The Brain Tumor That Led To Radical Peace

posted by Guest Blogger on 05/07/12
Category: Faith; ; 30 comments

Most girls dream about getting married—the wedding, what married life will be like, their future family. But I think—no, I KNOW I thought about it a whole lot more than most. I started dating my husband when we were sixteen, and I was planning life with him starring as the husband pretty much from the beginning. By the timeHeidi Jo Fulk prom picture we were eighteen and getting ready to graduate high school and go off to separate colleges, I was sure we'd get married some day. In fact, this is our senior prom picture. Can you tell what I was going for? Crazy, huh?

Well, that dreamer sure didn't know the life and events God had planned for her. It wasn't the idyllic, picture-perfect progression of marriage, career, home, and children. I have experienced all those things, but not exactly in the way I dreamt about.

Dan and I got married when we were twenty-two—right after I was done with college. He was still finishing his five-year college and internship program—each in a different state—so we bounced back and forth between those our first six months of marriage. Then just as the Millennium dawned, so did the life I had imagined.

We moved permanently from Ohio to Michigan for Dan to begin his first "real" job. We were away from our family, but excited to be striking out on our own. I was a teacher who couldn't find a job in January, but I finally got my "perfect job" as a first grade teacher that August. Shortly after I began teaching, I started having headaches every day, ranging from a "pressure-y" feeling to a sharp pain above my eyes. I just thought it was the blessed boisterousness of first graders!

But when the headaches continued for three weeks straight and were often accompanied by nausea, I knew I had to do something. Because we were so new to the area, we didn't have a family doctor yet and I couldn't get an appointment for months as a new patient. So at a loss, I went to the local ER hoping for some medicine to fix me up. Instead, the doctor in the ER said, "You're twenty-three. You're having constant headaches. We're going to assume you have a brain tumor and give you a CAT scan." I thought the lady was insane! I just wanted to get some medicine and get back home! But the CAT scan revealed that the ventricles in my brain were enlarged indicating some sort of fluid build-up, and she recommended I follow up with an MRI. I had that MRI the next week (though I still thought that doctor was crazy) and set up an appointment to see a neurologist to get the results.

I never made it to the neurologist. Instead, I received an urgent phone call from a doctor who called to reveal the results of my MRI and stopped me from going to that appointment. She told me I had a 2.6 centimeter mass in the center of my brain—in the small pineal gland—and instead of going to see the neurologist the next day, she made an appointment for me to see a neurosurgeon.

Neurosurgeon? A mass? That was not the kind of phone call I expected to take that Sunday evening as Dan sat next to me on the couch. Despite the crushing blow of the doctor's words, from those first few moments, my dreaming, prone-to-love-drama spirit instead became calm and peaceful. I was experiencing Philippians 4:7—the peace that passes understanding.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:7).
Read the rest of Heidi's story tomorrow on the blog. In the meantime, we'd love to hear about a time that you received crushing news you weren't prepared for or at time when you experienced supernatural peace.

Heidi Jo FulkAbout the Author: Heidi Jo Fulk is passionate about encouraging woman and girls to love and live God's Word. She is wife to her high school sweetheart, Dan, and mom to their four young children—Emma Jo, Gretchen, Tucker, and Brock. Heidi leads a women's Bible study and teaches third grade girls at her church.

Comments

HEY, GIRLS! We love hearing from you, but feel limited in the ways we can help. For one thing, we’re not trained counselors. If you’re seeking counsel, we encourage you to talk to your pastor or a godly woman in your life as they’ll know more details and can provide you with ongoing accountability and help. Also, the following comments do not necessarily reflect the views of Revive Our Hearts. We reserve the right to remove comments which might be unhelpful, unsuitable, or inappropriate.

    Meg
    Huh?
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 1:27 am
    Hi Heidi! I'm not sure I understand... Why were you at peace? Was it the news that gave you peace, a sudden rememberance that God is sovereign, or was it that the Holy Spirit suddenly swept in and took complete control of the situation and cut off your panic?
    Elaine
    Not expecting
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 7:19 am
    I was very shocked when we got the call that my brother (who we had adopted but was still in his birth country) had just died. The agency wasn't telling us much and almost everything we found out we had to ask about. So we didn't think it was serious until a few days before he died. But still, we didn't think it was that serious. I still struggle with missing my brother 2 1/2 years later but God has taught me a lot.
    Wilma
    Taken By Surprise
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 8:02 am
    Almost eighteen years ago we were told our four-year old had a brain tumor and would need immediate surgery. Our story's timeline is very similar to yours. The overwhelming pain and disbelief that set in was difficult but within hours we also experienced the calming assurance that even though our lives seemed upside down, we had a Sovereign God who knew all things - the past, the current situation, and the future. We knew that he had a plan for both us and our daughter's life and we could trust him to walk beside us no matter the outcome. That trust gave us courage and strength to be obedient - to pray, to read scripture, to take care of our other chlldren, to listen well to the doctors, to do whatever we needed to do during that difficult time. His grace was indeed sufficient during those days. And we were blessed beyond measure by the our brothers and sisters in Christ who were willing to weep when we wept and laugh when we laughed. Praise God, she is now 21.
    Heidi
    WHAT?!?!?
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 8:03 am
    I got a call at school last year informing me that my uncle had died. My first response was, "WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?" It was such a shock. He left behind a wife and three special needs children, but through it all, God has brought my aunt back to Him. Praise God!!!
    Grace
    Re:
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 9:10 am
    Watch this video:

