Welcome To The Gulf Coast!
Patricia Lee, Owner - www.Destinites.com and Creator of www.Facebook.com/groups/Destinites Contact: [email protected]
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Destin and Me
Hello, I am Patricia Lee, founder of the Destinites website; born in 1959 and I will let you do the math. I have two grown children, I am a Christian, a 3 time cancer survivor of 3 different cancers and one of the 2005 Life Inspiration Award Winners for the American Cancer Society. I moved to Destin from our neighboring state of Alabama, in 2015. One of the first things I noticed after moving here was how warm, friendly and welcoming all the locals were to me. Smiling faces everywhere! I mentioned this to a local store owner and she replied, 'What's not to be happy about? <laughter> We live at the BEACH!" Many people ask me if the excitement has warn off now that I have lived here a while and I always give them a resounding, "NO!" I find new things to love about living here all the time and going to the beach never gets old. |
As for crowds, yes, we are a resort area but we really only deal with crowds from June to mid August and some during Spring Break; although, other beach towns get that Spring Break traffic a little more. Nine months out of the year this place belongs to the locals and once you become one, you will come to treasure those months. There is nothing like walking out onto the beach looking to the right and left and seeing nobody or only a hand full people out there where it once was jam packed. Amazing to stand on the beach and hear nothing but the waves and the birds. No other feeling like that in the world and that is truly when you will become one with the Gulf and the nature that surrounds this beautiful place.
Welcome to Destin! ............... Much love, Pat www.facebook.com/patricialee1959
Welcome to Destin! ............... Much love, Pat www.facebook.com/patricialee1959
Three Miracles and Me:
My unique story of surviving Neuroblastoma, a uterine tumor and stage 3C breast cancer.
These are stories with a special twist so, I hope you will take a few minutes to read them and even share the link to this page with others. These are the short versions because I wanted to make it an easy read for everyone. However, if you would like to discuss the stories with me or have any questions, feel free to send me an email at [email protected]. If you are not one who believes in God nor any higher power, please be forewarned because these stories could change your mind.
Story #1. When I was 18 months old it was discovered that I had Neuroblastoma. A common cancer for young children for which there is still no cure. It was wrapped completely around my left kidney so the kidney was removed. It was then discovered to also be throughout my bone marrow all over my body. This was around 1961 and there were no treatments outside of doing what they called, at the time, X-ray therapy. Some treatments were administered but were not working and the cancer was growing. My doctor was Marshal Pitts, at Children's Hospital, in Birmingham, Alabama. He was a new doctor there and very young. He suggested to my parents to him do a procedure where they would remove my bone marrow and inject nitrogen mustered, in hopes that would kill the cancer. It had never been done here in the states and he did tell my parents it would be easy for me to develop pneumonia because I would have no immune system anymore. Since my prognoses was certain death from the cancer anyway, my parents agreed to allow the surgery, in a last ditch effort to save my life.
My maternal grandfather was a Christian man and had as many people praying for me as was possible. You have to remember there was no social media back in those days. He belonged to a small Baptist church, in a small town and they would hold special prayer sessions where they came together just to pray for me. Fast forward to the day of the surgery. My Grandfather was there and told my surgeon about how he had been praying for me. He told him he felt God had told him that I was cured. The surgeon explained to my Grandfather how more tests/x-rays had already been done so he was certain it was there but, to appease him, he finally agreed to do more. The cancer was discovered to be completely gone! So, instead of having that horrible surgery, I got to go home. I continued to be tested often and over the next 5 years but of course, no one trace of it was ever again found. My surgeon was also a Christian man. When ever he would give seminars or have a speaking engagement he many times would tell my story in hopes of persuading some of those scientist non-believers that God does exist. If you are one who thinks prayer can't change things, you may want to rethink that notion. It doesn't always take prayer to get a miracle which, you will find in my second story, but prayers do matter and yes, they can change things.
