In early August, we went to Jacksonville for a quick 2-day beach trip before school started back. We had a close family friend that was there on vacation and their daughter had become very sick and they took her to the hospital where they discovered that she was diabetic and would have died had she not been treated when she was. So we went for a quick getaway but also to visit dear friends that were in a strange hospital several hours from home.
A few days after we got back, Caleb developed a rash on the back of his left leg that stumped several doctors that looked at it. It was in a straight line from his ankle to behind his knee. We took a couple of different medications and finally determined that it could be related to hookworm. After a few days the rash was gone, but Caleb started having a lot of pain in his left calf. We weren’t sure if it was related to the rash, but his pain was so intense that I took him to the ER at GHSU (formerly MCG) Children’s Medical Center. The doctor seemed more interested in discussing his golf handicap with other doctors in the hall than getting in to see us, but after his examination, he felt that it was probably not related to the rash and that is was more likely growing pains based on Caleb’s age and recent growth spurt. Our family physician had recommended when I called before taking him in that we get an xray done. When I asked the doctor at the ER about it, he said it was unnecessary.
Two weeks later – which was October 2 – we were on our way to church. Caleb had been in a lot of pain and we were trying some recommendations from the doctor to alleviate it. Nothing was helping. He had been in tears much of the day before and was sitting in the back seat just trying his best to endure, but the tears made it evident that something was wrong. I told Holly we were going straight to the hospital. She insisted that she drop me off at church so I could do my duties as band director and that she could handle it by herself. I reluctantly agreed and she dropped me off and headed to the CMC.
I kept checking my phone all during the sermon of the first service and then went up to play for the altar time. When it was over, she had sent me 6 text messages in the few minutes I had been up there. The first one said, “Get down here now.” The others said they had found a growth on his leg. A friend was sitting there when I read it and saw my expression change. She reached in her purse and handed me her keys and told me to take her car. I grabbed Joshua and we went to the hospital.
After a long day of xrays, MRI, CT scan, and a bone scan, they determined they needed to do a biopsy which they scheduled for the next morning – Monday. The doctors and orthopedic surgeon all felt that we were most likely dealing with a tumor, most likely cancer. However, the tests by the pathologists were giving contradictory results, so they shipped them off to the Mayo Clinic to have them look at them and we are hoping to have the results of those today, according to the oncologist we’re working with.
As soon as we got the first negative news, we started quoting the Scriptures that promise us healing and standing on the Word of God that by the stripes of Jesus, Caleb is healed. We have quoted and memorized so many passages – Jer 1:12, 2 Cor 5:7,Ex 15:26, Gal 3:13, Ps 91:10 & 16, Ps 118:17, Eph 6:3, Heb 13:8, 1 Pet 2:24, and countless others. We are believing the report of the Lord and that report says that Caleb is healed. We have been on a roller coaster of emotions as you can imagine, and I had the biggest fear attack of my life (as you could understand with it being my child), but we fought it by quoting the Word and the attacks subsided.
Yesterday, we went to the orthopedic surgeon that removed the bone sample for testing to check on the incision. He had told us immediately after the biopsy that the growth had signs of neoplasty which would indicate a tumor. We told him that Caleb has had ZERO pain in his leg since the biopsy. The only pain he has had is from the stitches pulling occasionally, but nothing inside the leg. The doctor said that sometimes opening the area will relieve the pressure and will ease the pain, but that is not usually the case if it is a tumor. I nearly jumped up and shouted right there! He said that he is not saying that it isn’t a tumor, but that it is unusual for the pain to ease if it is one and that he did not want to speculate further until we get the pathology reports back.
So I tell you all this to ask you to please be standing in agreement with us concerning total healing and restoration. Caleb has AMAZING musical giftings and can do things musically that I cannot do; things that cannot be taught. He has perfect pitch. Perfect pitch means that he can hear the pitch in his head without hearing any musical tones from the outside (through his ears). I can tell him to sing a G to me, and he sings it spot-on. I tell him to sing me a Bb and he hits it perfectly. We can be listening to a song he’s never heard and tell me what key it is in and he is always 100% correct. He tunes his guitar one string at a time without a tuner and it is always perfect. God answered our prayers for him when he was in the womb and gave him this gift and we know that God has big plans for him, which makes the enemy mad. This is an attack from the enemy and we are fighting it with the Word and overcoming by the blood of Jesus and the word of our testimony. We know that according to Jer 1:12 that God is watching over his Word to perform it. I will try to keep you updated as we get more news. If you are on Facebook, you can find my updates at http://www.facebook.com/keith.murray.