No such thing as a mistake

Jun 12

Jun 12 No such thing as a mistake

You know how some things just fall into place and you are amazed by the series of events that had to occur in order for that miraculous thing to happen.. Yeah, well that happened to me today.

In my situation, the series of events can be specifically tied to the end of my first month of chemotherapy. Last January, after completing that first tough month I decided to celebrate the end of each month with a full day at the spa. Unfortunately, I only got one spa day before COVID derailed my plans, and here is a photo to refresh your memories.

At Woodhouse Spa .. can’t wait to get back there ].

Just weeks after my final chemo treatment, my hair had begun to make a comeback. My lashes also slowly returned, but it seemed that the hair that was supposed to return to my brows were misdirected to my chin and cheeks instead! The brows I could fix .. my time with chemo had taught me a thing or two, and I could practically draw a brow with my eyes closed. But those chemo whiskers were OUT OF CONTROL! Sure I could wax them, but I was more concerned about hyperpigmentation when the hair grew back. They were thick dark strands of hair .. quite similar to the hair that was missing from the patches in my brows. 🤨

For months, I learned to complain under my breath because of people who struggled with a case of the “at least’s” .. at least you don’t have chemo. At least, your hair grew back healthy. At least, At least, At least. While I am QUEEN of looking on the bright side, let me tell you that “at least” is not a phrase that you should use with a cancer patient. It minimizes their struggle. So, allow them to look for the bright side. You shouldn’t try to do it for them. When I complained to my oncologist, Dr. Shahin, he didn’t “at least” me. He just offered a simple solution. Well, you know you can always have laser hair removal if it bothers you. Still, for months, I complained and complained, but I guess I wasn’t ready to do anything about it yet. I think I was still coming to terms with all of the changes that were happening to my body.

Fast forward almost a year later to May 2021. I’d mentioned to Theo that I was ready to re-enter the world of pampering and I planned to schedule a day at the spa. Being the good listener that he is, he decided to gift me with a day at the spa for Mother’s Day. But knowing my crazy calendar, he opted for a gift card instead. Unbeknownst to me, he asked Dahki to purchase the gift card while he was out of town. On Mother’s Day, I opened a greeting card and a green gift card fell into my hand. When I flipped to the back of the gift card, to learn more about the services, I discovered this spa offered botox, cool sculpting services, and laser hair removal. I have to admit, I was a little weirded out by my husband gifting me with hair removal for Mother’s Day, but I had been complaining .. so I guess I couldn’t be too upset. I was ripped from my thoughts when I heard Theo’s voice .. Why are you still reading that? Clearly, you should be familiar with the services. You’ve been there a hundred times. Now, I’m confused. I’d never stepped a foot in that place. I held up the gift card and told him as much. Just, then Theo looked over at Dahki. Dude, that is not the place I told you to get the gift card from! It seemed that Dahki had purchased my gift card from the wrong spa! There were two spas in adjacent parking lots, and he’d strolled into the wrong one.. Or did he?

The next day, Theo corrected Dahki’s error and purchased an additional gift card to the “right” spa. But since, I still had the green card, I saw that as a sign to seek a consultation about laser hair removal. Enough was enough; I was fed up with the facial hair. After some online research, I’d scheduled an appointment to appear for a consultation two weeks later. (Bear with me .. I know these are details, but I’m getting somewhere. I promise).

I showed up for that consultation at 10am today. The place was super cute, clean, chic .. and the woman sitting at the receptionist’s desk was super friendly. I thought to myself .. ok good service, that’s a plus.

She walked me to the back where I waited to see the doctor. After a few minutes, the cutest little ethnic woman appeared. I figured she was of Middle Eastern descent. I thought to myself .. great, she has brown skin as well. So, she should know how to treat my skin, that’s another plus. Standing across from me, her smile peeked from the edges of her mask. She asked what brought me there, and I told her my story about the chemo and hair loss and brows and the hair on my chin and cheeks and on an on and on .. My babbling was stopped only when I caught sight of a familiar emblem on her white lab coat. Houston Methodist.

Initially, I was a little confused. During my research, I hadn’t read that the spa was affiliated with Houston Methodist. So, I asked if she practiced there, and she confirmed that she was a hospitalist there. As you know, Houston Methodist holds a special place in my heart, so I thought to myself .. Affiliated with HM .. another plus. Excited about the newly discovered affiliation, I shared that I had been treated at Houston Methodist last year for breast cancer. My Oncologist was Dr. Shahin and my Breast Surgeon was Dr. Thalheimer. And that’s when it happened .. As I began to babble again, she interrupted me and spoke words that would spiral me into a frenzy of tears .. You do realize that Dr. Shahin is my husband?

I could not be consoled. In that moment, I was reminded that my story had already been written. I was reminded that God has had his hand on me from the very beginning. It was no mistake that I decided to go to the Woodhouse spa in January 2020 after one month of treatment, where a spa would be located in an adjacent parking lot, where my son would later “mistakenly” go to the wrong spa to purchase a gift card (and they’d happen to offer laser hair removal services to treat a side effect of chemo which I’d complain about for almost a year), where I would go in for a consultation and after casual conversation realize that the Doctor who provided my consultation just happens to be the wife of the same Oncologist who treated my cancer! plus, plus, plus, plus, plus …

THIS WAS NOT A MISTAKE! HE MAKES NO MISTAKES!

Wiping mascara from my face, I began to dote on her husband. I pulled out my phone .. in an effort to prove to her that I knew this man who had helped to save my life. I began to show photos of us during my treatment and mentioned my blog to which she yelled out .. Wait! are you prettysic? Dr. Shahin had shared my journey and my blog with his wife, and she had even read some of the entries. At this point, I was beyond words. She joked that he’d blushed about being included in the blog. I told her that she would get her opportunity to blush as well. There was no way I’d be able to keep this story to myself.

After a few more questions, the consultation was over. I was ready to begin treatment. I only needed to know the cost of service. After receiving the cost, I realized I didn’t know the value of the gift card. I shared the story about my son who mistakenly walked into the “wrong” spa on the day before Mother’s Day to purchase the gift card. And she was quiet and looked away as if she was trying to recall a memory. And then she shared her own story.

Apparently, her receptionist had to step out and Dr. Zeitoon was on desk duty that day. She recalled that a young black man had walked into the spa the day before Mother’s Day to purchase a gift card for his mother. She thought the amount requested a bit strange, and almost asked the young man if there was a particular service his mother was interested in. But the young man seemed intent on the value requested, so she sold him the gift card, wondering if she knew the woman who would receive such a gift. Dr. Zeitoon broke her smile, and told me that she was confident I had enough for the complete series of laser hair removal treatment for my areas of concern.

After my services, I walked to the receptionist to schedule the next appointment and her story was confirmed when I offered my gift card. The full cost of my treatment plan was covered by the value of my card. I almost ran to my car to play back the events of that morning to Theo. Like me, he was at a loss for words.

This experience serves as a reminder to trust that things will work out as they are supposed to. MY story has already been written. But I have to trust that He has everything in control, even when I can’t see how it will play out. And there is no way that I could have seen this coming. Clearly there is no way that I could have known that I would grow unfavorable facial hair and my Oncologist’s wife would treat the side effect from the chemotherapy that my Oncologist prescribed to cure my cancer. Are you kidding me? You can’t make this stuff up…

And secondly, there are no mistakes.. We are frustrated when things don’t go according to our plans. Still, time after time, He reminds us that no one can plan better than He. 🙌🏾

*Update: Thanks to my cousin Samantha for reminding me of the scripture I prayed over my journey..