Nine years and counting …
September 25, 2007
By Sam Tropea
I was an active, healthy, 51-year-old man who had never been in a hospital, except as a visitor or outpatient when I discovered several small lumps on my upper left thigh in February 1996. Our family doctor sent me to a vascular surgeon. The surgeon performed a biopsy that determined the lumps were malignant. An oncologist performed a bone marrow biopsy and discovered cancer cells had already progressed beyond my lymph nodes and were present in my marrow indicating I was in the fourth stage of lymphoma.
Three months of chemotherapy put me into a short-lived remission. I next went to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore to pursue a bone marrow transplant. Doctors there redefined my condition as chronic lymphatic leukemia and suggested before attempting the transplant that another round of chemo be administered. They wanted to clear my marrow sufficiently to see if I could be my own cell donor. There was no improvement in my condition.
At first, I determined I would not undergo medical treatment and would rely totally on the mercy and power of our healing Lord. However, at the advice of my family and some dear spiritual counselors, including my pastor and long-time friend Charles Nestor, I wisely decided on the medical option.
In November 1997 I traveled to the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington. There I received a recommendation to proceed with the bone marrow transplant. Without it, I might have only two years to live. The operation took place on Jan. 22, 1998.
The Lord had not forsaken me. God was undergirding me with His everlasting arms and a strong groundswell of praying believers who daily bore my name to our Heavenly Father’s throne. I was overwhelmed with the Lord’s encouragement.
Prior to my admission to Georgetown, Pastor Bob Bawalda, one of our ministers at Manassas (Va.) Assembly of God where I have attended almost 30 years, prayed for me. He asked the Lord to amaze the physicians attending at my transplant. I was reminded of these prophetic words when only 17 days after the procedure I was sent home. One doctor confided my recovery had gone “amazingly” well. Hallelujah!
There were still challenges to face. Continuous care and diligence were paramount to help reconstruct my immune system and restore physical stamina. I was on numerous drugs for almost two years and needed home treatments to combat blood irregularities and to strengthen my lungs so my weakened system would not have to combat pneumonia. Medication took its toll on my eyes, ears, and especially the taste and salivary organs of my mouth.
I had to remain isolated from friends and loved ones at home for months and had to wear a protective mask around others in public in order to avoid exposure to contagious illnesses. My anxieties escalated due to the burden I was placing on my darling wife as well as my concerns about how the many bills were going to be paid. I was slated to be out of work for almost a year.
Nevertheless, our Lord has promised to care for the lilies of the field. I saw His precious faithful hand at work throughout my complete recovery. He provided a perfect donor for me. My sister, Nina, who lives in Florida, was the only relative who was a perfect match.
My family rallied around me. They posted Bible verses about healing all around our house to remind me constantly of God’s promises. I added to the list of verses. Friends at churches across the country rallied around us with prayers, hundreds of cards, gifts of money, and even helping with household chores. We were abundantly blessed in the time of our greatest need.
My amazingly kind colleagues at the Federal Communications Commission responded to my need for leave donations, showering me with more than 800 hours of their hard-earned annual leave to carry me through nearly all of 1998. I consider all the doctors who treated me as the Lord’s workforce in my behalf. Interestingly, it was a Georgetown lab technician, Cheryl, when taking my first blood sample, who planted the powerful seed for my medical recovery by pointing me to Psalm 118:17: “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord” (NKJV).
It has been more than nine years since I underwent my transplant, and I am still blessed with the love and support from the body of Christ who have helped me and my family weather the various glitches in the recovery process. In January 2000 I was finally able to discontinue all medication as my new immune system commenced to function splendidly. The first two annual bone marrow biopsies and CAT scans after transplant showed my body was totally free of cancer. Thank the Lord!
I went back to work full time in 1999 and even survived annual flu seasons without a flu shot or any serious illness. In January 2005 I retired from the FCC with almost 40 years of service and, by the grace of God, am enjoying my retirement in great health. Now a long week is more than eight hours of work at my part-time maintenance job for Manassas Assembly of God!
Sam Tropea lives in Nokesville, Va.
“Too often we place our ministry value on ticket sales and everyone’s approval. God could care less about that. He wants to see us caring for and loving people. Do we see the hungry and try to feed them? That’s what Jesus is looking at. Jesus loved the poor; He loved the downtrodden; He loved the hurting. He could have ministered to kings, but He spent much of His time with the poor. ”
“Conversation: Russ Taff/Remembering the Call”
Today’s Pentecostal Evangel, September 23, 2007
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