Ken’s one-month appointment showed no changes, so Dr. Schlabach told us Ken didn’t have to come back for three months. He wouldn’t say the R-Word (remission), but he did say “things look good” (whatever the heck THAT was supposed to mean). Dr. S. went on to say that Ken could do whatever he felt like doing, but not to overdo.
Three months came and went and Ken went back to see Dr. Schlabach. None of the tests/scans/scopes they did showed any sign of cancer. Dr. S. shook his head and said, “Ken, there is no medical reason that you should still be here.” I replied, “That’s because the reason he’s still here is NOT medical. It is a God thing.” The Dr. agreed and told us to come back three months later.
We entered into a time of being almost “normal”. Ken felt much stronger and was able to get out and piddle around a little with his rental properties. We were able to get a portable feeding pump (“Baby Bill”) which Ken could wear in a backpack, so we were able to go more places. He started taking the boys to “camp out” in his van so they could sell stuff at the Flea Market down in Dalton. Jesse and Benjamin loved that. They still talk about sleeping in the van, talking to their Dad through the night. I’m glad they have those memories.
I guess it was around this time that I heard that one of Ken’s family members was telling everybody that “Kenny has been healed!” While I was praising God and rejoicing loudly at the fact that Ken was doing so well, for some reason, that comment from his family member bothered me. You have to understand – this particular family member, and others of his family as well, never seemed to “get it” when it came to Ken’s illness. They were pretty much in denial about the whole thing. It seemed like they thought that as long as Ken wasn’t laying in the bed dying, that he was just FINE. They would ask him to do things like climb up on their roof or go and shovel chicken manure. This man was missing half of his internal organs and had absolutely no immune system, but somehow, his family thought those requests were reasonable. I would stomp my foot at Ken and tell him to call his family member back and tell them that what they had requested was out of the question. I can still see Ken grinning at me, saying, “I guess you’re, right, Honey. I didn’t think about that.” Then he would call and tell them that “Melinda says I can’t help you ...”. Sometimes I think he would agree to help them with those ridiculous requests just to see me stomp my foot at him. Silly man, I was only trying to take care of him.
Anyway, for some reason, the “healed” remark just seemed to fly all over me. I would grit my teeth and not say anything, because I didn’t want to cause any trouble between Ken and his family. They loved him too, and in their own peculiar way, I knew they wanted what was best for him. But one day, the family member was just all in my face about it. She asked me if I had told Jesse and Benjamin that Ken had been healed. I said, “No, I haven’t told them that.” “What are you waiting for?”, she asked. (DEEP breath) “Because I don’t know for sure that he’s been healed,” I replied. Family member is becoming more animated now... “What do you mean, you don’t know he’s been healed?! Don’t you believe God can heal Kenny?!” she shouted. (Another DEEP breath) “YES!”, I replied, “I do believe that God can heal Ken. I believe that He can grow Ken a brand new stomach if that’s what He wants to do. I just am not sure what God is going to do.” Then this family member looked me square in the eyes and said something I’ll never forget. “You have to pray believing! YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH FAITH!” Well... I felt like someone had squeezed every little bit of air out of my lungs. I’m not sure what she expected me to say. I finally said, “Are you saying that if Ken dies, it will be my fault?” She started sputtering and assuring me that that was not what she meant, but her tone had been so condemning and accusatory. It broke my heart. I guess she realized that she had said too much, because she left soon after.
SIGH... As much as I would loved to have agreed with her that Ken was healed, God NEVER told me He was going to heal him. God told me that I should “get ready”. And that’s what I tried to do.
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