Cedarville Stories Minisode: Unexpected Joy
The pain in Angie Mickle's brain turned out to be a way for her to witness of God's goodness in her life.
Angie Mickle never even had a headache until late October 2019. But when the Dean of Cedarville’s School of Nursing had her first one, it was off the charts.
The pain began for her on a Sunday stayed with her all week long. There was no break from Monday to Friday, when she saw her family doctor. Her neurological work-up looked good, he said, and he wondered if stress was the cause.
But the pain didn’t stop. In fact, it was so debilitating over that weekend, she could not drive herself home Columbus after a weekend event. This was more than stress. Her CT scan on November 5 confirmed her fears: it was a brain tumor.
Although her initial diagnosis was terminal (the tumor ended up benign), Angie experienced a peace that surpassed understanding. A nine-hour surgery removed most of the 4 1/2-centimeter meningioma tumor, which Angie named “Joy,” referencing James 1:2-4. “Joy” may have been growing for 15 to 20 years undetected, the doctors said.
“I immediately wanted to find a way to witness to people,” Angie explained. “By showing pictures of my tumor to my friends, family, and my students, I was able to show how much vascular loss I had inside my head. But God was still sovereign. I had been able to accomplish so much with this tumor, with no knowledge that it was there, and He was just taking care of everything.”
To listen to Angie's podcast, click on the play button below: