Who to see?

Happy Easter! We hope that you have a wonderful time celebrating our risen Savior Jesus Christ w/ your friends and family. Our thoughts and prayers will be with all of you and we hope that God will be glorified and your heart will be touched in a new way.

As you can see, I (Dawn) got a little creative a day or so ago w/ our blog. Not sure if Brian likes all the pink, but I did make sure that the design had some blue somewhere on the page. :)

Brian is wrapping down his spring classes, 4 weeks to go to be exact. He has done so well at his studies at the University of Arizona. He received a scholarship of $1000 for this semester and currently has a 4.0. He finds accounting interesting and is excited to graduate in Dec. 09 and begin his career. Brian has interviewed for summer internships, but the opportunities are far and few between because of the economy. He is waiting to hear back about one more opportunity, but both of us have mentioned that maybe it's the Lord's will for him not to have an internship so that we can attend all these doctor appointments (not a super fun way to spend the summer, lol). He will definitely be interviewing like crazy in the fall for January employment.

Well, this week has been filled w/ a lot of decisions, going back and forth w/ the pros and cons of each physician (who we should see), where we are willing to travel and what treatment protocol we feel comfortable with etc. Lyme Disease is such a tricky illness to treat. LLMD's (Lyme Literate Medical Doctors) have such a variety of protocols that they use to treat their patients. Some use the more holistic/naturalistic approach and some go more the western medicine route w/ supplements.

Our first decision was to decide which path we wanted to take. As a result of Lyme, I am already extremely allergic to almost everything, but seem to have a worse time when things are in their natural form. So, we decided to go w/ a physician that treats more along the western medicine philosophy. I will still have to use supplements, but hopefully they will be well tolerated. So, by making that decision, that did eliminate the physician that diagnosed me w/ Lyme Disease in Phoenix. As we prayed about doing his treatment, we just did not feel a sense of peace. His treatment protocol is extremely different than the guidelines posted by the leading Lyme physician, Dr. Joseph J. Burrascano Jr. (link is on the left side). I will spare all the details, but some of the drugs/herbs that he uses through IV are just a little too controversial for our taste.

So, now we were back to looking for other physicians. About a month ago, I made an appointment w/ Dr. Jemsek who is based out of SC. He is the BEST physician and people travel all over the world to see him. I called mid-March and was not able to get an appointment until July 14th. Although I made the appointment, we still have been searching for anyone closer (CA, NV, NM, AZ, TX etc.). It's been a crazy week and I have spent hours every day researching. I would find a doctor and then do extensive research and come up w/ mixed referrals. I belong to a great Lyme support website called Lyme Friends and can get a lot of feedback on physicians and the success of their treatments by patients actual experiences. I found a couple physicians in CA, however the reviews were mixed and some of them are choosing to switch to Dr. J after years of unsuccessful treatment.

After praying about this decision and tapping all our resources, we are really considering making the jump and choosing Dr. J. He is extremely expensive (if I actually posted his costs (insurance will not cover any of it), you would probably fall off your chair :0) ), but his success stories and positive referrals are wonderful. My case is so extreme when it comes to how Lyme Disease has damaged my immune system, that we are going to need someone who is very attentive, patient, and aggressive w/ treatment. That is a small taste of the feedback we get about Dr. J. There are just a lot of factors at play. Treating long distance is tricky w/ trying to see the doctor for follow-up appointments and since I can't fly yet and it will be hard for Brian to take off work to travel to appointments w/ us, so that is why we have been exhausting all other options for closer physicians. Maybe the way that Brian and I might have to look at this is that we basically have one shot to have a treatment work. We cannot afford the treatment in general, but to go w/ a physician, pay for treatment and still end up being very ill, would be an impossibility for us. So, even though travel will be difficult (I am so allergic that it makes staying in hotels very difficult) and very long, we feel like it will be worth it all in the end if I get my health back. However, like I said, we are still trying to look at all options available.

Here are some current prayer requests:

1. That God will do His will on whether or not Brian is given a summer internship.
2. Brian will finish out the semester successfully w/ his busy schedule.
3. That Dawn's health will remain stable for me to be able to work steadily.
4. We would find the exact physician that God wants us to go to for treatment and that if it is Dr. J, He will give us a peace about all the details.
5. That God would provide for us financially as we pay for appointments and treatments.
6. For Dawn to be able to take supplements to build-up her immune system to prepare her for treatment.

So that is where we are. It's tough and scary to make all these decisions not knowing what will be on the other side, however we feel like God has led us every step of this journey and we will continue to trust that he will take care of our every need. We will kind of be on a stall pattern for awhile, so I don't think many blogs will be coming out. Once July hits, we will certainly post more regularly. Well, it is getting close to bedtime and I have managed once again to write a book, lol.

May the Lord bless you and your family!