Hello Everyone! So, I just realized that I pretty much start off every post apologizing for not writing sooner. One of these days I am just going to have to write "on time". Not sure when that will be as next semester looks like it will get even busier than now. :)
I will give you a short update on my last round of treatment. It went from Nov. 4th until Sunday Nov. 8th. Oh good grief, I am totally late at making an update on here. Okay, to continue...the treatment segment was pretty rough. It was probably one of the hardest ones to get through. I won't list all my symptoms as I have done before, but just know that everything increased 10-fold. Brian laughs at me because right before I start my treatment segments, I always tell him that I wish Dr. J would speed up the time between dosages. However, then after I finish it, I am desperately thanking the Lord that Dr. J knows what I can handle and that he hasn't suggested doing anything even close to that. Out of all the days, Sunday was the worst. This round really kicked up my sensitivities so on top of dealing with really intense side effects, I temporarily became allergic to the world. For those of you who know how sensitive I usually am, it's hard to imagine it can get any worse, but it can! However, I use the word temporary because by about Tuesday, my system seemed to be calming down allergy-wise and I was able to eat the food that I had temporarily reacted too over the weekend. I get used to things coming and going as far as what I can tolerate, but it's never fun. I am a little apprehensive about what the future is going to look like as Dr. J does step up my treatment, but I also know that God will be protecting us every step on this journey. Brian just broke the news to me yesterday that my next treatment starts the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and also the Wednesday before Christmas! Boy is that bad timing. lol However, this year it will just be the two of us, so I will have plenty time to rest. If you could please pray that God would protect me and that my sensitivities wouldn't get worse, we would really appreciate it!
Another one of our major prayer requests is that I can start sleeping again. I have struggled with insomnia since beginning treatment, but it seems to keep getting worse. I used to be able to fall asleep by 2am, but now it's stretching out until 5am. The insomnia seems to have really taken a step in the wrong direction after this last treatment segment. Thankfully, I work in the afternoon and can sleep all morning, but I never feel rested. If this keeps up, we will be forced to rely on a medication to help. Dr. J wanted us to hold off until it was absolutely necessary because of how hard it is for me to find medication that I don't react to. So, if you could please pray that God would work in a mighty way and would help me to fall asleep A LOT sooner, we would appreciate it. I am on so much medication right now that we really don't want to have to add another to the mix.
We still have not decided whether or not we will see a doctor in CA to help with detox and other things related to Lyme, but not things Dr. J would usually work on. We have a couple of options and will probably have to make a decision in the next week or so because a trip will have to be planned for December if we decide to go. As you all know with my sensitivities, trips are kind of a nightmare for us. Plus, it's not like you make one trip and you are done with it. Consecutive trips would be a must and with Brian's new work schedule, it will not be easy for him to get away. So, we are praying to see if God wants us to make the jump or if we should just wait until I hopefully get well enough to travel. The question that we ponder is, will I get well enough to travel without seeing one of these doctors in CA? It's so important that I am able to travel sometime in the future because Dr. J wants to see me either in the spring or the summer. He will be in Washington DC by then and that is 37 hours driving. That is a really long trip for a healthy person so you can see our quandary. To give you an idea. I won't just have to be well enough to handle flying in an airplane, my sensitivities will have to be calmed down enough that I can eat food and drink water wherever we go. When we travel on our own, we have to bring all of our food, even water (we haven't found bottled water I tolerate yet). As everyone knows, there is no way an airliner is going to let me bring gallons of water and a cooler with food in it with me onto the plane. I think they would consider little old me a security risk. LOL Then there is us having to cart around our pillows, sheets, blankets (I am SO allergic to detergent that I can't even wear the gowns at a doctor's office/hospital visit), George Foreman Grill (that is what we use to cook, chicken, one of the few foods I can eat) and list goes on and on. That is why it's so hard! It would be a CRAZY day if anyone took a walk in our shoes. LOL I really wouldn't wish it on anyone! Sometimes it drives Brian and I absolutely insane and we are used to it. So, that is why a lot would have to change for me to be able to start flying places. We are definitely praying that God does a miracle in my body! We know that He can and we know that at this point, He is our only hope!
Here is a school update for us.....the semester is winding down and Brian and I are as busy as ever. Projects, assignments, tests and quizzes seem to be around every turn. Brian is SO looking forward to graduating in December. He is on his way to graduating with a 4.0 in accounting. I am SO proud of him! He will be glad to be done. He will work at the grocery store until the second week in January which is his tentative start date at his new job with KLK (an accounting firm in Tucson). Please pray for good health for Brian as he finishes. There is a lot of stuff going around at school and work.
