The doctor told me that my condition will predispose me to cold and flu and that I would need to be more cautious about respiratory infections including pneumonia and that I should get the flu shot.
It’s had been a whirlwind of conflicting diagnoses up to the one this Doctor gave me. One of the visible symptoms is enlarged lymph nodes on my chin. She also told me that she will advise a removal of the lymph if it poses any risk to me. Or I could take them out for aesthetic reasons if I so desire. Some other people have told me the same. I have also critically considered it.
Several things have prevented me from taking them out. First, my research shows that despite advances in medicine, doctors do not fully understand how the body works. Second, I have delved deeply into the workings of the mind and know that given the right prompting my mind can repair my body. Third, I believe in the power of prayers to change things. I have seen God’s power at work in my life several times. Fourth, It doesn’t disturb me, so why should I interfere with what I don’t know much about? The last factor is the story of the guardian dog.
Not wishing to wake her sleeping child, the woman left her under the watch of her dog while she dashed down the road to get some provisions. On getting back to the house, she found the place in disarray, with lots of blood on the floor and her child missing. She also found what looked like human remains and the dog bloodied and weak. Suspecting the worst, she shouted in horror and picking up a huge stick she struck the dog until it died! She then collapsed in grief and despair, tired from sticking the dog.
But what was that sound she hears? Lo & behold her child lives. Rousing herself she lifts the overturned furniture in the house. See! Truly her child lives. But wrapped around her was a decapitated snake. Oh, what a terrible mistake, the dog had saved the child from an attack by a vicious huge snake. What has she done?
I was told that the body fights infections by producing white blood cells as a defence mechanism to protect. Now in my case, the body produced far too much and is still in a heightened defence state and just keeps producing and fighting. It is not a good situation and one of the symptoms is that the lymph nodes got larger.
So now the question is why not remove the lymph nodes and get on with life? All claims to the ‘fine boy’ status are in jeopardy with the lump there. That is not consequential; my health is more important than looks & I do not fully understand what is happening to my system. The Doctors say there is a chance, as has happened in other similar cases, for the nodes to revert to normal and the inflammation to disappear. So, the lymph stays.
But the most remarkable thing about it all is that instead of being more predisposed to cold and flu, I do much better now. I hardly get catarrh which was a regular for me before. I know I have made a lot of lifestyle changes to contribute to that but I do know there is a miracle embedded in our bodies and the full understanding of it lies far beyond the realm of science. I will take it one day at a time.
Knowledge ultimately determines how we handle the things we encounter. Where it is lacking, we may consider something good as bad, a saviour as a killer & vice versa. What if the lymph as enlarged is the dog and not the snake? I have looked at it from various angles and know the lymph is still in service and believe that this will resolve when the danger is averted or more information is available. Yeah, you guessed right, I have made up my mind that I will not kill the dog!
Picture credits: Dog: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/dog-beaten-to-death-in-awho/articleshow/79554655.cms; WBC at War: https://www.livescience.com/26983-lymphatic-system.html