“I want you to take a chest X-ray” she said. (Later she told my mother that she doesn’t even know why she sent me for an X-ray. “I felt bad that you were worried so I just wanted you to have peace of mind” she said.)

We drove to the radiologist where I took an X-ray and right away the radiologist told my mother that they saw something on the X-ray. “There was a finding” he said. “Pick up a copy of the X-ray and bring it to your pediatrician immediately.”

My mother thought that maybe I had bronchitis but when the receptionist at the radiologist hurried us out of the building she started getting a little nervous.

We got a copy and went back to the pediatrician who took the disc into her office to read the results. Finally the doctor came out — she sent me to the waiting room and took my mother into her office.

“Based on the results of the X-ray” she said “it looks like Avi has lymphoma.” She quickly added that she wasn’t 100 percent sure it was lymphoma and even if it was there was a very good prognosis. Then she gave my mother a piece of paper with an address in Manhattan written on it. It was the address of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

“You need to take Avi to the hospital today” she said.

It was a very short winter Friday but we rushed to the hospital where I went in for a biopsy. The doctors later told my mother that if I’d come to the hospital any later they don’t know what would’ve happened to me.

Why did my mother take me to the doctor that Friday? Why did my doctor send me for a chest X-ray when she didn’t really see any reason for it? There is only one answer: Hashem made all of this happen so He could save my life.

***

“Wow!” I say. “Talk about a neis!”

“Yes” Avi says “And here’s another major neis that happened to me…