As far as my school work goes, last week was the first week that I had a lot of trouble getting stuff done, however I did make it. Thankfully, my teachers have been wonderful to work with and they are aware that I am going through treatment. I do have a bit of leeway on assignments, but I try not to use that. I have one more semester where I have to take a class at UNK (for teacher state re-certification) and also take 6 hours at CU where I am getting my master's degree. I will be thankful to only have to take classes at one university.
Well, that is all for now! If I don't write before Thanksgiving, Brian and I want to wish all of you a blessed holiday and we hope and pray that you can share it with your loved ones!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
New job!
Hey everyone! Sorry, we haven't updated in awhile, there just hasn't been much to update and Brian and I have both been swamped with school and work. December can not get here fast enough! I (Dawn) wanted to write a quick update on the results of Brian's job interviews and also give you an update about my health and treatment this week.
To start with, Brian has accepted an offer with KLK, an accounting firm in Tucson. We were desperately praying that God would guide us to the perfect job for our family. There was a chance we were going to have to choose between Phoenix and Tucson, which would have been difficult. However, God decided for us, (Yay!) and Brian ended up not getting an offer from the firm in Phoenix. So, we are here to stay. There are many more "pros" on the side of staying in Tucson verses moving, so we are actually relieved that it worked out this way. Thanks Dad for always making us write those "pro" and "con" lists! I didn't believe you when I was young, but they are actually quite handy! lol :) Brian was given a wonderful salary and the company is really great. He likes the people he has met and also likes that it's a smaller firm of about 50. He will be working downtown, so the commute will not be too bad depending on where we end up living in the future. I am so proud and excited for him! He is really looking forward to only having to work one job and is ecstatic to be able to work as an auditor. He has discovered he really likes that line of work. His goal is to complete his 9 missing accounting hours that he needs for his CPA license this coming year and then to also take the CPA exam. He always impresses me with his ambition! I know he will be a wonderful CPA. The official start date for KLK is tentatively the second week in January. So, Brian will continue to work at Fry's until then. Praise the Lord for cheap Cobra Insurance from Fry's! Health benefits won't start until April, but we will be able to pay Cobra until then so we don't have to gap. It's SO nice to have this all ironed out. We feel so blessed that Brian got such a wonderful job offer in this economy. It's a tough market right now and competition is fierce. God is truly our provider!
Now onto a health update. Starting last week, I started having quite a lot of problems with my autonomic nervous system going crazy. It was strange because I am pretty far out from my last treatment segment. However, Lyme is so unpredictable and I also know the medication stays in your system for quite some time. My sensitivities have seem to have flared and so every day it has been an adventure as to whether I will react to what I call my "safe foods" or not. Thankfully, I haven't had any problems with my water and I have still been able to find something to eat; however, I have just not enjoyed being able to only eat about 10 items instead of 20. Oh well, I can feel blessed for things I can eat and the assurance that God will provide for all of my needs. It helps to imagine I'm eating something delicious when I am actually eating chicken for breakfast. :P We think it might have something to do with our neighbors that just moved in above us. Every time they run their dryer our entire apartment smells like the laundry isle at Wal-mart. It's terrible! We think the dryer hose empties into one shaft because as long as we run our dryer, the fumes won't come in. So that is what we have had to do, turn on our dryer whenever they use theirs. Good grief, the hoops we have to jump through, lol. I was thinking about going up and asking them when laundry day is so that I could be prepared. Ha! J/K
I have also struggled a lot with an irregular racing heart, temperature regulation (hot then cold and even chills) among other unpleasant symptoms. Plus, it's starting to be a regular occurrence of not being able to fall asleep until 2-3am. Thankfully, I don't work in the morning and can sleep in, but you don't ever feel rested when you are on that schedule. It's been kind of a tough week, but I am trying to keep my focus on God knowing that He will carry me through this. I started another treatment round today. That has made things a lot worse. It seems like the more treatment rounds I go through, the tougher they get. I have been extremely nauseous and dizzy while having to endure the bone pain and overall body aches and this is only the first day! Thankfully, I only have one more day of work and then two days off. So, that is my health update. If you could please pray that my treatment would be bearable and that my sensitivities and symptoms would subside. I have so much to do school work wise that I really can't afford to take a week off.
