I've probably got you guessing by now what in the world is she talking about. The fact is that I have faced death several times and have escaped it each time because God has protected me. The hardest battle was when I was in my thirties I was diagnosed with severe breast cancer. It was 5 cm and had spread throughout my breast. My children were only 2 and 4 years old. My father died when I was 10 years old and I certainly remembered him, but my children were so young. For a couple of days I didn't even know If I was glad I had been born or not for it to come to this. I prayed a lot. Fortunately, I am a Christian and I had already accepted Jesus as my savior for dying on the cross for my sins. I knew that I would have eternal life even if I died, but I didn't want to leave my young children to suffer and I prayed if it was at all possible for me to live I would never, ever complain about my age and I would do whatever it took to fight the cancer. It was like David and Goliath. I was ready for the battle of my lifetime. God helped me visualize the cancer being destroyed as I would repeatedly get sick from the chemotherapy. I thought if I was that sick it had to be killing the cancer cells. I had already had one mastectomy by this time. There was a growth on my ovary that was growing at a rapid rate that the doctors were very concerned about. They were hoping I could finish the chemotherapy first but they had to remove the ovary in the middle of my treatment because of the size and their concern that it was cancerous also. Fortunately, it was not. By now my veins had collapsed and I had to use a mediport in my chest and I looked like a robot for a couple of weeks every month because I had tubes hanging out of me. After the chemotherapy I had radiation. Then I had a second mastectomy and the mediport was removed from my chest. When I was really sick I kept a journal of short term goals and long term goals. One short term goal might be to finish a game of solitare or take a shower. A major long term goal was to take my children to Disney World. Actually seeing the goals happen is wonderful!!!!!!!!!  When I thought I was much better I was at a stop light and a 1973 yellow cadillac came off a tow truck and smashed the driver's side door in on me. For years I suffered severe back and neck pain with spasms you could actually see. It was horrible. I had to use a $2,000 machine called a muscle stimulator that when you accidently turned the knob it was like a major electrical shock. Then I had a smaller unit with electrodes that I had to wear most of the time. I had injections. I had to use ice packs constantly. I had severe vertigo and went through months of vestibular rehabilation to train my brain to compensate. When I was dizzy I would get very sick. I fell a lot and tore the ligaments in both ankles. I went to a orthopedic surgeon and went through physical therapy for that and were a cast and bandages. The vertigo is gone as long as I compensate and don't put myself into situations that will set it off.The muscle spasms finally stopped after acupuncture and working out at the YMCA. I really relate to Paul in the Bible who had pain and felt that it brought him closer to God. I never give up. I am always thankful that I am alive and I always know that I could be in a lot worse shape than I am. The strange thing is, I had a STRONG feeling before the wreck not to go the usual way, but to use another route and I ignored it because my rational self thought it would take too long. I HAVE NOT IGNORED FEELINGS LIKE THAT SINCE THAT TIME. Shortly after that my children and I were in a video store and something told me to delay leaving the store. I had already finished looking at everything but I knew I wasn't supposed to leave. I delayed for at least 25 minutes until I felt a peace.  When we were driving home we saw a lot of stopped police vehicles with their sirens on. That night we found out that there had been a wild chase down the street we would have been on if I had left the video store when I had originally planned to.  It would have been at the time that the chase was taking place with speeds in excess of 100 MPH.

Now my children are 16 and 18. I am so blessed. I have had several scares with possible cancer since but God continues to protect me. Most recently a nodule that had appeared on my lung and shown up during a catscan just disappeared when an ultrasound was done. Some may say it is coincidence, I know better. It was a miracle!

So many people think miracles are only in the bible or they never happened at all. I don't know exactly why God has been so protective of me. I do know that I love Him and that Christ is my savior. I know that He makes the impossible possible. I know that He loves you.

One thing having cancer taught me is to always look for something positive however bleak a situation may seem. I sound like Pollyanna and the glad game from the 1950s movie. It really helps. It also helps to not dwell on the negative. Last but not least it teaches patience. I have had to wait up to 4-5 hours for an appointment to see my oncologist. Some would be mad. But this man helped save my life and is dealing with emergencies everyday. I trust him. Also, lots of times I would be ready for chemotherapy and just wanted to get it over with and my blood counts were too low and I had to go back daily until they went back up.  The great thing about patience is you find the little things don't bother you anymore.

December 21, 2005: I was driving my 16 year old daughter home from 2 dance classes last night and I saw a shadow like creature leap/crash onto the left side of my van. There wasn't a thing I could do to avoid it. It hit hard. My daughter asked, "What was that?" and I told her it was a deer. It was laying in the road behind us. I pulled to the side. It was raising its head and trying to get up. We were crying and hoping no one would hit it. I called 911 and my daughter and I cried and waited and I felt so horrible that I could have done such a thing. I couldn't help it but I still felt bad. She was trying to make me feel better. The deer was in an unusual place, in a regular suburban neighborhood with homes and a golfcourse and she had darted onto a road from the golfcourse close to a church, elementary school and drug store. I am telling you this, because I want you to be extra careful. This could have been you and your family and may be in the future. The deer was not in the woods. The speed limit on the road is 35 but I had only gotten to 30-32 at that point. I tend to keep the speed limit in town but not at all on the interstate. Well this taught me a lesson. I'm getting ready to drive to Florida with my daughter and I wouldn't want to hit a deer going the speeds that I normally drive. I always thought I was always safe because I am such a defensive driver and have avoided an incredible number of wrecks that would have been caused by others. I took a course a long time ago when I drove a city car and the motto was that you didn't want to be dead right. In other words, you need to always be aware of what's going on and be looking at ways to save yourself when the guy drives on your side of the road, pulls in front of you, etc. Well, I'll get to the end of the story. The policeman said we were extremely lucky and that the wreck was not my fault. He said people are killed, especially when the deer enters the vehicle. The deer hit the left front and side of the van and took the light, dismantled the fender from the bumper  and caused quite a few dents. The door is very hard to open and close and makes a terrible noise and the blinker doesn't work. The tow truck driver told my husband that we got off easy. Very easy. Once again, I feel that God has spared my life and protected my daughter and me. We both love the Lord so much and we do give Him the glory. We were not hurt at all. The airbags didn't even inflate. Please be careful driving this time of year. There are so many deer out there and now it appears they can be anywhere, even in your neighborhood. I will be praying for all of you.

God Bless All Of You,

Pat Aughenbaugh