Hey Everyone! Well, I am excited to tell you that on Wednesday Brian received a job offer. It's from a local accounting firm in Tucson. What a blessing! They really liked Brian and actually offered the job to him the same day he interviewed. I am so proud of him! The firm gave him two weeks to make his decision, so our deadline is November 4th. That was a blessing too because it gives Brian a chance to finish up his other second interviews and await their decisions.
On Thursday, he had an interview with a national accounting firm in Phoenix. That interview also went very well. He had a lot in common with his interviewer as she was a christian, led worship at a church, had a daughter that went to college at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and had a strong stance on the importance of leadership. Brian was able to talk about his experience and the studies he has done on that topic. This position is very competitive to obtain as we think there are about 18-25 candidates competing for only a couple of positions. They said they would be making their decision anywhere from the end of next week to the beginning of the following week. Waiting, waiting, waiting...I stink at it! :0)
We have not heard back about the last job possibility in Atlanta, however as these other opportunities have rolled in, we have started thinking that maybe at this time in our life, God is not going to move us in that direction. It's a little disappointing and it does make us wonder how we will get to my doctor, however the Lord is in control and knows all of those details. We are just praying that God will do His will in our lives wherever that may be. If you could please be praying about this job in Phoenix and that if we are supposed to go that direction, that the Lord will open up that opportunity. Both employers are wonderful, but I think at this point, Brian said he would maybe like the Grant Thornton opportunity a bit more. We shall see what the Lord does!
I want to reiterate at how proud I am of my husband. He has worked so hard for this new career. There was a time where he was working a full-time job (teaching), working a part-time job and taking 2 to 3 classes. He has also maintained a 4.0 GPA while dealing with all of the issues that go along with my illness. The sacrifices that he has to make on a daily basis and the number of things he has to juggle besides work (weekly shopping etc.) and school are enough to make anyone crazy, however he takes everything in stride and always has such a great attitude. He is such a servant! Even with everything we have had to go through in regards to my illness, he has remained a positive Christ-like leader for our family. I am so blessed to be given such a wonderful man as best friend and life partner. I love you Brian and I am so proud to be your wife!!
I don't have much of a health update except that I am still struggling with migraines at night and left over symptoms from this last round of treatment. I am unable to fall asleep before 2AM. Thankfully, my job is in the afternoon, so I have the ability to make up for the lost sleep, however I never feel rested. If you could be praying that things would subside and that sleep would come earlier, I would appreciate it!
Well, that's our update for now. We will let you know when we hear about the other job and our final decision. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Hope in Uncertainty
Hello Everyone! It's Wednesday, whoops...I mean it's Tuesday. I get mixed up now that I am on Korean time most of the week because of my job. My week ends on US Thursday but it's Korea's Friday. So confusing! Thank goodness I have my trusty world clock/calendar on my cell phone. :)
Before I get to my update, I want to ask you guys to pray. Brian has two second interviews this week. One is tomorrow (Wednesday) and that is with a local Accounting Firm in Tucson called KLK. Well, that is their initials anyways. lol The second interview is on Thursday in Phoenix with Grant and Thornton. It looks like he was also chosen for a second interview for Pricewaterhousecoopers (crazy long name, right?) as he received a call last week from the recruiter saying she was waiting to hear back from the Atlanta office. If they don't have any openings, then hopefully he will get to interview at the Phoenix firm. We are waiting to hear on that one. Anyways, we are just leaving everything in the Lord's hands. If he wants us to go to Atlanta, then we are praying that a job will open up. However, if that opportunity does not arise then we are desperately praying that Brian will be able to get a job in Tucson or Phoenix. It's hard as we look at the future and know that we will have a HUGE income gap if the "what ifs" (that I am SO good at coming up with, lol) unfold. We are really learning what it means to give our entire future over to the Lord. We know that God will provide and we are praying that He will do so in the form of an accounting job for Brian. He has worked so hard at school and currently has a 4.0. I am so proud of him and I know without a doubt he will be an incredible employee. Please join with us in prayer that God will give Brian an offer at one of these places. Thank you in advance for being our prayer warriors!