    http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=K6LDDWNX

    Amazing!!!
    RachelAllison
    Wow....
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 9:14 am
    I'm definitely looking forward to tomorrow's post!
    Heidi Jo Fulk
    Re: Huh?
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 9:15 am
    Your questions made me think Meg. I definitely know the news--even though it was an answer--didn't bring peace. But I think it was probably a combination of the Holy Spirit bringing calm along with knowing God was and would be in control that brought peace.
    Christina
    My Unexpected News
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 9:58 am
    My unexpected news was finding out my best friend had killed himself. I was in 7th grade and had found out that he had killed himself, I was devastated and went into a depression. I was depressed and on top of that, I was sick. In North Carolina at camp I had realized that the sickness I had was called aneroxia. I wasn't eating or drinking anything and they told me that I was lucky that I hadn't died. It wasn't luck. Luck and coincidence don't happen, it was because God didn't want me to die. Through camp, I had come out of my depression by wise words. I went to a Purity Conference in January and from then have made changes in my life. I started off not being the best Christian, but within just two years I have grown in the Lord. I am a much more mature Christian now, and I have peace in my life. I am living my life for God, and I am the happiest that I have ever been! A trial happened, and I came out stronger than ever in the Lord. I have realized that I am truly blessed!
    Megan
    Re:
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 10:20 am
    One night I woke up with severe pains in my side. My mom took me to the ER and we found out that I had a kidney stone. I was 17! It was almost unbelievable that a 17 year old would have a kidney stone, especially one as big as mine. I had to have surgery to remove it. Then they found out I couldn't regulate my calcium. So I had to have another surgery. Through it all I was at peace that whole time! Yes, I questioned why this was happening, but I grew SO much closer to God through it. I thank God that I went through it because it brought me closer to Him.
    Linda Fulk
    Unbelievable
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 10:34 am
    I am Heidi's mother-law. When she called us that Sunday evening, we were in total shock and disbelief. I made some calls to the family with the news - everyone loves Heidi and a prayer chain was in action within minutes. While trying to form my own thoughts and prayers, the verse "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalms 46:10) struck me. The first time I had seen this verse was when my six-week old daughter was in the hospital - the danger had passed but I was in a very agitated state. I looked up on the wall of her hospital room and saw a plaque with this verse, and I suddenly became calm. The same calm came to me that Sunday night. Worried? Yes, but I also knew that He would see Heidi and Dan and all who loved them through this trial.
    Lily
    Amazing!
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 11:32 am
    This was amazing! I am so looking forward to tomorrow's post! Thx!
    GodsLilGurl
    Shocker
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 1:38 pm
    My biggest shock was being told that my little sister had a 90% mortality rate! She almost died but we stayed in the hospital with her for almost a year! I'm so blessed that she's alive today! To hear about her story go to miasbigheart.com :)
    Ashley~mist
    My shocker and do you think im wrong?
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 2:08 pm
    Was when I was living with my grandma because she was dying with cancer and my mom walked in crying really bad and told me her sister and my aunt only has three months to live. I cried my heart out. And in the same moment I knew I needed Gods help. no other. That night I went to be with my aunt and my grandma passed the next day. I thought my world had ended and I started to get mad at God. A month later I was in a crash on the freeway and when I crawled out of that wrecked up car I had the most amazing peace I have ever felt in my whole life. I found my phone smashed in the glass but still working and called my mom ( five other people were calling 911) She prayed with me and then called the church to pray and while she was making these phone calls this guy came up to me and started helping me. he somehow knew me. He was by my side the whole time and I had complete peace with him.
    The thing is he said he was a EMS worker, but no one knew him at the fire house. I believe in my heart it was a angel. Do you think im wrong? He even knew my name!
    Heidi Jo Fulk
    Your stories...
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 2:22 pm
    I'm so thankful for those of you sharing your stories. We can see God's faithfulness and mercy to us through sharing these times of trial. Keep 'em coming!
    Sarah S
    My stories
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 4:18 pm
    Well my mom has a similar story to Heidi's, she had lung cancer and said she felt God peace too and now she is healed.
    But this past week I have also experienced this. I ride horses and I have a show that I prepare for all year and it was this past weekend. At the beginning of last week I found out that my horse and my other horse who would have been my back up horse, were both lame and I couldn't ride or practice on! The vet came and all I could do was wait. Everyone was scared that I wouldn't be able to go to the show but then Friday I was able to ride and my horse was fine! Saturday I rode both and Sunday I competed and got First! Now I am going to the State show! God is incredible! And I never got worried! I had God's peace.

