And whatever you do...

This morning I went to Palmerston District Hospital for an ultrasound. I have a small lump on what appears to be a blood vessel on my right wrist. My oncologist wanted to check it out so I am doing what I am told. :) I am thankful that they arranged for me to go to my lovely local hospital instead of travelling all the way to London to have this little pea-sized annoyance checked out. I happen to be a lumpy person to begin with - I've been collecting harmless lipomas (basically fat deposits - sigh) in different areas for a while now. This one seems a little different than the others, however, so we are just making sure. Which is fine with me given the present state of affairs.

Has anyone heard of an excellent book called Hot Apple Cider? It's a delicious concoction of favourite stories from Canadian Writers who are Christian. The distinctive flavour of this 'northern' title rings through every intriguing story. Nancy Lindquist and Wendy E. Nelles are the editors of this book and the co-founders of The Word Guild. When I got sick, Nancy proceeded to send me 6 of these great books. She said she was going to send flowers but then decided that I might like these books to hand out to people I encounter on my journey.

Today I gave one to Casey. Casey was actually one of the first kind people I encountered on my cancer journey. She did my first ultrasound at Palmerston District Hospital that verified the tumours on my ovaries. After that initial visit, I think I saw her three or four more times to check out the lymphedema in my leg. Each time, her professionalism tempered with compassion and kindness was like good medicine. I gave Casey a copy of Hot Apple Cider for a few reasons. First, she was so kind and gentle. She also had a way of putting me at ease and we discovered we could work up quite a conversation about books and reading and our opinions of such. So I thought she might like this book.

I hadn't seen Casey in a while because of my surgery and my chemo treatments but when this ultrasound was ordered for today I was excited about going back. Unfortunately she wasn't there but another nice young lady (Christa) helped me out with the ultrasound this time. She said she would give the book to Casey! :)

Janette Oke wrote the forward in Hot Apple Cider, "...Words are powerful. They are power-filled. They can encourage, direct, bring hope, empathize, instruct or empower. Put simply - yet honestly - words can change lives..."

I know Casey's words to me were encouraging and hopeful and many other things. So I pray that this book will be a 'pay forward' as she reads through the stories and tastes the simmering cider!

What did I learn today? a) Be careful little tongue what you say...
b) How can I change a life with my words? (Am I changing it for the better?)
c) Warm jelly on ultrasound gadgetry is better than cold.