven one day, I know we will be amazed, truly amazed, at just how many times God made a path that seemed impossible. I was grateful to reach out and do whatever I could. Before I made the first call I bowed my head at the office, and asked God to give me the knowledge and the words to get to the right people. Again. And God heard my plea & answered both Kim’s & my requests. Thank You Lord.

Shelly Booker: God is good.