Next, I want to thank so many of you for your kind words of encouragement that I received after my doctor's appointment. It was such a blessing and the Lord really used each one of you! I thank the Lord everyday for our friends and family also all of my dear friends that I have met who are also walking the Lyme Disease journey. We feel so blessed during times like these.
Okay, now for my treatment update. Treatment went okay this weekend. Not wonderful, but then again, I don't know if it ever will be wonderful, lol. I experienced quite a few strong herx reactions (pain in my bones and joints, dizziness, severe headaches, chills etc) and slept a lot. Every time it gets rough symptom-wise, I always tell myself that at least we know it's working!! However, I did not have the severe head pressure on Sunday that I had a couple of weeks ago. Yay!! What a blessing that was! I definitely do not ever want to feel that again! My doctor had said that I had experienced the worst as far as that reaction goes and he was right. I have been off treatment for two days now and I am still feeling quite a bit of the symptoms as the drugs stay in your system for awhile. Praise the Lord though, He is getting me through each one of my 4 hour work shifts. It's not easy, but I am making it! It's such a blessing to own a laptop and to be able to work from my bed. :0) If you could just pray that my headaches and symptoms for treatment disappear soon. Some of these headaches get to the migraine level and it's hard to work and study. Also, my allergy sensitivities to foods and my environment and also my asthma have seem to have flared up after this last treatment. If you could please pray that they would calm down soon.
If we do end up staying in Tucson or moving to Phoenix, we actually might be looking at traveling to CA to see some highly recommended specialists in the area of detox, hormones, thyroid, supplements, nutrition etc. Dr. J is amazing at aggressively treating Lyme Disease, but the other things I listed are not his specialty. It is important to get on a detox program when you are on treatment because as the Lyme bacteria is killed off it releases neurotoxins. If the toxins are not taken out of your body, you can actually become sicker. It's kind of like poison just circulating around. Anyways, I have had multiple people recommend a practice in CA that is amazing. In fact I know people who see both these doctors and Dr. J. They even have experience working with people who have chemical sensitivities. How crazy would that be...I would have doctors who are truly at opposite ends of the country. :P We are going to run into a car issue as our cars are getting old and have high mileage and we can't take them to Dr. J or the docs in CA. Renting a car is very difficult w/ my chemical sensitivities. However, I won't go into that yet because we aren't at the stage. Everything really just hinges on if and where Brian gets a job and as you can tell, we are desperately praying the "where" happens, lol.
Well, that is our update for now! Thank you again for your prayers. If we hear anything about the job stuff, I will make sure to update asap. I hope you have a great rest of the week!
Before I get to my update, I want to ask you guys to pray. Brian has two second interviews this week. One is tomorrow (Wednesday) and that is with a local Accounting Firm in Tucson called KLK. Well, that is their initials anyways. lol The second interview is on Thursday in Phoenix with Grant and Thornton. It looks like he was also chosen for a second interview for Pricewaterhousecoopers (crazy long name, right?) as he received a call last week from the recruiter saying she was waiting to hear back from the Atlanta office. If they don't have any openings, then hopefully he will get to interview at the Phoenix firm. We are waiting to hear on that one. Anyways, we are just leaving everything in the Lord's hands. If he wants us to go to Atlanta, then we are praying that a job will open up. However, if that opportunity does not arise then we are desperately praying that Brian will be able to get a job in Tucson or Phoenix. It's hard as we look at the future and know that we will have a HUGE income gap if the "what ifs" (that I am SO good at coming up with, lol) unfold. We are really learning what it means to give our entire future over to the Lord. We know that God will provide and we are praying that He will do so in the form of an accounting job for Brian. He has worked so hard at school and currently has a 4.0. I am so proud of him and I know without a doubt he will be an incredible employee. Please join with us in prayer that God will give Brian an offer at one of these places. Thank you in advance for being our prayer warriors!