Story #2. Shortly after my son was born, in 1994 I had a partial hysterectomy. I had been having complications which were putting my health at risk. We could not find the reason for the issues and I was left with no choice but to try this surgery in hopes it would help. After the surgery, the doctor came in to talk to us and let us know that a tumor was found in my uterus and that it had been sent to the lab for evaluation. He wasn't expecting the results back before I left the hospital but the next day he walked into my room with the report. He said the tumor was cancerous but the unique thing about it was that it had started to break apart and disintegrate on it's own which was something they had never seen happen before. He said, "That's the kind of thing you may see happen when someone has been going through treatment but we know you haven't been through any treatment so the lab folks and I feel that you just got a miracle. People in the lab feel like they witnessed the hand of God in action." This goes to show you how God is at work, in your life, moving toward miracles you didn't even know you needed.
Story #3. Setting is January 2005. I was divorced and raising 2 children. I went to the doctor to have a tiny knot diagnosed which was under my right arm. Sonar was taken and I went back later for the results. The surgeon walks into the room saying, "Good news! It's not cancer!" She hung some kind of fancy name on it and told me they just leave those alone. I asked her what if it starts to grow or bothers me. She shrugged her shoulders and said they might remove it in that case but generally, they don't mess with them. I left her office feeling happy. Well, later it did start to bother me and was clearly growing so, I went back but this time to a different surgeon. She did a biopsy on the spot and rushed the results while I waited in the lobby. Yes, you guessed it. It was cancer and I was scheduled for surgery. During the surgery she removed 15 lymph nodes with 14 of them positive and not only that but the cancer had already broken through the cells and was running all through my blood stream. This promptly gave me a right mastectomy and stage 3C diagnoses. Clearly, chemo was next.
I do want to stop here and say that the day I found out it was cancer I was alone at the doctor's office. When I left there I prayed while driving home. I just said to God that I wanted to live to finish raising my children but that if my death would bring Him greater glory in any way, that I was ready to go. I told Him I wanted to be His vessel no matter what that meant for me and that I would trust Him to take of my children and promised not be angry with Him, if He decided to take me. I immediately had an overwhelming feeling of peace. I had no idea what was going to happen but I just had this great peace about it all.
The day came when it was time to start chemo. I had my first treatment and went home. That night I had dug out a Bible which I had as a teenager. Back in those days, I was very involved in church, youth groups and youth choir. I was very close to God and had made all of kinds of notes, in that bible and underlined many passages. I had not looked at it in years but did that night before going to bed. When I finished I just laid it on the pillow beside me. I turned out the lights. Said my usual prayers which, by the way, didn't include anything about my own illness other than asking God to help me through it all. There I was with my eyes closed just trying to go to sleep when I felt this big jolt on my right clavicle. That's where they said they thought they saw a spot after the P.E.T. scan I had for the oncologist. Some would call it a lightening bolt sensation but there was no sharp pain. It was just a very hard hit like getting kicked by a mule but was just in that one tiny spot. I open my eyes and laid there wondering what in the world just happened when all of a sudden I got another jolt but this time at the base of my neck. Nobody had said anything to me about my neck so by this time I was shouted out loud, "GOD?" as though calling out for help. Immediately my mind said, "Turn on the light and read your bible. Just open it and read and you will be comforted." So, I did. When I opened the bible I didn't fumble through pages. I just opened it and there were the words God wanted me to see. They were underlined. I felt the push to read out loud and this is what I read......
"Bless the Lord who is my immovable Rock. He gives me strength and skill in battle. He is always kind and loving to me; He is my fortress, my tower of strength and safety, my deliverer. He stands before me as a shield." Psalms 144. I looked up and read another passage I had underline. Again, having the feeling of needing to read out loud. God clearly wanted to hear me say these words and I read.... "Lord, saving me will bring glory to your name. Bring me out of all this trouble because you are true to your promises. And because you are loving and kind to me, cut off ALL my enemies and destroy those who are trying to harm me; for I am your servant." Psalms 143: 11. A rush of peace came over me like I have never before experienced. Father God was telling me, as best He could, that HE was in control of it all. He was fighting that battle; not me. A few days later I flipped the page on the bible and saw where I had written in the margin of that chapter 143 passage, "My prayer." I had written that as a teen but little did I know what it was going to me to me so many years later.
If you need further confirmation that was a night of miracles, here you go. The doctors wanted me to go for radiation therapy after chemo. I listened to the radiologist talk about the focus points. She said, "There is one other place I might add" and as she said that, she reached up and touched the base of my neck. She said it was logical for that to be the first place the cancer would go considering it's current location. Well, needless to say, I knew that had already been dealt with by a higher power than her radiation machine. That was just God further confirming to me that He was in control.
I was told I would maybe live a couple of more years but folks, that was 15 years ago (2005). To God be the GLORY! AMEN! I don't know why God saved me but honestly, it is non of my business. He doesn't have to answer to me. i am the one who has to answer to Him. It is my job to have faith, trust His judgement, and be willing to be His vessel no matter what that means.
Dear Lord, I pray these stories will reach all the ones who need to hear them and that they will help them in some way. Amen!
Story #1. When I was 18 months old it was discovered that I had Neuroblastoma. A common cancer for young children for which there is still no cure. It was wrapped completely around my left kidney so the kidney was removed. It was then discovered to also be throughout my bone marrow all over my body. This was around 1961 and there were no treatments outside of doing what they called, at the time, X-ray therapy. Some treatments were administered but were not working and the cancer was growing. My doctor was Marshal Pitts, at Children's Hospital, in Birmingham, Alabama. He was a new doctor there and very young. He suggested to my parents to him do a procedure where they would remove my bone marrow and inject nitrogen mustered, in hopes that would kill the cancer. It had never been done here in the states and he did tell my parents it would be easy for me to develop pneumonia because I would have no immune system anymore. Since my prognoses was certain death from the cancer anyway, my parents agreed to allow the surgery, in a last ditch effort to save my life.
My maternal grandfather was a Christian man and had as many people praying for me as was possible. You have to remember there was no social media back in those days. He belonged to a small Baptist church, in a small town and they would hold special prayer sessions where they came together just to pray for me. Fast forward to the day of the surgery. My Grandfather was there and told my surgeon about how he had been praying for me. He told him he felt God had told him that I was cured. The surgeon explained to my Grandfather how more tests/x-rays had already been done so he was certain it was there but, to appease him, he finally agreed to do more. The cancer was discovered to be completely gone! So, instead of having that horrible surgery, I got to go home. I continued to be tested often and over the next 5 years but of course, no one trace of it was ever again found. My surgeon was also a Christian man. When ever he would give seminars or have a speaking engagement he many times would tell my story in hopes of persuading some of those scientist non-believers that God does exist. If you are one who thinks prayer can't change things, you may want to rethink that notion. It doesn't always take prayer to get a miracle which, you will find in my second story, but prayers do matter and yes, they can change things.
Story #2. Shortly after my son was born, in 1994 I had a partial hysterectomy. I had been having complications which were putting my health at risk. We could not find the reason for the issues and I was left with no choice but to try this surgery in hopes it would help. After the surgery, the doctor came in to talk to us and let us know that a tumor was found in my uterus and that it had been sent to the lab for evaluation. He wasn't expecting the results back before I left the hospital but the next day he walked into my room with the report. He said the tumor was cancerous but the unique thing about it was that it had started to break apart and disintegrate on it's own which was something they had never seen happen before. He said, "That's the kind of thing you may see happen when someone has been going through treatment but we know you haven't been through any treatment so the lab folks and I feel that you just got a miracle. People in the lab feel like they witnessed the hand of God in action." This goes to show you how God is at work, in your life, moving toward miracles you didn't even know you needed.
