The Words You Never Want to Hear: "Your Wife Has Cancer."

About a month ago, I received a frantic call from my wife, Kitty. She was having a medical emergency and needed to be rushed to the hospital. I drove our compact Japanese SUV like I stole it, as fast as it's puny 1.4L engine would go. Picked her up, and sped to the nearest hospital. I then realized, that our insurance had expired. When the company I worked for went bankrupt in March, I thought our insurance policy would still be valid until the end of my residence visa. I was wrong. After calling a friend who advised me that the best self-pay option was Aster Hospital, I made a detour to cut across town.

Holding her hand as we waited for her first surgery, unaware of everything that would follow. I couldn’t take away her fear, though I desperately wished I could. All I could do was stay beside her, pray with her, and remind her that whatever lay ahead, we would face it together...

When we arrived, she was diagnosed with a ruptured polyp in her uterus, and needed emergency surgery. We were both terrified because it was the first time in our 22 years together that we ever needed to be hospitalized. But our faith in God and Jesus kept us calm, and we proceeded with the surgery which was ultimately successful. A mere 24 hours later, she was discharged - much to my surprise. I paid the bill which amounted to 10,000 UAE Dirhams - pretty much every penny I had left to my name, but I didn't hesitate because after all - my wife's health and well-being will always come first and I know God always provides. I thought the worst was over. I was wrong. A week later, while Kitty was still in the throes of recovery, we got a call from the hospital. The results of her biopsy on her extracted polyp were in. I tried to ask for the results on the phone, but they said it could only be given in person. My heart started palpitating. I became a nervous wreck. We all know that when it's bad news, it's always given in person - right? When we arrived at the doctor's office, she just blurted it out: your wife has cancer. No gentle revelation or semblance of bedside manner. In hindsight, I appreciated that they were forthcoming. It's not my style to sugarcoat anything, so it was only fair that I was treated the same way. But Kitty recalls me turning pale white, while I barely have any recollection of that moment besides feeling that time had frozen. We all know our time on this earth is finite. That someday, we are going to get sick - and eventually, succumb to something. We are aware of the diseases that exist, and whether it's on TV or in real life, we bear witness other people endure the painful news of being told they have a life-threatening affliction, be it heart disease, cancer, or a neuro-degenerative condition such as ALS or Parkinson's. You just never think it will happen to you, or someone you love.

Kitty being wheeled in to the operating theater was the first time in my entire life I was genuinely terrified of losing her. She is the love of my life, and seeing her in such a fragile state and being helpless to do anything about it was the most devastating feeling I had ever felt...

Fortunately, Kitty was diagnosed with a suspected Grade 1 Endometrial Carcinoma, just 1mm. This meant the cancer cells are less aggressive, and very much treatable. The "bad news" was that she required a full hysterectomy as the MRI revealed she had an abnormally large uterus as well as a giant mass. The hope was that the cancer is contained to her endometrial lining, and surgical removal of her entire uterus, along with her fallopian tubes and ovaries, would be enough to treat the cancer. However, we had 2 issues to contend with: first, was being overwhelmed with fear of such a major surgery. One major reason why we never had children, was Kitty's fear of dying during childbirth as a result of being told when she was young by a random stranger whom she believed to be an angel in disguise. This surgery required a major abdominal incision, similar to a C-section. Secondly, we still didn't have insurance - and this would cost us 45,000 UAE Dirhams - around USD $12k. I had just started a new job and the surgery represented 2 months salary - there was simply no way I could afford it, yet time was not on our side as the longer we put off the surgery - the greater the risk of it spreading. At this point, all we can do is put our trust and faith in the Lord. God has never abandoned us in our hour of need at any point of our lives, and perhaps in the greatest test of our faith we have ever experienced, we knew he wouldn't abandon us now. In fact, we already knew God's plan was already in motion, for if she didn't have the first medical emergency, we would have never been made aware of her cancer to begin with. There is absolutely no doubt in our minds, that God is with us and despite the temptation to feel weary and helpless, this is exactly the type of moment our faith has prepared us for. To put our complete and utter trust in Him, and He will deliver us from this predicament. We don't know exactly what lies ahead, nor do we pretend that our faith somehow makes us immune to fear. We are human, and there have been tears, sleepless nights, and moments when the enormity of everything has felt almost unbearable. But if there is one thing the last 6 years of trials and tribulations have taught us, it is that God has never brought us to a storm without eventually leading us through it. Perhaps we don't yet understand why this particular chapter was written for us, but we trust the Author. So once again, hand in hand, we move forward into the unknown - frightened, certainly, but never without hope. Because when everything else is beyond our control, our faith remains steadfast. And whatever happens next, we know we will not face it alone.