Next, I want to thank so many of you for your kind words of encouragement that I received after my doctor's appointment. It was such a blessing and the Lord really used each one of you! I thank the Lord everyday for our friends and family also all of my dear friends that I have met who are also walking the Lyme Disease journey. We feel so blessed during times like these.
Okay, now for my treatment update. Treatment went okay this weekend. Not wonderful, but then again, I don't know if it ever will be wonderful, lol. I experienced quite a few strong herx reactions (pain in my bones and joints, dizziness, severe headaches, chills etc) and slept a lot. Every time it gets rough symptom-wise, I always tell myself that at least we know it's working!! However, I did not have the severe head pressure on Sunday that I had a couple of weeks ago. Yay!! What a blessing that was! I definitely do not ever want to feel that again! My doctor had said that I had experienced the worst as far as that reaction goes and he was right. I have been off treatment for two days now and I am still feeling quite a bit of the symptoms as the drugs stay in your system for awhile. Praise the Lord though, He is getting me through each one of my 4 hour work shifts. It's not easy, but I am making it! It's such a blessing to own a laptop and to be able to work from my bed. :0) If you could just pray that my headaches and symptoms for treatment disappear soon. Some of these headaches get to the migraine level and it's hard to work and study. Also, my allergy sensitivities to foods and my environment and also my asthma have seem to have flared up after this last treatment. If you could please pray that they would calm down soon.
If we do end up staying in Tucson or moving to Phoenix, we actually might be looking at traveling to CA to see some highly recommended specialists in the area of detox, hormones, thyroid, supplements, nutrition etc. Dr. J is amazing at aggressively treating Lyme Disease, but the other things I listed are not his specialty. It is important to get on a detox program when you are on treatment because as the Lyme bacteria is killed off it releases neurotoxins. If the toxins are not taken out of your body, you can actually become sicker. It's kind of like poison just circulating around. Anyways, I have had multiple people recommend a practice in CA that is amazing. In fact I know people who see both these doctors and Dr. J. They even have experience working with people who have chemical sensitivities. How crazy would that be...I would have doctors who are truly at opposite ends of the country. :P We are going to run into a car issue as our cars are getting old and have high mileage and we can't take them to Dr. J or the docs in CA. Renting a car is very difficult w/ my chemical sensitivities. However, I won't go into that yet because we aren't at the stage. Everything really just hinges on if and where Brian gets a job and as you can tell, we are desperately praying the "where" happens, lol.
Well, that is our update for now! Thank you again for your prayers. If we hear anything about the job stuff, I will make sure to update asap. I hope you have a great rest of the week!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Phone Appointment w/ Dr. J
Hello Everyone! I have intentionally not made a post until today because there just hasn't been that much to tell. That is good I think. :) My liver enzymes were in the normal range after my last treatment segment. Praise the Lord! That is so important as I go through each round. Brian's interviews went extremely well last week. I am so proud of him!!! He has one more this week and we are officially playing the waiting game. We should hopefully hear something in the next couple of weeks as to if he will be called for second interviews.
Now onto my phone appointment with Dr. Jemsek. I know a lot of you have asked me how it went and please know, I wanted to respond to each one of you personally. It's just been one of those draining days. Hopefully, I will be able to "catch up" with each of you soon! So, here is a summary of my phone appointment....
It was good to talk to Dr. Jemsek. My experience with him has been nothing less than wonderful. He is SO knowledgeable and was very patient today in explaining things to me. It's hard to do everything over the phone, but we are so thankful he is willing to do this for me as I am just too sick to travel. We started out my appointment going over my current medication and dosages. We then started talking about the "herx" reactions I had experienced. I told him about my last experience w/ the drug Flagyl and there was so much pressure in my head that I felt like my brain was swelling into my skull. The pressure feeling didn't completely disappear until 5 days later. He explained to me that it was a result of the cysts (the sac-like formation that the lyme bacteria sits in) bursting. When they burst, they release fluid made up of lypoproteins. So, the pressure I was feeling was a result of the build-up of the fluid. He did inform me that kind of reaction is to be expected, he was just shocked at how severe it was with me being on such a low dose treatment regiment.
