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Religion

As death nears, she's totally at peace

Debra West, 54, was the strong one, caring for her sick husband. Then came her bleak diagnosis and an urgent need to get her domestic and spiritual houses in order.

By GAIL HOLLENBECK
Published November 19, 2005

HERNANDO - Debra West has lots of reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving, and she wants people to know all of them.

"I want people to know God is real and heaven is real. You can take that to the bank," she said.

Mrs. West, 54, was diagnosed with cancer this year. A life expectancy of five years was shortened to three weeks when she had a seizure on Oct. 4. A subsequent brain scan revealed that the cancer had traveled to her brain in three places.

Still, she lives on.

"I passed the three weeks because God has plans and he couldn't do it all in three weeks, I guess," Mrs. West said in an interview last month. "Whatever God's schedule is, it's okay with me. I'm ready."

With her prognosis having changed, Mrs. West realized she had little time to get her affairs in order.

"I am overflowing with thankfulness because when I had the seizure, nothing had been done," Mrs. West said. "Since then, the Lord has seen to it that all my wishes are being carried out."

Mrs. West has had the time to take care of bills for the upcoming year.

"All the bills are taken care of, like car and house insurance and taxes. This will give my husband some breathing space so that all he will have to do is worry about his electric and telephone, which I've put on the computer so that all he has to do is enter the amounts and hit send. I have spoken to every person I've ever known. I have my cremation in order."

Mrs. West has been able to do things with her husband that would be difficult for him to do on his own.

"My husband and I were able to separate my jewelry together," she said. "It was important to me to keep him on as much of an even keel as I could. I know I can't tend to everything, but I tried to help him with everything that I could possibly do. I know the Lord will take up where I leave off."

Mrs. West has been caring for her husband of 36 years, Harry, since he was diagnosed with diabetes about five years ago. Two years later while doing construction work, he took a 17-foot fall from scaffolding onto concrete pavement.

"He split his head wide open," Mrs. West said. "It caused him brain and neck damage. That along with his blood sugar really took a toll on him."

Around that time, the plant where Mrs. West was working in Delaware shut down and she was without a job. With no job or insurance, the couple had to declare bankruptcy.

Harry West's health continued to decline. Needing to bring in support, Mrs. West studied to become a computer software specialist.

"Two years later he did end up getting a small settlement for the fall," Mrs. West said. "It was just enough money with that and selling our acre of ground and trailer in Delaware to come here and buy this home outright."

It seemed like a new start. The couple found their dream home and Mrs. West worked on the computer system for her sister's business.

"The Lord gave me the exact home I wanted," she said. "As soon as I saw the house I said, that's it."

Then the couple found out that Debra West's health was worse than her husband's.

"It was Christmas last year," she said. "We went to Delaware to surprise our grandkids. When I came back, I had pain on the left side of my neck."

She had experienced neck pain in the past from a car accident, so thinking it was associated with that injury, she went to a chiropractor.

"As soon as he took my vitals he told me I must go to see my family doctor immediately," she said.

There was a spot on her lung, and the diagnosis was cancer. Within two weeks it had spread to her lymph nodes.

"They gave me five years, but I knew when I heard the prognosis that it was never going to be five years. My father and his mother died from the same thing."

The seizure last month proved her right.

"I had been feeling ill again," she said. "They did a complete bone scan and said the cancer was in the left hip. In another week it had already hit the brain, and I had the seizure."

Mrs. West said she has known the Lord since she was a child but had done things she wished she hadn't. She is happy now to be at peace with him.

"I did not question God. I believe the Lord is using all this to call me back to him," she said.

Stan Stewart is the senior pastor of North Oak Baptist Church, which Mrs. West's family attends. Recently he visited with the couple. "Debra's story is interesting about how God got them here and provided every need, especially when she thought it was her husband who did not have long to live," Stewart said. "I really feel God brought her here so that she could get things right with the Lord. She has no fears facing death."

Mrs. West said she is excited about going to heaven.

"Sometimes I feel kind of selfish about that," she said. "But it's got to be glorious there. The first thing I will say to God is, "Thank you so much for taking care of me.' And the first thing I will say to Jesus is, "Thank you for dying so I could be saved.' "

In a phone conversation Wednesday, Mrs. West said that "everything is the same" with her health. She has had a series of radiation treatments and is under the care of hospice.

"All I want is to spread a story of God's love," she said. "If everyone had a chance like this, no one would be afraid to die."

The Wests are looking forward to a special Thanksgiving with their family. They plan to renew their wedding vows.

"It was something we have wanted to do for a long time," Mrs. West said. "Our 37th anniversary is on the 18th of December."

Meanwhile, she and Harry will enjoy the time they have together.

"We're just taking it one day at a time," she said. "I am in God's hand."

[Last modified November 19, 2005, 01:07:13]