Story #3. Setting is January 2005. I was divorced and raising 2 children. I went to the doctor to have a tiny knot diagnosed which was under my right arm. Sonar was taken and I went back later for the results. The surgeon walks into the room saying, "Good news! It's not cancer!" She hung some kind of fancy name on it and told me they just leave those alone. I asked her what if it starts to grow or bothers me. She shrugged her shoulders and said they might remove it in that case but generally, they don't mess with them. I left her office feeling happy. Well, later it did start to bother me and was clearly growing so, I went back but this time to a different surgeon. She did a biopsy on the spot and rushed the results while I waited in the lobby. Yes, you guessed it. It was cancer and I was scheduled for surgery. During the surgery she removed 15 lymph nodes with 14 of them positive and not only that but the cancer had already broken through the cells and was running all through my blood stream. This promptly gave me a right mastectomy and stage 3C diagnoses. Clearly, chemo was next.
I do want to stop here and say that the day I found out it was cancer I was alone at the doctor's office. When I left there I prayed while driving home. I just said to God that I wanted to live to finish raising my children but that if my death would bring Him greater glory in any way, that I was ready to go. I told Him I wanted to be His vessel no matter what that meant for me and that I would trust Him to take of my children and promised not be angry with Him, if He decided to take me. I immediately had an overwhelming feeling of peace. I had no idea what was going to happen but I just had this great peace about it all.
The day came when it was time to start chemo. I had my first treatment and went home. That night I had dug out a Bible which I had as a teenager. Back in those days, I was very involved in church, youth groups and youth choir. I was very close to God and had made all of kinds of notes, in that bible and underlined many passages. I had not looked at it in years but did that night before going to bed. When I finished I just laid it on the pillow beside me. I turned out the lights. Said my usual prayers which, by the way, didn't include anything about my own illness other than asking God to help me through it all. There I was with my eyes closed just trying to go to sleep when I felt this big jolt on my right clavicle. That's where they said they thought they saw a spot after the P.E.T. scan I had for the oncologist. Some would call it a lightening bolt sensation but there was no sharp pain. It was just a very hard hit like getting kicked by a mule but was just in that one tiny spot. I open my eyes and laid there wondering what in the world just happened when all of a sudden I got another jolt but this time at the base of my neck. Nobody had said anything to me about my neck so by this time I was shouted out loud, "GOD?" as though calling out for help. Immediately my mind said, "Turn on the light and read your bible. Just open it and read and you will be comforted." So, I did. When I opened the bible I didn't fumble through pages. I just opened it and there were the words God wanted me to see. They were underlined. I felt the push to read out loud and this is what I read......
"Bless the Lord who is my immovable Rock. He gives me strength and skill in battle. He is always kind and loving to me; He is my fortress, my tower of strength and safety, my deliverer. He stands before me as a shield." Psalms 144. I looked up and read another passage I had underline. Again, having the feeling of needing to read out loud. God clearly wanted to hear me say these words and I read.... "Lord, saving me will bring glory to your name. Bring me out of all this trouble because you are true to your promises. And because you are loving and kind to me, cut off ALL my enemies and destroy those who are trying to harm me; for I am your servant." Psalms 143: 11. A rush of peace came over me like I have never before experienced. Father God was telling me, as best He could, that HE was in control of it all. He was fighting that battle; not me. A few days later I flipped the page on the bible and saw where I had written in the margin of that chapter 143 passage, "My prayer." I had written that as a teen but little did I know what it was going to me to me so many years later.
If you need further confirmation that was a night of miracles, here you go. The doctors wanted me to go for radiation therapy after chemo. I listened to the radiologist talk about the focus points. She said, "There is one other place I might add" and as she said that, she reached up and touched the base of my neck. She said it was logical for that to be the first place the cancer would go considering it's current location. Well, needless to say, I knew that had already been dealt with by a higher power than her radiation machine. That was just God further confirming to me that He was in control.
I was told I would maybe live a couple of more years but folks, that was 15 years ago (2005). To God be the GLORY! AMEN! I don't know why God saved me but honestly, it is non of my business. He doesn't have to answer to me. i am the one who has to answer to Him. It is my job to have faith, trust His judgement, and be willing to be His vessel no matter what that means.
Dear Lord, I pray these stories will reach all the ones who need to hear them and that they will help them in some way. Amen!