This particular Monday (December 2022) started out like most Mondays. I went to my son’s shop to give him a hand. I had made an appointment to see the doctor on Thursday to remove some stitches from my foot, but on Monday my daughter-in-law walked in and said, “I have made an appointment for you to see the doctor tomorrow.” I am not sure what prompted her to change my appointment, but on Tuesday I went to see my doctor. He removed my stitches and then checked me out. Everything seemed to be going well until he listened to my heart. He abruptly stopped and said, “I am going to send you to the Cardiology Lab right now.”
I went to the lab, and a young lady attached all the wires, started the test, and quickly gave me an odd look. She left, saying she needed to speak with the cardiologist. Soon she came back and said I needed to go directly to the Emergency Room as my heart was racing at 187. When I checked in at the ER, the lady asked why I was there. I told her my heart was racing at 187, to which she replied, “It is at 197 now.” After a few hours in Emergency, I was sent home, only to wake up on the floor of our home the next morning. When this happened a second morning, I was taken into Emergency by ambulance.
In the hospital, I was sent for numerous x-rays and CT scans, after which “Job’s friends” started to arrive in my room. One said they had to stabilize my heart. Then another nurse came in and said I had tested positive for COVID-19. The last was a lung specialist who abruptly informed me that they had found a mass on my lung. I, of course, asked, “What could that be?” and she blurted out, “Well, it could be cancer!” It took some time to process all this, but I soon realized I needed to get home, sell our condo, and move my wife closer to all amenities and the church because obviously I wouldn’t be around much longer!
They ran many more x-rays and CT scans and finally had my heart operating normally so that I could go home and come in for day visits. I went back to the hospital to see the heart specialist, and after his examination I asked him if he couldn’t do a procedure to balance my electrolytes so I wouldn’t have to take medication. He said he could, but he would have to wait and see what would happen with my lung. My impression was that he was saying, “If you’re going to die anyway, why bother with this procedure?” The reports had been very negative and depressing.
I sent a WhatsApp message out to all the pastors and asked them to have the congregations pray for me. After this, the reports became more positive.
Soon, I went into the hospital because the lung specialist wanted to go down into my lung with a camera. She said she couldn’t go down as far as she would have wanted to, but she took a few biopsies from the area that she examined, and they proved to be benign. She said they would have to do further x-rays and biopsies.
Next, I underwent numerous tests to determine what treatments would be necessary. The nurse prepped me and said I would need to rest before I would be taken in for several hours of x-rays and biopsies. A few minutes later, someone walked in and said, “We are going to do a CT scan first to see if the mass has increased.” The technician ran me into the machine, then took me out about half-ways, looked at me and said, “It is gone!” He left, and a specialist appeared and she confirmed, “It is gone; there will be no further x-rays or biopsies. You are free to go.” I left that hospital rejoicing and thanking God!
I was scheduled for a PET scan which the lung specialist wanted to cancel, but I told her I would want to go ahead with this, knowing such tests are difficult to come by. I went in for the PET scan, and the next day she called me and said that I am cancer-free!
I would like to thank all the children of God who earnestly prayed for me and thank our God in heaven for His mercy, grace, and compassion that He showered down upon me. God is still the same, He is still the Great Physician, and He can help when all hope seems to be gone.
Harvey Elke
Kelowna, British Columbia
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