Then he told me something that none of us really want to hear. He said I was a very sick girl and that my herx reaction to Flagyl told him a lot. I guess it's hard to tell how much the bacteria has invaded your system or what damage it has caused until you start treatment and review the reaction to it. It still is something that you don't ever really want to hear. He also said that we are in for a LONG road (years). He said that with how allergically sensitive I am and also how I have such strong herx reactions at such a low dosage treatment regiment that we are going to have to take this very slowly. He is not changing any of my antibiotics or the frequency of my dosages. He is only going to add another drug to continue to help calm my autonomic nervous system.
Another difficult piece of news that I received was that he does not know if orals will be enough to attack the Lyme that according to him "has caused so much damage" to my system. Orals just do not cross the blood-brain barrier as well as IV's do. He said there is a good chance that eventually we will have to resort to IV medication. That was a big blow as the IV treatment protocol is very tough to go through and extremely expensive. Most insurances won't cover the cost and if they do, many times they will only pay for one month. To give you an idea, I have heard that out of pocket it can cost about $4000 per month. The IV treatment usually lasts about 3 months. So, as you can see, that is why it's kind of a big blow. He did say it would be a very long way off (over a year he thinks) because I am just too sensitive to be able to tolerate an intense IV treatment protocol in my current state. We will definitely be praying that we will not have to resort to this, however, I wanted to write what I was told today.
Finally, as you know from a previous post, my doctor is moving his practice to Washington DC. He did say he would like to be able to see me more often, however he does realize how sick I am and how detrimental it would be to my body if we tried to make the trip in my current condition. Thankfully, he is willing to work with us through phone appointments. My next phone appointment will be in January. He did say he would like to try for us to shoot for an office visit in the spring, but only if I can tolerate traveling.
So, that further says to us that if possible, we need to make a move to the East Coast. Dr. Jemsek is truly an amazing physician and literally one of the best Lyme Disease doctors in the world. He takes each one of his patient's case and creates a personalized treatment plan. He has so much wisdom and has treated my case like no other doctor has. I have heard too many stories where patients visit Lyme Disease specialists and they are only one of the masses. They get stuck in a protocol in which the doctor refuses to budge or adjust anything per patient. We feel we need to move closer to Dr. Jemsek so that I can go to office visits more often. Brian has applied to a few accounting firms that have locations in Atlanta, GA. If you could please pray that a door would open at one of these firms enabling us to make the big move. Either that or that God would heal me so that I could endure a trip via airplane. My sensitivities along with some of my other autonomic nervous system reactions would need to improve quite a bit for us to consider flying.
I start my next round of treatment this Wednesday (Oct. 14th). I am a little aprehensive about my Sunday dosages of Flagyl because of my reaction last time, however Dr. Jemsek said that I probably reached the maximum reaction and doesn't think I will have such a strong response this time. I hope not!!! This will also be the first time I will be trying to work through different parts of my treatment. I would appreciate your prayers this next week.
Well, that is the summary. My appointment certainly contained quite a bit of information that was hard to swallow, but at the same time, I know that we serve a big God, a God who is able to move mountains that to us seem immovable. We are praying for God's mighty hand to move us in the direction we need to go in the area of my treatment, a job for Brian and a possible move. Until then, we are standing on his promises knowing that in Him, through Him and with Him, we can do all things through His strength alone. Thank you so much for all of your encouragement and prayers! We will update soon.
Now onto my phone appointment with Dr. Jemsek. I know a lot of you have asked me how it went and please know, I wanted to respond to each one of you personally. It's just been one of those draining days. Hopefully, I will be able to "catch up" with each of you soon! So, here is a summary of my phone appointment....
