Once upon a time it was a cold, cold night in Canada and then nine months later BOOM there I was….
No matter what the circumstances were or how gross it makes me feel, I want to thank my parents for choosing to be just that, my parents.
I was blessed with many things from both of my parents.
Together, my parents gave me crappy eyes, the ability to hold a tune, they made me left-handed, and gave me a love for Jesus.
My dad’s side of the family gave me green eyes, a quiet spirit, the ability to call myself half Canadian, and a strong love for hockey
My mom’s side of the family gave me three siblings, the ability to cook a good meal, passion for others, and…..my nose.
From the outside, most would say I have a fairly decent nose. I’ve never wanted to change it or even disliked it. But, on the inside, it’s all sorts of wonky. Ever since I was little I would do this thing where I would breathe in through my nose really hard, one side would suck in, the other would not no matter how hard I tried! Everyone thought it was so funny and I was just happy to make people laugh. It never bothered me. Recently though, it’s been brought to my attention that I have a deviated septum (thanks momma). This is something that isn’t visible from the surface so, I still wasn’t THAT concerned about it. But as I’ve gotten older my allergies have gotten worse. This is causing my nose to swell. My suite-mates this past year jokingly and lovingly would make comments like “When Hannah blows her nose in the morning, I know it’s time to get up!” or “Loving the symphony this morning!” My mom was even concerned I was going to blow my eardrums because I was blowing my nose no hard. So, I went to the doctor on June 19th. His first piece of advice was to start using Flonase. Joke was on him because I’ve been doing that for the past 2 years!!!!! So, the next option he gave me was to get surgery…
Wanting to be able to blow my nose like a normal human and be able to breathe out of my left nostril again AND knowing my mom would basically give me no choice, I scheduled a surgery for July 10th wanting to get it done before I go on The World Race. The next day the doctor called and said my insurance was due to be terminated at the end of June…turns out I had a six month plan. I couldn’t renew my plan because it wasn’t a plan anymore and I couldn’t start a new plan because it would be considered a pre existing condition and insurance would most likely not cover it. The only way to do this was to get the surgery in June. So, I called the doctor and asked if there was any possible way I could get it done in June. He looked and looked and even looked at different doctors. All booked. Crap. Not 10 minutes had passed and my phone starts ringing. It’s the doctor. He tells me if a client doesn’t call them back within the next 24 hours then their appointment will have to be cancelled and their time slot is mine. The appointment is for June 26th. So, the next 24 hours are filled with constant prayer, a lot of anxiety, and a whole lot of trying to fill my time. 4:59P.M. the next day rolls around and my phone starts ringing. It’s the doctor. The client never called them back and the appointment is mine! In this moment, I am filled with complete shock and am overwhelmed with how calm I begin to feel.
You see, my mom is someone who would quite literally give up her arms if someone she loved needed them. This is mostly amazing, but also can be the BIGGEST weight. I knew that if the canceled appointment didn’t work out she would make me keep the July 10th appointment and she would find a way to pay for the surgery, the anesthesia, and the hospital bill all out of pocket. I don’t know about you, but no one in my family has that kind of money sitting around and I didn’t want to put them in a financial hardship right before I leave the country for 11 months. So, thank you mom for caring about me so much that you would literally destroy your own life at the expense of mine.
Now onto my dad. My dad is someone who paid a banker to pay his bills because he didn’t want to figure it out, he sent his first email about 3 years ago, and just yesterday I had to teach him how to use maps on his iPhone. So, he wasn’t really involved in all the phone calls and trying to figure out the logistics of this surgery. So, when everything was set in stone, I told him all the details. I also told him that if we pay upfront that we get a 25% discount. His response is, “Okay, I worked a job on Wednesday that should pay for half of it and I work 2 jobs next week that should pay for the other half.” These aren’t his normal daytime jobs with the construction crew, these are night time side jobs. My dad is 60 years old, has a steel rod in his hip and a has a bum back. But when I ask him for money (again) he doesn’t even bat an eye. So, he’ll probably have to work even more nights because the money that will be going to my surgery was probably supposed to go to pay off my car. So, thank you dad, for continuing to exhaust and over exert yourself to make sure I have everything I need as well as shower me with all of the unnecessary things that I want.
Thank you, so much mom and dad for all my perfect and imperfect qualities and for making me into the person I am today, the good and the bad.
But also, thank You SO MUCH Jesus. Thank You, for protecting me from worrying about my parents trying to figure out how to pay for this out of pocket. Thank You, for protecting my mom and not letting this be another thing that is added to her already full plate of anxious thoughts. Thank You, for protecting my dad in terms of working even more nights and putting the surgery within days of my insurance expiring. Thank You, so much for protecting my parents and their marriage from this and not letting this be another obstacle for them to figure out. This year is going to be a chance for them to grow as well and only YOU truly know how hard it is going to be for them. So, thank You, for showing me what it means to put all my trust in You. Thank You, for showing me the power of prayer. And thank You, so much for loving me in all the specific and confusing ways that I need and for my wonderful, wonderful nose.
In Christ,
Hannah
