I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to post this news.

I am truly overwhelmed with blessings from God. In fact, I am so overwhelmed with blessings from God, that I frequently take them for granted. Oh, well, look at that, another miracle…ho hum…

On good days, I recognize the gift and offer suitable praise: not just a Hallelujah, but also by telling everyone I know about how awesome God is and the wonderful things He has done for me. Sometimes it takes me days or weeks to recognize the work of the Divine Master in my life. Most of the time, I realize that God is good, say a thank you, and then promptly move on with my life.

Such was the case this week.

As you may know, Fritz was diagnosed in July with a cyst in his jaw. In August, he had a biopsy and a week later we learned that it was a dentigerous cyst. He had a stent placed in his mouth to drain the cyst and to promote growth of his jawbone which was dangerously thin (no sports for fear of fracture). For seven weeks, we went once a week for a checkup at Walter Reed (an hour there and an hour back in travel alone). Then we had a three week respite, and then a month-long break. At his last two appointments, they took x-rays of his jaw.

On Monday, the oral surgeon looked at the x-ray and remarked, “It’s gone!” In August, he had told us that it might take 6 to 9 months for the cyst to shrink. It has been less than three. He was a bit surprised. I’m not. God is that good. I’m happy, but not at all surprised. Well, I am surprised that He blesses me so abundantly given all the crap I give Him in return. But I’m not surprised that He has made it happen. Miracles are just another common everyday event around here: they’re about as remarkable as the sun rising.

The oral surgeon turned to the new resident who had seen Fritz that day. He explained Fritz’s diagnosis and treatment (Fritz is a learning case; I think every resident has seen him). I was elated when the oral surgeon said, “It turned out to be a dentigerous cyst, thank God.” Yes, I silently agreed, thank God.

As we were driving to the appointment, Fritz had been asking some questions about his case. In the past three months, he has done a fair amount of complaining about the stent and his treatment. This time, he wasn’t complaining, he was just asking about it. I told him that he was really lucky. I told him that the docs thought it might be cancer and that he could have been fighting for his life. I told him that the docs thought it might be an OKC, a hard-to-eradicate cyst, and he might have had to spend his whole life dealing with problems in his jaw. He finally got it. He finally realized that he is the recipient of a miracle.

Praise God.

The soonest they could get him in again is December 18th. They will sedate him, remove the stent and clean out anything remaining of the cyst. I’m sure he’ll have to go back in a week for a follow up, but after that, he’ll just go to his orthodontist to figure out how to get his adult teeth in his jaw properly. And that’s that.

Besides thanking God for my son’s health and speedy recovery, I’d like to thank all my family, friends and fellow bloggers who offered up prayers on his behalf. Most especially, I’d like to acknowledge the celestial assistance of two saints: St. Apollonia, the patron of tooth problems who will continue to be petitioned by me for her prayers until Fritz’s adult teeth grow in properly, and St. John Newmann to whom our family prayed a novena before Fritz’s biopsy when we feared he had cancer. I found the novena in a book I love: (Mention Your Request Here): The Church’s Most Powerful Novenas by Michael Dubruiel. This book has been updated and is due for re-release later this month. I highly recommend it.

And now, back to life as usual. I wonder what fantastic, miraculous gift God will give me today…

…yawn…