It was good to talk to Dr. Jemsek. My experience with him has been nothing less than wonderful. He is SO knowledgeable and was very patient today in explaining things to me. It's hard to do everything over the phone, but we are so thankful he is willing to do this for me as I am just too sick to travel. We started out my appointment going over my current medication and dosages. We then started talking about the "herx" reactions I had experienced. I told him about my last experience w/ the drug Flagyl and there was so much pressure in my head that I felt like my brain was swelling into my skull. The pressure feeling didn't completely disappear until 5 days later. He explained to me that it was a result of the cysts (the sac-like formation that the lyme bacteria sits in) bursting. When they burst, they release fluid made up of lypoproteins. So, the pressure I was feeling was a result of the build-up of the fluid. He did inform me that kind of reaction is to be expected, he was just shocked at how severe it was with me being on such a low dose treatment regiment.
Then he told me something that none of us really want to hear. He said I was a very sick girl and that my herx reaction to Flagyl told him a lot. I guess it's hard to tell how much the bacteria has invaded your system or what damage it has caused until you start treatment and review the reaction to it. It still is something that you don't ever really want to hear. He also said that we are in for a LONG road (years). He said that with how allergically sensitive I am and also how I have such strong herx reactions at such a low dosage treatment regiment that we are going to have to take this very slowly. He is not changing any of my antibiotics or the frequency of my dosages. He is only going to add another drug to continue to help calm my autonomic nervous system.
Another difficult piece of news that I received was that he does not know if orals will be enough to attack the Lyme that according to him "has caused so much damage" to my system. Orals just do not cross the blood-brain barrier as well as IV's do. He said there is a good chance that eventually we will have to resort to IV medication. That was a big blow as the IV treatment protocol is very tough to go through and extremely expensive. Most insurances won't cover the cost and if they do, many times they will only pay for one month. To give you an idea, I have heard that out of pocket it can cost about $4000 per month. The IV treatment usually lasts about 3 months. So, as you can see, that is why it's kind of a big blow. He did say it would be a very long way off (over a year he thinks) because I am just too sensitive to be able to tolerate an intense IV treatment protocol in my current state. We will definitely be praying that we will not have to resort to this, however, I wanted to write what I was told today.
Finally, as you know from a previous post, my doctor is moving his practice to Washington DC. He did say he would like to be able to see me more often, however he does realize how sick I am and how detrimental it would be to my body if we tried to make the trip in my current condition. Thankfully, he is willing to work with us through phone appointments. My next phone appointment will be in January. He did say he would like to try for us to shoot for an office visit in the spring, but only if I can tolerate traveling.
So, that further says to us that if possible, we need to make a move to the East Coast. Dr. Jemsek is truly an amazing physician and literally one of the best Lyme Disease doctors in the world. He takes each one of his patient's case and creates a personalized treatment plan. He has so much wisdom and has treated my case like no other doctor has. I have heard too many stories where patients visit Lyme Disease specialists and they are only one of the masses. They get stuck in a protocol in which the doctor refuses to budge or adjust anything per patient. We feel we need to move closer to Dr. Jemsek so that I can go to office visits more often. Brian has applied to a few accounting firms that have locations in Atlanta, GA. If you could please pray that a door would open at one of these firms enabling us to make the big move. Either that or that God would heal me so that I could endure a trip via airplane. My sensitivities along with some of my other autonomic nervous system reactions would need to improve quite a bit for us to consider flying.
I start my next round of treatment this Wednesday (Oct. 14th). I am a little aprehensive about my Sunday dosages of Flagyl because of my reaction last time, however Dr. Jemsek said that I probably reached the maximum reaction and doesn't think I will have such a strong response this time. I hope not!!! This will also be the first time I will be trying to work through different parts of my treatment. I would appreciate your prayers this next week.
Well, that is the summary. My appointment certainly contained quite a bit of information that was hard to swallow, but at the same time, I know that we serve a big God, a God who is able to move mountains that to us seem immovable. We are praying for God's mighty hand to move us in the direction we need to go in the area of my treatment, a job for Brian and a possible move. Until then, we are standing on his promises knowing that in Him, through Him and with Him, we can do all things through His strength alone. Thank you so much for all of your encouragement and prayers! We will update soon.