    www.wearedaughtersoftheking.webs.com
    Lia
    @ Ashley~mist
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 6:01 pm
    Ashley, you are probably totally right!! The Bible tells us that there will be "angels unawares" with us on earth, and that we should watch out for them. :) That is an amazing story! I hope that you have told lots of people about that...how encouraging! :D
    Karen Dean
    Testing
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 8:06 pm
    I am Heidi's Mom. I had so hoped and prayed that the headaches were from the new building she was teaching in, the paint, the carpet, etc. It had to be something simple because she had never been sick in her life. We had just returned from a weekend trip with her and
    her husband to visit her brother. She was in quiet pain that weekend and had another constant headache all night. We were waiting for those test results. She called shortly after we arrived home and I had her brother on the cordless and her on my cell. When she told me, in a very calm voice, the news, I lost it and her brother was yelling "Mom what's wrong with Heidi?" Her Dad and I got down on our knees and prayed for our daughter as soon as I got off the phone. She was on our church prayer list and everyone else's that we talked to. Even though I know Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and I wanted to trust Him in all of this, I didn't have the peace that Heidi had. I wanted that peace. I definitely grew closer to Him during that period. I am sure that many in our family and circle of friends did
    too. We are also thankful for our son-in-law who sure had to take on a lot that first year of marriage and did it all so well.
    Hopefully, Heidi's story and faith will be a blessing to someone else going through a similar situation in their life.
    Valencia
    Re:
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 8:27 pm
    Wow..that really is a peace that surpasses all understanding
    Sarah, with the LYWB team
    Ashley~mist...
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 9:28 pm
    God indeed sent you someone to help you—and it could have been an angel—angels are messengers of God. “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them.” Psalm 34:7 May you live as one who has been touched by the grace of the Lord and give Him praise for His protection over you.
    Rachel M.
    Peace through Trial
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 10:12 pm
    Hmmm this is a wonderful story. Thank you so much for sharing it. =) I have a story of my own, but it is much different.

    I was 7 years old. We sat around the kitchen table as my parents told us that my mom had seen an unusual lump on her breast while she was in the shower one day. She had gone to get it checked out, and the news was that she had breast cancer. If I remember correctly, it was in the fourth stage. I can't say I was affected at all at this time, but this is how it began. In my innocence, I didn't realize that this would affect my life any. I didn't know what cancer was, and I didn't think anything would change. I was happy and carefree, and I left the room untroubled. 13 months later, (I believe), I still wasn't worried. My momma was very sick, but I prayed to God every night that He would heal her. I was sure He would. Oh, the simplicity of not knowing. Ignorance truly is bliss. She was so sick, that she had to go into the hospital. She had tried different methods, but she had not done chemo. She told us that we were trusting God to heal her, and so she ate healthy foods, even liver, which abhorred me. When she went into the hospital, I still wasn't really worried, even though it was hard seeing her like that, all hooked up to those machines. On October 4, 2006, we went over to a neighbor's house. My older sister had stayed at the hospital, and someone went to pick her up. While we were still at our house, though, my dad called and said that at this point, she was either going to die or God was going to heal her. I wasn't worried then either. I pictured a house without her in it, and to me, I didn't think anything looked different. Guilt has sometimes plagued me as I thought to myself that nothing would change, that it would be alright. I didn't think she would actually die. In the middle of the night, my dad came over and got us from the neighbor's. I was so tired, I went straight to bed. The next morning, when I came downstairs, my dad called me over and he told me that Momma had gone to be with Jesus. A cold realization came over me. I immediately started crying, and when I try to think of whom else was around, it's like a fog covers my mind and I can't see the people anymore. It hurt so much though. I remember being embarrassed about my tears then, for everyone to see me cry, but now, it doesn't matter. It was true distress.

