The Phone Call That Changed Our Lives

After getting down of the mountain from my son’s high adventure camp, I found a place just outside the town of Huntsville, Utah where I could get cell phone service. It was Thursday, August 23rd, at about 10:00 at night.

I pulled my truck over to the shoulder of the road, said a prayer, and steeled myself for the phone call that could change our lives forever. I did not want to be driving, and having this discussion at the same time. I wanted to give my full attention to my sweetheart.

I placed the call, and Dawn Ann answered the phone just like normal. She asked me how my day had gone. I told her about the campsite in the mountains (Camp Browning) where I had spent the day with our son, Bryan.

She asked about the activities at the camp. We chatted on for several minutes -- her spirits seemed high. Subconsciously, I was thinking that maybe the biopsies had come back negative, and that she was cancer free! Or, that perhaps no results had come in yet. You could not tell from how well composed she was, or by the tone of her voice that anything was wrong.

Finally, I flat out asked her if she had heard anything back from the Women’s Center. She said that the results had come in, and that it was cancer in both places. She also told me that it was likely that a mastectomy was going to be necessary. Then she said that form of cancer that she has is highly treatable, and that it was detected early.

The news hit me like a ton of bricks. However, I did not want to dampen her seemingly good spirits. So I tried to keep things positive in our conversation. I couldn't tell if her good attitude was from being buoyed up by the hand of the Lord, or if the full force and impact of what she was saying had just not fully hit her yet.

In the end, I think it was the Spirit of the Lord that was holding her up, at least until I could get home to comfort her. Dawn Ann is a nurse (RN) by training, and it would be silly to think that she didn't really understand what was happening here. However, sometimes emotions can have a delayed impact. I'm sure that there are going to be many ups and downs emotionally over the next months, and probably years as we go through this process.

Dawn Ann went on to tell me that the Women’s Center had recommended the same surgeon that my rheumatologist had recommended – the one that specializes in breast surgery.

At first she was told that it usually takes two-to-three weeks to get an appointment with the surgeon, and that the doctor was going to be on vacation during the last week of August (which we already knew from my doctor).

About an hour and a half later, the Women’s Center called back to inform Dawn Ann that ther had been a cancellation at the doctor's office, and they wanted to know if we could meet with the surgeon the next day (Friday, August 24th), which was the last day before the doctor was going to leave town. Dawn Ann had gratefully accepted the appointment for the next day. We both feel that there may have been some divine intervention on our behalf in order to get that appointment so quickly. I would have hated to be in limbo so long before the initial consultation.

As our phone call continued, I expressed my love and support for my dear wife. My only thought was for her health, well being, and trying to keep her with us (and with our family) for as long as possible.

Finally, as I sat there in the dark, on that lonely road in Huntsville, Utah, my chief desire was to hold her in my arms, and to pray with her. We closed out the phone call, and I fired up the truck, and started for the road home – with a prayer In my heart for the welfare of my wife, and for our family.