Baseball as you may or may not know, has no set time limit. Because the game is not on a clock, games can last anywhere from a matter of minutes, to the length of a full day's work. Crazy right? According to the Baseball-Almanac, the shortest nine-inning game took only 51 minutes to complete, while the longest nine-inning game lasted four hours, forty-five minutes. When you look at extra-inning games, the longest single game took eight hours, six minutes, lasting 25 innings, although the record for the most innings played in a single game was 26 innings! The longest doubleheader? 12 hours and five minutes thanks again to extra innings, as well as multiple rain delays. Also, since baseball is not on a clock, there are no such things as time-outs. A player, coach, or umpire may call "time" to regroup for a second if needed, or used in attempt to throw the opposing pitcher or hitter off their balance/timing/groove. However, there are actually restrictions to calling "time" that are enforced by umpires at their own discretion.
So. Have you ever been in a position where you want to call "time" but you're not able to do so, or maybe a situation where you want to keep going but someone else calls "time" to interfere with what you were doing? When you think about it, you'll probably find that these instances, whether major or minor, happen on a daily basis. For Tyler and I, one of those "times" definitely stood out to us during this past season...
Things were great! The summer was passing by with ease and Tyler was doing phenomenal in Triple-A. We were super excited for everything that was going on in our lives that we didn't want it to end. Then one morning, on a day Tyler was on the road, I woke up and realized I had a lump on my neck. It was right smack dab in the front, just like a man's Adam's Apple! I panicked, like REALLY panicked, and instantly Skype'd my husband.
"Tyler! I think I'm turning into a man!"
"Uh?"
"Will you still love me if I turn into a man?"
"No."
"Ty! I grew an Adam's Apple like over night! What if by the time you get back I have a deep voice and hair on my chest?!"
"We'll be getting a divorce for sure."
"Oh my gosh, this is so horrible!"
HA!
His blunt responses of course cracked me up and therefore calmed me down. Once he accomplished that, he proceeded to check out my newest neck feature over his iPad screen.
"I don't see it," he said questionably.
"Well it's definitely there! I proclaimed, and then quietly added, "just maybe not as noticeable as I'm making it out to be...but it's there!"
"Hmm, well, we'll go see the team doctor when I get back in town then," he decided.
I agreed.
Within a few days, we were heading to the doctor's office. After examining my neck, the doctor concluded that I most likely had a cyst. He said it was no big deal, very common, and would take just a simple draining to get rid of. Before going through with the procedure, he set me up with a thyroid ultrasound at the hospital later that day just to make sure.
My husband and I felt relieved. We went to lunch together before I dropped him off at the field and then I headed over to the hospital by myself. I joked with the nurse as she began my ultrasound.
"I never dreamed of going to my first ultrasound husbandless or that it would be of my neck and not my belly," we laughed.
After quieting down, I watched as she examined the screen and began typing some notes. Of course it was all in another language - medical terminology - but with my profession being Massage Therapy I understood enough to know something didn't seem right.
"You're all done," she said. "The doctor will call you later today with your results."
On that note, I thanked her and headed home.
Just as the nurse assured me, the doctor called.
I noticed concern in his voice as he began to speak. He stated to me that we didn't get the results we were hoping for, that in fact, there was nothing to drain. I questioned him on what exactly that meant.
"Well," he said, "You have a tumor."
TIME!!!
Time?
What?
No!
Time can't be called now.
I'm in my groove.
It'll throw me off.
No!
Why this?
What now?
He began to tell me about what my future held. He spoke about neck specialists, biopsies, doctor's appointments, and surgeries. I worried after hearing that, not for myself, but for my husband. I became anxious at the thought of doctor's appointments and surgeries only because of how they might entail some time away from the baseball field. Would the team even give him time away from the baseball field? And if so, would I really request that from him? He was having this outstanding year; I didn't want there to be something wrong with me that might make him lose focus or miss an opportunity. We we're in this career of his together so I didn't want to hold him back. He'd spent his whole life preparing for what was happening this season, now all I could think about was that I might ruin it somehow!
Even with all that in mind, I decided to call Tyler right away to inform him of what the ultrasound had revealed, but mostly to tell him about all those worries of mine regarding him and baseball. In no time at all, I began to feel the selflessness kind of love we share in our marriage.
"Are you crazy babe?" he asked perplexed, "Please don't worry about me. Baseball will still be there. All I want is for you to be okay. Nothing else matters more than that."
In trying to figure it all out, Tyler and I realized we had a complete sense of calming for ourselves that everything would be okay, yet, we were lacking that sense for the other person. We were so worried for each other, which seems normal to do, but instead, we began to understand it should only be an initial human reaction, not an ongoing emotion. We decided we needed to relax for a second and just pray.