    Skipping ahead just a tad, I was so mad at God. I seriously thought He had just killed her, and I was so mad. Hurt, sorrow, and anger welled up inside of me, and it was about 2-3 years before I really started to change who I was, even though that anger no longer hurt me so deeply.

    Just to say, I have left out many, many details that could complete this story. Maybe I'll tell those at another time, another day.

    Anyways, after a lot happened, I finally got the peace. The peace is what I am experiencing now. I thought my life was so horrible, and that nothing could ever be right. That wasn't true. God has changed my life, and I'm a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17) I now have peace that it was God's will to let things. Happen. He didn't kill her, but He let it happen. All the things I blamed Him for weren't valid. He was always there for me, even when I didn't realize it, and even when didn't let Him in. Now, after 6 years, the peace has come. It's here now.

    I'm not who I was.
    Mere N.
    My way of finding peace.
    on Monday, May 7, 2012 at 11:01 pm
    I have asthma problems. If It gets hard to breathe, I involuntarily tense, which makes it worse. I've tried plenty of techniques, but the one I find works the best is simply reciting scripture to keep myself calm.
    Phillpians, Psalms, etc. if I have a verse in my mind that is about peace, I can relax. God's got me. I'm okay.
    Mattea
    Re:
    on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 9:05 am
    Wow...A brain tumor right after six months of marriage..can't wait to hear what happens next!
    Emily Meckes
    Re:
    on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 10:21 am
    Emily Meckes
    Heidi Fulk
    on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 10:38 am
    Heidi, having been to your's & Dan's beautiful wedding, I, also, was among the disbelievers that this could not be happening to such a wonderful couple. Our God is a powerful God, & belief in prayer carries us. Thanks, Heidi, for sharing your story. God Bless.
    Lorree, with the LYWB team
    Rachel M.
    on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 5:17 pm
    I am so sorry that you experienced such pain as a young girl, Rachel! But I am so thankful to know that the Lord has brought you through that dark valley and given you hope and peace in your relationship with Him. Although we may not understand His ways, we can trust His heart and His unfailing love for us. He truly is there for us all the time, even though we may not realize it. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome testimony with us, sweet friend!
    Sandra
    my story
    on Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 12:49 am
    Would like to share my story of how God flooded my being with His wonderful Peace one night as I sat in my living room sofa. I was suffering from panic attacks but when I first started experiencing them I had no idea what was going on in my body. It always felt to me like a heart attack was coming on. I would break in a a cold sweat, clammy hands and feet and an overwhelming tightness or tension with rapid heartbeats. I can't count the times I had my husband rush me to the emergency room only to be told it was not a heart attack but panic attacks. To make a long story short the only salvation I had in the beginning before I knew what it was, I felt impressed by God to silently quote scripture and every nite in bed as this is when they would come upon me I would be up all night quoting every scripture I could remember. Even though the medication was only half helping me I still felt all the symptoms when I was having these attacks so I strongly relied on confessing the word of God because it was working for me. Then one night while trying to concentrate and watch t.v. with my family, I was more tuned in to my body than the t.v., and feeling afraid, expecting these attacks to suddenly hit me and I just wanted to be ready to start praying and confessing His word. And the attacks did come and I did pray and cried out to God and suddenly a peace like I have never ever experienced before in my life came over me and the fear lifted. I felt calm and I felt His peace and His presence with me, it was so real, so wonderful, so beautiful, truely heavenly. It was awesome!
    Sky
    re:meg
    on Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 4:07 pm
    peace meaning that she new it was all in gods pan so she was at peace
    RachelAllison
    @Rachel M.
    on Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 8:37 pm
    I'm so sorry to hear of your mothers passing, but so thankful to know your heart has found peace in the Lord. I have a friend who lost his dad a few years ago and he's still struggling to this day, so I have seen first hand the affect of losing a parent... and yet, I can't imagine. Just wanted to let you know that you are in my prayers! <3
    Rachel M.
    RachelAllison
    on Saturday, May 12, 2012 at 8:47 pm
    Thank you so much, Rachel, for praying for me! =) I can't express how much it means to me!!
    Katie Bea
    How???
    on Monday, May 14, 2012 at 6:42 pm
    Heidi, How does a person have such peace after that kind of news??? I have never received any kind of shocking news of my heath, but in my sixteen years, have had to deal with lots of painful times and none of it has been easy do deal with. I am the third of twelve (so far LOL) and there are only seven of us left at home. My older brother and sister have gone to do their on thing away from home, but we had three other children taked from the middle after people accused my adopted dad (my hero) of so very untrue things three years ago. Our home has never been the same. I have tried to trust in God for everything in my life, but I sometimes can't help but wonder "Why me? Why my family? If God cares, why is this happening?". I would like to find that paece.

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