I somehow made my way back to Lynette’s hospital room to wait for her. I there let loose with something I ALSO had encountered many times from the other side: Shrieking, loud, inconsolable crying. One might even call it “Page the Chaplain” crying. I kept myself in Lynette’s room, but I knew I was disturbing the nurses and the other patients and family members. I decided they were just going to have to be disturbed. Fairly early in this event, Lynette’s friend Elizabeth DID come to her room. I managed to get out the words “Inflammatory Breast Cancer.” I didn’t want Elizabeth or anyone else in the room then. Elizabeth positioned herself at the end of the hallway. I had previously been chided by Lynette’s sister Linda for not notifying her when Lynette had an episode of chest pains (that turned out to be nothing). At some point I contacted Linda. It turned out she was visiting friends in Petal, just 60 miles from Gulfport, instead of the 200 or so miles she lives away from Gulfport. She was soon on her way to Memorial.I’m pretty sure the surgeon must have told Lynette what her diagnosis was, but she was sedated from surgery and recovery, so her outward response was not as “demonstrative” as mine. She returned to the room. I needed some time with “my person.” Meanwhile, it was also Saturday afternoon and we were both United Methodist pastors. I don’t know if Lynette was on the St. Paul preaching schedule for August 21, but I definitely was scheduled to preach at Mississippi City. I contacted my District Superintendent, then Rick Brooks at St. Paul, then contacted my lay leadership at Mississippi City. They knew they’d have to handle Sunday without us.One MAJOR issue Lynette and I needed to settle was how and when to tell our son Luke about the diagnosis. Luke has an Autism Spectrum Disorder and his emotional responses are unpredictable. We decided not to tell him right away and to seek some counsel from other persons knowledgeable about autism before we did.Luke and Sarah came up to the hospital to eat supper with me. By now, both Elizabeth and Linda were with Lynette. I found a way to non-verbally confirm to Sarah what the diagnosis was. The three of us then went up to visit with Lynette. It didn’t take long for Luke to get ready to leave. I took him home, leaving Linda to spend the night with her sister.Thus ended the second worst day of 2016.