“Come on,” I groaned, fumbling with my patio door’s broken handle. “Open up!” The finicky handle had snapped off months earlier, leaving a sliver of metal behind.
My husband, Larry, had promised to fix it–he’s a woodworker by trade–but he couldn’t find his bottle of epoxy glue anywhere. He’d put off buying a new one. Now I was beyond frustrated at him. After the day I’d had, the broken handle sent me over the edge.
I’d just come back from a devastating doctor's appointment. Blood work revealed that I had a hyperactive thyroid, and my doctor recommended surgery. I’d never had an operation before, and I was terrified. My mom and aunt had both had thyroid cancer. Was I next?
“I’m referring you to the best surgeon in town–make an appointment as soon as you can," my doctor said. But when I called, I found out he wasn't covered by my insurance. Should I swallow the costs of the recommended surgeon or find another one within my insurance network?
I couldn’t bring myself to talk to anybody about it, but I wished someone could give me a little more confidence in making my decision. The stress was driving me crazy.
I finally wiggled the door open. I spent the rest of the day reminding myself not to take out my frustrations on my husband–and praying. Lord, help guide me toward the right choice.
Fortunately, Larry came home from work with a bag from the hardware store–he’d picked up the epoxy. "I had an interesting conversation with the sales clerk," Larry said. "He mentioned that he'd just had thyroid surgery. When I told him about you, he gave me this."
He handed me a slip of paper. On it, the clerk had written the name of his surgeon—the same one my doctor had recommended.
Larry fixed the door handle and put the bottle of epoxy away in the garage. A minute later, he returned holding two bottles. “Look what I found,” he said. “I guess I didn’t need to stop at the store after all.”
Or maybe he did. The clerk’s referral settled it for me. I decided to go with the recommended surgeon, and it was a good thing I did. My operation went smoothly–in the end, he even waived the fees insurance didn’t cover.
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