The gift of canes
JEN COSTELLO SAT ON THE COLD examination table. The doctor lifted her legs one at a time, testing their function. Jen’s leg braces were supposed to keep her from falling, but they just weren’t cutting it lately. The Jeannette, Pennsylvania, resident had battled chronic nerve damage for decades, and now she’d developed drop foot, a type of neuropathy.
“I’m sorry,” the doctor said. “But it’s time to quit your job. It’s too strenuous for your body.” Jen was stunned. She loved her work as an addiction counselor. She’d already had to give up a previous job as a paramedic due to her physical limitations. She had always felt called to help people. If she couldn’t do that anymore…
“I’d also recommend getting a cane,” the doctor said.
“Seriously?” Jen’s heart dropped. “
There’s no other option?” She was only 44 but suddenly felt twice her age. She’d struggled physically almost all her life, and she was tired of it.
At age four, a fall from a backyard slide landed her in the hospital. Doctors initially thought she’d ruptured her spleen. What they uncovered was far worse. Jen had Wilms’ tumor, a childhood kidney cancer. “It’s in her left kidney, and it’s very aggressive,” doctors told her mother with somber eyes. “We can try surgery.”
They removed Jen’s left kidney, but the cancer had already spread to her lungs. The only thing left to do was chemotherapy and radiation.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 2018 من Guideposts.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 2018 من Guideposts.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
In the Everyday
Cooking, cleaning, breaking up the kids’ fights... If only I had a few minutes for myself!
Worst-Case Scenario?
I’d had nagging injuries before and always recovered. Why wasn’t I confident that I would get better this time?
Honor Thy Son
I was a Marine officer, a lifer—or so I thought. Then came Patrick
Keeping It Real
In an age of social media, we're experiencing an epidemic of loneliness. Two friends who met online tell you how to grow an authentic connection
What You Wish For
She never wanted to see her abusive father again
God's Pillow
In 2016, the Soberanes Fire in Northern California was the costliest ever in the United States. It almost cost me my life, despite the promise I made to my wife
"I Heard You Praying"
As a hospital chaplain, I had seen hopeless cases. But never one more seemingly hopeless than this
"I Love You, Dad!"
Some of your favorite GUIDEPOSTS writers share what they learned from their fathers
Harold and Me
They’re nearly all gone now, the generation we call The Greatest.” This woman’s mission was to honor one of them
The Race Before Her
For this Olympic champion, success bred her greatest fear. How five verses set her free