We have the choice to believe — or not

We're back home from my husband Terry's robotic kidney surgery in Spokane — with more story to tell.

“Robotic Surgery: Everything You Need To Know,” dated June 4, 2020, in verywell health is an excellent online article. Small incisions allow robotic arms to insert small surgical tools inside the body, along with a small powerful camera. The operative word here is small.

The surgeon sits at a console and views the surgical site — magnified and three-dimensional — on a screen. Almost like a video game, he or she can manipulate the instruments attached to the robotic arms using hand and foot controls. There is greater dexterity and range of motion than with the human hand — making possible more precise procedures in hard to reach areas.

Little did I know, when the surgery room nurse called my cell phone to say the robotic part of the surgery was beginning. It turns out that Terry is practically a walking hardware store. Previous back surgeries with plates and screws, and his implanted medical device for blocking pain, made it extremely difficult for the surgeon to position the robotic instruments.

The physician assisting in the surgery told Terry on hospital rounds the next morning, “I know of no one else who could have done what your surgeon did yesterday.”

Then the doctor walked in — still riding the wave from the challenging, successful surgery. He said, “I'm a miracle worker.” And in the same breath, “I'll never try that again.”

He did everything he surgically needed to — removing any suspicion of cancer — and left Terry's last kidney intact. I told him many people were praying. “That's what did it,” he answered.

My own side story is this. The first date we showed for Terry's surgery I was a train wreck. I woke at 1:30 a.m. at my sister-in-law's home in Spokane and stayed awake. We'd missed the call that the surgeon was ill — COVID as it turned out — and arrived at our 5:30 a.m. check-in only to be sent home.

The following week when we arrived I was in complete peace. The difference being a connection I made with two Bible stories I'd read. In one story Jesus is astonished at the unbelief in His hometown, and He “could do no miracle there.” His desire and power were no less, but the people's unbelief blocked it.

In another story — that of the Roman centurion whose servant is ill — Jesus is astonished by the man's faith. The centurion approaches Jesus believing He can “just say the word,” and his servant will be made well.

I had a choice — to be unbelieving or believing. One blocks — and the other unlocks — what God can do. I recognized I wanted belief. In my limited knowledge I had no idea what obstacles the surgeon was going to face in Terry's surgery — or whether Terry would even keep that all important kidney.

All I did know was that I was going to be believing.