IT IS CLEAR GOD HAD INTERVENED
It was early August of 2010 when Tammy stopped by her doctor’s office for what was supposed to be a quick, routine visit. Nothing serious. Just ordinary business. As she was about to leave, one of the staff asked if she’d like to take advantage of a free ultrasound they were offering to check the arteries in her neck.
There was no waiting, no paperwork, and no charge. Tammy thought, Why not?
What none of us realized in that moment was how that one small decision saying yes to a free, no-waiting ultrasound would set in motion a six-month fight for her life.
The ultrasound revealed something none of us were prepared for: seven growths on her thyroid.
In an instant, our world shifted. What should have been a simple day became the first step into weeks and months of testing, doctor’s appointments, scans, and conversations no couple ever wants to hear. The search for answers led us from one medical office to another, across the border into Mexico at Sanoviv Medical Institute and Oasis of Hope, and eventually to The City of Hope Cancer Research Hospital in Pasadena, California.
It was there that Tammy was diagnosed with Hurthle Cells in at least two tumors. For those unfamiliar, Hurthle Cell tumors are rare and aggressive. The concern only grew when further testing raised alarms that something was also developing in Tammy’s stomach and intestines.
Within weeks, she was scheduled for exploratory surgery. That surgery revealed an H. Pylori infection likely contracted on a missions trip or overseas vacation that had gone undetected. Though treatable, the infection had taken a toll on her already fragile system.
The following months were brutal. Tammy endured procedure after procedure, her body weakening under the stress of it all. The trauma left her in and out of emergency rooms, battling a 23-day bowel obstruction that nearly broke her spirit. And still, more tests loomed. Doctors were especially worried that the cancer had penetrated the walls of the tumors and spread into her bones. If that were the case, the situation would be considered incurable.
When Tammy finally went in for her post-surgery check-up, we were bracing ourselves for the worst. But instead, her surgeon surprised us with words we will never forget.
He said, “I have performed over 2,000 surgeries, but I have never seen or even heard of results like yours.”
Not only that, he went on to say that he had presented Tammy’s case to a panel of other doctors at The City of Hope, some of the leading cancer specialists in the world. None of them had ever seen anything like it either.
Still baffled, he showed the results to his own mentor the man who literally wrote the book on Hurthle Cell Cancer. And yet again, the response was the same: “I have never seen or heard of this condition.”
The official diagnosis? Tammy had what they called a Multi Hurthle Cell Adenoma. This meant she had multiple independent tumors growing simultaneously, each with Hurthle Cells, but they were not caused by or spreading from one another.
That alone is unheard of.
The surgeon then admitted something he had held back from telling us before: “I didn’t want to scare you with the dark, ugly underside of Hurthle Cell. Once they penetrate the lining of a tumor and enter the body, the condition is considered incurable.”
Two different doctors had already diagnosed Tammy with Hurthle Cell Cancer because biopsies showed positive results in multiple tumors. The logical conclusion was that it had spread. That’s why the prognosis was so grim. And yet here we were, with test results that defied logic, baffled experts, and left seasoned surgeons shaking their heads in disbelief.
From a medical perspective, nothing about Tammy’s outcome made sense.
From a faith perspective, it made perfect sense.
What started with a simple decision to take a free ultrasound turned into six months of tests, surgeries, setbacks, tears, and prayers. And at the end of it all, we could only come to one conclusion: God had intervened. He had healed Tammy’s body in a way that no medical textbook, no research study, and no expert panel could explain.
Today, Tammy is cancer free once again.
And as I look back, I’m reminded of the promise in Psalm 118:17:
“I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.”
That is exactly what Tammy is doing. Every day, with every breath, she declares God’s goodness and faithfulness.
For us, this journey was another reminder that God’s favor often shows up in unexpected ways — sometimes in something as simple as a free ultrasound offered on an ordinary August morning.