4:52 p.m. Today's project was to sleep in until 8 o'clock, because I'd been up until 11:30 last night, filling out financial aid paperwork online for Steven, and taking my mint chocolate meringues out of the oven.
I got Steve up and going, and we both had our morning devotions. No breakfast for me, not even creamer in my coffee, because a life insurance medical examiner was due at 10:00 to take blood and a urine sample for my application! She'd have a scale in tow as well, I bet, so the pressure was on to dress light and weigh as little as possible!
Not anyone's idea of a fun morning, but very critical for me. I'd been having months of disappointment in qualifying for insurance since I retired from the school district. Leaving the teachers' union meant leaving my life policy of $100,000, pretty much a minimum as it was, with Steve unable to work. I'm not getting any younger, either. I was persuaded by Select Quote's ubiquitous radio commercials to apply with them, but it took months for them to contact my doctor, surgeons, and oncologist from my 2003 bout with breast cancer. The lump was barely a millimeter in size, removed within 2 weeks of discovery--praise God for our HMO-- and every test since then, blood or mamogram, had come back negative. Last spring I had even had a thorough medical exam with fluids, taken for Select Quote.
The company they chose, West Coast Life, finally offered me a "rated," or more expensive policy with a company that drew the "survivor" line at seven years, when five years is considered a survivor for non-recurring cancer.
(Sorry about all these details, but I was a life insurance agent myself with Connecticut General, before getting saved and becoming a Christian school teacher in 1980).
I was pretty resigned, until the Lord had an agent contact us over Steve's policy. The agent came over, and I brought up my own quandary at the end of the appointment. Sean (the agent) quickly took my app, and I'm now on track to get life insurance at a standard--healthy people's--rate!
Psalm 28:7 says, "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him and I am helped." Help is on the way!
About 9:50, there was a furious pounding at our bedroom door, but I couldn't answer because I was indisposed and the radio was blasting. I opened the door and looked downstairs to see Sherry, an examiner who's been to our home several times for assorted insurance brokers. Kind of a good, pleasant, people-oriented job, don't you think? And you could make your own hours for appointments, too. But I digress. I called out, "The appt. is for 10:00 and I timed myself for that," and she cheerfully answered, "It's 9:56." "So I have 4 more minutes," I laughed.
We caught up, talked a bit about Steve's plight and my retirement, and then proceeded with the questions: "Do you have AIDS? Are you a drug addict?" Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, (I Corinthians 15:57) almost all of my answers were a resounding NO. Seriously, I am very grateful not to be on any prescriptions or have any physical ailments. I didn't like sharing about my mother's unlawful death, but on the positive side, my dad is still alive and energetic at 82.
Now came the dreaded cancer questions, which I answered speedily, a sign of much practice. Sherry then had a surprise for me. "I have a consult with my surgeon tomorrow. They found two nodules in my left breast on a mammogram." We were on a whole new ground now...
Sherry asked me lots of questions about radiation, and my treatment choice--no chemo. She also mentioned that her husband had died of a strange, incurable cancer of the muscles 14 years ago at the age of 41. I gave her a card for this blog so she can seek some encouragement, and I promised to pray for her, writing down the details.
Since I had dressed for August (!), my weight was good, and all bodily fluids were properly extracted and stored. The exam was finished and my stomach was rumbling! But I knew why this particular examiner had been sent to our home--God knew her need, and gave her the confidence to make it known! As she left, Sherry said, "Pray for me! Just pray for me, please!"
I am, and I will!
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