This brings us to our final prayer request. Both Brian and I are getting down to crunch time with our classes. I am extremely overwhelmed with all that has to be done while I seem to be getting sicker and Brian's plate is full with handling all the household responsibilities (grocery shopping etc.) while trying to finish his last semester. If you could please pray that God would multiply our time and efforts in the area of school work. Also, please pray that Brian would stay healthy. He is pretty tired with everything going on. He was able to take some time on Monday and Tuesday to rest as he was starting to get sick. So, he is better for now. Only 5 weeks to go! We can see the finish line! Thank you again for your prayers! I will update after we get done with this treatment segment to let you know how everything goes and hopefully I will be doing better! :)
Sending (((Hugs))) and prayers to all of you!!
To start with, Brian has accepted an offer with KLK, an accounting firm in Tucson. We were desperately praying that God would guide us to the perfect job for our family. There was a chance we were going to have to choose between Phoenix and Tucson, which would have been difficult. However, God decided for us, (Yay!) and Brian ended up not getting an offer from the firm in Phoenix. So, we are here to stay. There are many more "pros" on the side of staying in Tucson verses moving, so we are actually relieved that it worked out this way. Thanks Dad for always making us write those "pro" and "con" lists! I didn't believe you when I was young, but they are actually quite handy! lol :) Brian was given a wonderful salary and the company is really great. He likes the people he has met and also likes that it's a smaller firm of about 50. He will be working downtown, so the commute will not be too bad depending on where we end up living in the future. I am so proud and excited for him! He is really looking forward to only having to work one job and is ecstatic to be able to work as an auditor. He has discovered he really likes that line of work. His goal is to complete his 9 missing accounting hours that he needs for his CPA license this coming year and then to also take the CPA exam. He always impresses me with his ambition! I know he will be a wonderful CPA. The official start date for KLK is tentatively the second week in January. So, Brian will continue to work at Fry's until then. Praise the Lord for cheap Cobra Insurance from Fry's! Health benefits won't start until April, but we will be able to pay Cobra until then so we don't have to gap. It's SO nice to have this all ironed out. We feel so blessed that Brian got such a wonderful job offer in this economy. It's a tough market right now and competition is fierce. God is truly our provider!
Now onto a health update. Starting last week, I started having quite a lot of problems with my autonomic nervous system going crazy. It was strange because I am pretty far out from my last treatment segment. However, Lyme is so unpredictable and I also know the medication stays in your system for quite some time. My sensitivities have seem to have flared and so every day it has been an adventure as to whether I will react to what I call my "safe foods" or not. Thankfully, I haven't had any problems with my water and I have still been able to find something to eat; however, I have just not enjoyed being able to only eat about 10 items instead of 20. Oh well, I can feel blessed for things I can eat and the assurance that God will provide for all of my needs. It helps to imagine I'm eating something delicious when I am actually eating chicken for breakfast. :P We think it might have something to do with our neighbors that just moved in above us. Every time they run their dryer our entire apartment smells like the laundry isle at Wal-mart. It's terrible! We think the dryer hose empties into one shaft because as long as we run our dryer, the fumes won't come in. So that is what we have had to do, turn on our dryer whenever they use theirs. Good grief, the hoops we have to jump through, lol. I was thinking about going up and asking them when laundry day is so that I could be prepared. Ha! J/K
I have also struggled a lot with an irregular racing heart, temperature regulation (hot then cold and even chills) among other unpleasant symptoms. Plus, it's starting to be a regular occurrence of not being able to fall asleep until 2-3am. Thankfully, I don't work in the morning and can sleep in, but you don't ever feel rested when you are on that schedule. It's been kind of a tough week, but I am trying to keep my focus on God knowing that He will carry me through this. I started another treatment round today. That has made things a lot worse. It seems like the more treatment rounds I go through, the tougher they get. I have been extremely nauseous and dizzy while having to endure the bone pain and overall body aches and this is only the first day! Thankfully, I only have one more day of work and then two days off. So, that is my health update. If you could please pray that my treatment would be bearable and that my sensitivities and symptoms would subside. I have so much to do school work wise that I really can't afford to take a week off.
This brings us to our final prayer request. Both Brian and I are getting down to crunch time with our classes. I am extremely overwhelmed with all that has to be done while I seem to be getting sicker and Brian's plate is full with handling all the household responsibilities (grocery shopping etc.) while trying to finish his last semester. If you could please pray that God would multiply our time and efforts in the area of school work. Also, please pray that Brian would stay healthy. He is pretty tired with everything going on. He was able to take some time on Monday and Tuesday to rest as he was starting to get sick. So, he is better for now. Only 5 weeks to go! We can see the finish line! Thank you again for your prayers! I will update after we get done with this treatment segment to let you know how everything goes and hopefully I will be doing better! :)
Sending (((Hugs))) and prayers to all of you!!
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