The Rest of the Story: My Journey to Healing

In late October,2011, I received devastating news. On the eve of an international trip to Nepal,  I suddenly began to lose vision in my right eye. An eye exam revealed a potentially deadly melanoma tumor that required immediate attention. My plans to travel to Asia were replaced with an ongoing back and forth journey to the Callahan Eye Center in Birmingham, Alabama. The tumor was large enough to deeply concern the Ophthalmologist and Radiologist who had experience with this rare form of cancer impacting my eye and threatening my life.

  The whole experience was both shocking and hard to grasp. For 5 years of my life I had helped to establish an eye hospital in Pakistan. I had never thought I would be on the other side of the equation in deep need of healing and help. The reports were sobering. Most likely the tumor had been growing for 2 years or more in the back of my eye. Once it became large enough it had begun to press up against my retina causing a lot of bleeding and a sudden loss of vision. Within a few weeks I had surgery to insert a radiation 'plaque' ( a nickel shaped piece of gold embedded with radiation pellets) into the back of my eye. It was to sit in place for 4 days and later removed in a subsequent surgery. Prior to the surgery the radiologist told me what to expect after the surgery. The goal of treatment was to save my life... not to save my vision. This instruction was repeated often and clearly. The hope was to defeat the cancer. The treatment itself would be devastating to my vision. My tumor was located in the area most sensitive to central vision. It would result in a large dose of radiation and most likely result in the loss of all vision other than peripheral(side). It was a sobering prognosis. The Ophthalmologist (Dr. John Mason) was more optimistic than the radiologist and mentioned that he had at times seen people recover a modest amount of vision and I might be able one of those blessed patients.

  It's an unsettling experience to have something potentially fatal growing in the back of your eye. The waiting is the worst... waiting for surgery....waiting to see if it will work.... waiting to see whether or not the cancer might spread.  Melanoma is a deadly disease and once it gets beyond the eye it spreads quickly and usually fatally. As a Christian I believe that God heals.  I had so many people praying for me.  God's presence and power at work in my life were evident all along the journey toward healing. From the moment when I was diagnosed I have felt the peace of God in my heart and mind. I had moments of impatience but was continually trusting that God knew what he was doing as I trusted him with my life.

  Several months have now passed since the initial surgery. For the first few visits to see Dr. Mason he seemed pleased with how things were progressing. He told me it would take about 6 months to see just how effective the surgery and radiation were. Yesterday as Dr. Mason looked at my eye on the slit lamp microscope he simply said, "The tumor is dead!"  Those few words brought a smile to his lips and a sense of deep gratitude to Mary's and my heart..... WOW! Not only was the tumor dead but my vision exam was markedly improved.  I am a blessed man. The journey toward healing over the last several months has done a lot for me far beyond the physical realm. I've written a little about the journey via this blog to help share my heart with all of you who have prayed and given to help provide funds for the surgical and medical care in Birmingham. One thing I've learned for sure is that healing is often a process involving so much more than our physical bodies.  Along the journey I've been touched by God in every conceivable part of who I am. God has healed me..... God is healing me....God will continue to heal me... and I will continue to give him all the praise and all the glory.
God is good.....all the time.

Jim