Friday, October 2, 2009
The Unknown!
Awww, the unknown...don't we all love it?! You would think with all of the things we have gone through that it would be such an easy thing to handle. Well, I guess Brian handles it really well. For myself, well it pretty much drives me crazy. LOL I just like to have a plan. Good grief, I have a spread sheet that forecasts our estimated future expenses and income. I am such a dork! God is definitely using this time to grow me in the area of trust for our future!
Most of the job application deadlines have closed and Brian received 4 interview requests out of the 9 he applied to. That is pretty good actually. Some students only received 2 or 3. This economy has definitely affected those "recently graduated" available accounting positions. Three of his interviews are next week and then one interview is the following week. We would appreciate your prayers. The competition is fierce and some of the jobs would require a move. That is huge for us as it's not very easy for us to be able to move with my illness. However, if an Atlanta position opened up for us, we would really consider the opportunity as it would get me closer to my doctor and we would be near my sis at the same time! Phoenix is another possibility for us, however that would be going in the opposite direction of my doc, so that would be a hard decision to make.
Personally, I am trying not to dwell on the "what ifs" as far as what we will do if nothing is offered. Brian seems to handle that part a bit better than me. I am so proud of him and the wonderful job he does at interviewing! He will be an incredible employee, it's just hard to get that initial foot in the door. If offers are extended after multiple rounds of interviewing, we should know by mid to end of November. God has always provided for us and we know He will come through this time also (I am working on rehersing that in my head daily!). Thank you so much for praying!
As far as a health update, I am doing much better than I was on Sunday and Monday. My last blog post was written in the morning/early afternoon and I wasn't feeling great towards the end of my treatment segment, but everything was pretty tolerable. However, after my last dose of this drug called Flagyl, I experienced a horrible herx reaction (the definition is in the link, "About Lyme", above) to the medication. My head felt so pressurized that it literally felt like my brain was being pushed through my skull. I know that is kind of a vivid picture, but I seriously can't describe it any other way. There was not pain, thank goodness, but the pressure was so bad that I had a hard time focusing and walking around. I called the nurse asap in the morning and she said it was probably brain inflammation (that is a pleasant thought) from the die-off reaction of the bacteria.
Here is a bit of education so you can understand. The Lyme bacteria is encased in a biofilm or small sac-like cell. In order for the antibiotics to work effectively, Flagyl is used to bust the biofilm open. When this happens, inflammation can occur. It is an incredible unpleasant and scary reaction (can cause seizures etc), but the nurse said as long as I can feel it decreasing and not getting worse, it's not cause for concern. She said my doctor would probably adjust medication in the future so the repeat of my severe episode doesn't happen again. The pressure slowly decreased and finally last night, I could no longer feel it. My next treatment segment will be Wednesday, October 14th, however I have a phone appointment with my doctor on October 12th. Medications and my treatment plan will be adjusted at that time. Current prayer requests would be that the symptoms of my treatment would continue to subside. I have noticed some minor cognitive issues popping up after this round, however my doctor had warned me that this might happen. Please pray that those will be kept at bay. Also, please pray that I can get some sleep at night. The more treatment I do, the worse the insomnia gets. I have become too good of friends with 2AM. Ha! Thanks for your prayers!
Finally, I did end up getting hired for the Phone English Tutoring job assisting Koreans with their conversational English. I will be working 4 to 5 hours in the afternoon/early evening, but the pay is not very good. You only get paid $2 per their 10 minute lesson. If you aren't full (which my schedule is not), then you do not make very much. It does beat having to do my old job, so I am thankful for that. We are praying hard that God will open up another part-time work at home opportunity in the future that would help me earn more consistent income for our family. If anyone knows of anything, let me know! I start on Sunday and I am a bit nervous. The training was not very extensive and you have to smash in a lot of things in 10 minutes before you can move onto the next student. I am just going to do my best for the Lord as I know that is all that matters. He will take care of the rest!
