With Hope, The Odds Don't Matter

This is the theme of Heather Von St. James’s story.  Three months after giving birth to her first child, Lily, Heather was given 15 months to live.  

Heather was diagnosed with Pleural Mesothelioma, a rare type of cancer that appears in the layer of cells lining the lungs.  Imagine the fear that must have engulfed her when the doctor told her and her husband that the chances of her surviving were rare.  Usually people diagnosed with Mesothelioma only live 15 more months.  

The Lord did not forget her.  He led her to a renowned Mesothelioma surgeon, Dr. David Sugarbaker.  With encouragement from her husband and hope in her heart, Heather survived cancer.  Seven years later she has made it her mission to help others find hope and beat the odds just as she did. 

I love what Ether, a Book of Mormon prophet, teaches about hope, “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world . . . which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast . . .” (Ether 12:4).

After seeing, hearing and pondering unimaginable situations people go through, I believe it is hope that gets them through it.  Heathers husband said the way he kept her hope up during sugary and treatment was by continually telling her that Lily needed her mother.  Heather hung on.  Today Lily has her mother. (You can find Heather's full story at mesothelioma.com/heather). 

Some people give up when told they don’t have long to live.  Sometimes when rough times hit, whatever it may be we have to have that strand of hope that everything will be okay.  We have to hang on to that strand with both hands. 

When I think of beating the odds I think of Harrison, my little brother.  When he was thirteen years old he was diagnosed with Osteochondritis dissecans.   Blood ceased to flow to the bottom of his femur bone, which essentially caused it die.  There was a risk that the dead part of bone could break off.  Dr. Higgs explained to Harrison if this happened he would need to have surgery.  In order to prevent sugary and allow the bone to heal on its own, Harrison would need to stay off it for two years.  The only exercise he could do was walking, swimming and riding a bike.  At the time he was diagnosed his tap class was two weeks away from going to competition, and he had just started track for middle school.  He had to withdraw from both of these activities. 

I can imagine most thirteen year old boys after being told they can’t play basketball, they can’t go skiing, they can’t play football, and they can’t even run would be devastated and feel sorry for themselves.  Harrison beat the odds. 

In the two years he couldn’t do any activity he only cried two times.  Once when he saw his friends playing basketball, sad that he wasn’t invited.  They thought since he couldn’t play he wouldn’t want to be there.  They didn’t realize he would have been happy to sit and watch.  (That was all cleared up though).  The second time he cried was at his year appointment when Dr. Higgs told him and my mom that the disease was still there and he would have to continue to refrain from physical activity.  He only cried because my mom started crying.

In the two years he couldn’t run, jump, play basketball, or dance, Harrison became an excellent speed walker, he learned to jump on the trampoline with one leg, and even learned how to run/hop so he could play soccer with his little brothers.  He had hope if he followed Dr. Higgs’s instructions he would be healed, and he was.  I came home from college one summer, and with glee in his voice Harrison said, “Watch this Amanda!” he then proceeded to run across the yard with both legs. 

New prospects were opened up to him because of his experience with Osteochondritis dissecans. As of now he wants to become an orthopedic doctor (bone doctor).

Several years after finding out he had Osteochondritis dissecans, Harrison is back on the field, this time playing Lacrosse

Nobody plans out trials in their life.  Hope must therefore be ever present in our souls.  Some have hope they will make it through a trial, and everything will turn out the way they wanted it to.  When it doesn’t turn out as planned this doesn’t mean they never had hope, or they didn’t have enough faith.  God had different plans.  In cases like these our hope must change.  It must be centered on what the Lord wants.  If we let our trials shape us, we can become stronger, and we can beat the odds. 

A dear friend of mine, and former roommate, was diagnosed with type one diabetes when she was about fourteen years old.  She told me one evening of her experience (and forgive me if I get some of the facts wrong).

She was initially shocked, scared, and sad when she found out she had diabetes.  Imagine being fourteen years old and finding out you had a disease that was incurable and that may eventually kill you.  My friend recalled that as she was laying in the hospital bed the first night after she was diagnosed she thought to herself that she could either have a negative outlook on her situation or a positive one.  She knew she would never be cured.  Having children in the future may be difficult, and she may die from diabetes one day.  She had a knowledge of God, and He had given her this challenge for a reason.  She decided to face her situation with a positive outlook. 

I never once saw her complain about being diabetic.  In fact if she hadn’t told me she was diabetic I would never have guessed.  I witnessed her stay close to the Lord, take care of her body (she finished a ½ marathon one summer, something I don’t think I could ever accomplish), and always strive to help others even when things in her life weren’t perfect.  She has the hope and knowledge that God loves her and knows her.  He wouldn’t put her through any challenge that she couldn’t handle without His help.  Today she is married and the mother of a healthy baby girl. 

Hope is a very powerful thing.  Hope is what got Heather through her cancer treatment and surgery.  All the odds were against her, yet she hung on.  She was a mother and her little girl needed her.  Among other things she hung onto that truth, which enabled her to fight and win her battle against Mesothelioma.  My friend and my brother hung onto the hope of optimism to get them through their trials.  Each day my friend must continue to hang onto that hope, continue to push forward and to never give up. 

Ultimately hope in Christ gives us a “sure foundation" and that is what I am so thankful for in my life.