During that time of prayer, I began to actually see how the devil works so deviously in our minds to create panic, anxiety, worry, and stress. Satan completely thrives off of those emotions! St. Francis of Assisi put it best when he said, "By the anxieties and worries of this life, Satan tries to dull man's heart and make a dwelling for himself there." What this means, is when Satan senses your first onset of anxiety he makes a home for himself in your heart with full intentions of turning you away from God. He knows he can work with those emotions to turn us instead toward temporary pleasures like prescription pills, alcohol, sex, shopping, and whatever other addictions people can easily fall into, thus becoming exactly what Satan wants for us to be, dull, warn, and hopefully giving up all hope in God ever forgiving us for what we've done and who we've become. Isn't that powerful to see how planting a seed of anxiety can lead to destruction?!
With our better mindsets, Tyler and I went back to discussing this upcoming trial of mine. We knew that worrying so much about what our future held meant we weren't trusting 100% in God, therefore we wanted to use this opportunity to grow closer to Him. We needed to clearly recognize that this was His plan, that He had His hand on us, and that we were to accept it with open arms - God was officially calling "time" in our lives.
Look what we found in choosing to grow closer to God through all of this!
Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you.
Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ.
Psalm 55:22 Cast all your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
So, let me get this straight?! The devil actually enjoys when we become anxious because it gives him an opportunity to turn us away from God and toward temporary happiness, like anxiety medications or a bottle of wine, while God on the other hand, is saddened to see us anxious so much that He simply wants us to pray, give those worries and anxieties to Him, and join His path of eternal happiness.
God is truly amazing!
Seeing this so clearly together, our future looked bright; we would get through this. The Phillies organization was phenomenal with my situation, letting us know that family comes first over everything. I was relieved when they informed me that Tyler and the trainers would all have their cell phones with them in the dugout in case I needed to get a hold of them for any reason. I would end up having to go to my biopsy appointment alone because the team was out of town again, but I did alright. The local anesthesia injections were painful enough to make me cry, but in the end the doctor got the sample he needed.
A sample that would ultimately come back suspicious for cancer.
Holy moly.
It was time to make an appointment for my first ever surgery. I don't think it ever really hit me because the doctor was so amazing. He let Tyler and I know that it was a very simple, very common, and very quick procedure. He also informed me that my scar would be pretty much unnoticeable after a year or so. Tyler contacted who he needed to at the Phillies and instantly got three days off to be with me - the day before, during, and after my surgery. We planned it around his pitching schedule so he wouldn't miss a start. Luckily for him, the day of my surgery happened to fall on July 24th, meaning he'd also have off July 25th - the day the IronPigs celebrated Christmas in July with team Santa jerseys. We were able to watch that game on TV together and decided the jerseys were....ummm...cute? Hehe :) (I'm sure a picture of him in that jersey with me on his lap would have made an adorable Christmas card though!)
We did of course get a picture in the hospital room before I went under anesthesia, which Tyler says was absolutely hilarious. Sweet husband, I know. Unfortunately I had a bad reaction coming out of it, so I had to stay over night at the facility; thankfully all was well the next morning.
When Tyler had to return to work, I was still pretty drugged up and unable to drive, so he dropped me off at the Sandberg's house where Margaret took wonderful care of me as I tried to sleep all day. She was amazing; all the wives were amazing! They all prayed for me and bought me scarfs to help cover up my stitches. I was so blessed to have so much support, including my mom and dad, as they both got the opportunity to come out and visit us during all of this. It was great! After my experience, life is a little bit different, but not by much. Because they had to cut off a sliver of my thyroid when they removed my tumor, I now have to get my blood checked every six months to make sure it's still working properly. I don't know about you, but I'll take that over something more serious any day.
As soon as I was feeling better, it was time to host the IronPigs' Wives Socks and Underwear Drive for the shelters around town. I was so excited to finally be able to focus less on myself and more on others. Jen Savery and I were able to promote the event over the radio broadcast of a game, which made for a great turnout the night of the drive. I've posted a few pictures from that event and also from the day we dropped off the donations after the following paragraph. Thank you so much to the fans for donating! We had a blast!
When I think of the duration of a baseball game, it reminds me a lot of the duration of a person's life. You may know the average length of time you have, but you never know if it will be cut short or if it will be prolonged. You'll be thrown fast balls, curve balls, change ups, and sliders, and you can bet that "time" will be called, but remember, it doesn't stop the clock. At the end of it all, you'll either win or lose, so choose wisely what you do with your time and give it all you've got. Play to win.
