Thankful for things I've never been thankful for before

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I am thankful. But my thankful list goes this year beyond things I have ever considered. They probably make no sense at all to most. But here goes my "thankful for things I've never been thankful for before" list:

1. I'm thankful for a persistent headache that wouldn't go away- No, I don't enjoy headaches. But this headache led me to a doctor's visit. I had ran out of blood pressure pills. Not only that, but the blood pressure medication I was on wasn't controlling my bp. The doctor wanted me to come in. While there he insisted I have blood work. Previous blood work had indicated high PSA count, and he wanted follow up on that. The blood work came back that the PSA had increased since the last tests.
2. Further testing by a specialist revealed Prostate Cancer. I am thankful for a good God in the time of bad news. Yes, I have been thankful for that before. What I haven't been thankful for is a bad report. And I'm not actually thankful for the report. But I am thankful for the ability of medical doctors and the tests to confirm a need that should have attention.
3. I am thankful for the skill of the surgeon.
4. I am thankful for the care of a hospital and their staff.
5. I am thankful for medication that helps control and alleviate pain.
6. I am thankful for stitches and staples. I detested my staples, but I know they were serving a purpose to hold in place until my body was doing the healing that was needed.
7. I am thankful for a catheter. From day one, it bothered me. I was annoyed by it. I wanted it out. But I am thankful for the purpose it served.
8. I hate the C word. But I am thankful that teams are constantly working, exploring, trying to develop cures for each variety. I am thankful for fundraising groups which raise funds for research. Our church has raised funds for the relay for life cancer drive before. But I don't know that I've ever appreciated as much as I do now those who are behind the scenes at work in the hope that one day this disease wont take innocent lives from us.

I may think of other things I am thankful for that I've not been thankful for before. But this is it for now. I know I did not make my list of other things, such as God, my family, my church, etc that I am thankful for. That is for another writing, another list... Today I am thankful for the "unthanked" things!