February 14 (Valentine’s Day) is a day of romance and love amongst couples and a day to express love to a dear friend or family member. A day filled with roses, balloons, stuffed animals, cards, chocolates, and gifts that illustrate the grand love felt for another person. Actually, growing up, I recall going to the store every year to pick out cards with candy to give to all my friends at school. As I grew older, I was like any other girl, waiting and hoping to receive any of the gifts being sold at school that were delivered to you in class on Valentine’s Day. In case we did not receive anything, my friends and I would buy each other a Valentine’s gift so we wouldn’t go through the day empty handed. It was silly but this day is given so much importance to love and be loved.
Fortunately, I found the love of my life years ago so I appreciate Valentine’s day differently than when I was growing up. Although, I do celebrate this day of love with my love nowadays, this special day has a different meaning for me.
On February 14 (Valentine’s Day), I was told that I would be transferred out of town to another hospital that could perform a biopsy and determine the type of lymphoma cancer I had. The oncologist told me that this type of cancer was outside his area of expertise and was working on having me transferred that same day. He asked me to please wait for further instructions in my hospital room. As I was waiting for what seemed like an eternity I realized it was dinner time only because they brought me my dinner plate which included a heart-shaped cookie. I was looking at that cookie when they notified me that the ambulance was ready to transfer me to the hospital out of town. After about 3 hours later, I arrived at the new hospital where the hospital staff were waiting for me. They started performing all types of tests as I arrived to the room and then I was taken to the imaging room. I was overwhelmed with the intensity of the team who was pulling me in all directions. At least, this is how I felt after a long drive in an ambulance with oxygen being administered because I could not breath due to the tumor restricting my airway. After all the testing and imaging, I was taken back to my room where I saw another heart-shaped cookie. It was then when I realized it was Valentine’s Day, a day of love for many, but for me, at that moment it was a day of hope. After I underwent all the testing, I found out that it took all day to be transferred because the room had barely become available and if I didn’t go that day it would have been given to someone else the next day. This hospital had a state of the art cancer ward that included the latest cancer treatment technology and expertise in various types of cancers. Learning this information gave me a tremendous sense of hope that I would receive the best treatment that I needed to stay alive.
February 14 (Valentine’s Day) will always have a very special significance for me. Besides being a day of love, it was also a day of hope. On this day, I experienced and saw God’s love for me. I felt his presence as if HE reached down from above and took hold of me and pulled me out of the deep waters. God’s love for us is unconditional and unmistakable, we are beloved by HIM always. With God’s love there is always hope. Remember to spread love everywhere you go on this beautiful day called Valentine’s Day.
#Love
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