Well, that is our update for now! I can't believe it's October already. Things seem to be flying by!!! I hope you are enjoying this wonderful fall weather. You are in our prayers!! Blessings!
Most of the job application deadlines have closed and Brian received 4 interview requests out of the 9 he applied to. That is pretty good actually. Some students only received 2 or 3. This economy has definitely affected those "recently graduated" available accounting positions. Three of his interviews are next week and then one interview is the following week. We would appreciate your prayers. The competition is fierce and some of the jobs would require a move. That is huge for us as it's not very easy for us to be able to move with my illness. However, if an Atlanta position opened up for us, we would really consider the opportunity as it would get me closer to my doctor and we would be near my sis at the same time! Phoenix is another possibility for us, however that would be going in the opposite direction of my doc, so that would be a hard decision to make.
Personally, I am trying not to dwell on the "what ifs" as far as what we will do if nothing is offered. Brian seems to handle that part a bit better than me. I am so proud of him and the wonderful job he does at interviewing! He will be an incredible employee, it's just hard to get that initial foot in the door. If offers are extended after multiple rounds of interviewing, we should know by mid to end of November. God has always provided for us and we know He will come through this time also (I am working on rehersing that in my head daily!). Thank you so much for praying!
As far as a health update, I am doing much better than I was on Sunday and Monday. My last blog post was written in the morning/early afternoon and I wasn't feeling great towards the end of my treatment segment, but everything was pretty tolerable. However, after my last dose of this drug called Flagyl, I experienced a horrible herx reaction (the definition is in the link, "About Lyme", above) to the medication. My head felt so pressurized that it literally felt like my brain was being pushed through my skull. I know that is kind of a vivid picture, but I seriously can't describe it any other way. There was not pain, thank goodness, but the pressure was so bad that I had a hard time focusing and walking around. I called the nurse asap in the morning and she said it was probably brain inflammation (that is a pleasant thought) from the die-off reaction of the bacteria.
Here is a bit of education so you can understand. The Lyme bacteria is encased in a biofilm or small sac-like cell. In order for the antibiotics to work effectively, Flagyl is used to bust the biofilm open. When this happens, inflammation can occur. It is an incredible unpleasant and scary reaction (can cause seizures etc), but the nurse said as long as I can feel it decreasing and not getting worse, it's not cause for concern. She said my doctor would probably adjust medication in the future so the repeat of my severe episode doesn't happen again. The pressure slowly decreased and finally last night, I could no longer feel it. My next treatment segment will be Wednesday, October 14th, however I have a phone appointment with my doctor on October 12th. Medications and my treatment plan will be adjusted at that time. Current prayer requests would be that the symptoms of my treatment would continue to subside. I have noticed some minor cognitive issues popping up after this round, however my doctor had warned me that this might happen. Please pray that those will be kept at bay. Also, please pray that I can get some sleep at night. The more treatment I do, the worse the insomnia gets. I have become too good of friends with 2AM. Ha! Thanks for your prayers!
Finally, I did end up getting hired for the Phone English Tutoring job assisting Koreans with their conversational English. I will be working 4 to 5 hours in the afternoon/early evening, but the pay is not very good. You only get paid $2 per their 10 minute lesson. If you aren't full (which my schedule is not), then you do not make very much. It does beat having to do my old job, so I am thankful for that. We are praying hard that God will open up another part-time work at home opportunity in the future that would help me earn more consistent income for our family. If anyone knows of anything, let me know! I start on Sunday and I am a bit nervous. The training was not very extensive and you have to smash in a lot of things in 10 minutes before you can move onto the next student. I am just going to do my best for the Lord as I know that is all that matters. He will take care of the rest!
Well, that is our update for now! I can't believe it's October already. Things seem to be flying by!!! I hope you are enjoying this wonderful fall weather. You are in our prayers!! Blessings!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
