First week down!

One week down, 27 weeks to go.  LOL Maybe, I shouldn't look at it this way until we get a little bit closer to the end.  I am thankful for this week.  It has definitely stretched my faith, and I am learning to press forward even when it gets tough.  God has been so faithful, and it has been awesome for us to watch Him work!  I will give you a run down of our week.

On Monday, bright and early, my Mom and I left Tucson at 6:30am to get to my physician's office by 9:00.  We were blessed to get to be a part of the Phoenix rush hour traffic. :) When we arrived, introductions were made between my Mom, the office staff, the doctor and the two infusion nurses (who are AMAZING by the way).  It's like one big family there.  Everyone knows you and treats you like a friend or a relative.  It's such an encouraging place. 

They accessed my port which includes putting a needle into my port and sealing it up so that the outside air cannot get through the opening.  As I mentioned previously, it's imperative to keep this sterile and clean so that no bacteria can enter through the tubing that goes straight to your heart.  We started my supplemental therapy which includes IV vitamins and minerals (called a Meyer's Cocktail), a push of Glutathione (that means it enters your port by attaching a syringe full of the drug/medication/supplement to your tubing and slowly "pushing" the med into your system...this is instead of getting the medication from an IV bag or glass jar), and we did IV Vitamin C. 

Thankfully, I didn't have any allergic reactions.  My doctor came in and talked to us during the week about the symptoms I was experiencing (rashes, flushing, itching, chest tightness/pressure etc.) when I was doing my infusions, and she said that she feels strongly that they are autonomic nervous system reactions and not true allergies.  We tried adjusting an oral medication and it did help me to improve.  So, I get to spend a lot of my time during the infusions ignoring crazy symptoms. :)  God is definitely helping me to learn what it means to trust and at the same time, it's kind of a relief to just "let go" and let Him take the reigns.  Up until this point, Brian and I had to be so careful and cautious about everything I did or came in contact with because we never had a physician who truly understood both sides of my conditions.  I will also admit that sometimes I tried to control too much.  So, God is helping me to change in this area.  Yay for spiritual growth!!  It's also such a breath of fresh air to be in the hands of my doctor who "gets it"!

By the end of the week, I was getting 37,000mg of IV Vitamin C.  Wednesday's and Thursday's infusions were the ones where I started experiencing the "herx" reaction from the bacteria starting to die off.  I had dizziness, chest pain/pressure, air hunger, nausea, head pressure and bone/joint pain.  This isn't anything compared to what will happen when I am on antibiotics, but the symptoms were still there.  To me, it's a good sign because I can tell it's working.  This next week, I will do 50,000mg each day as that is the dose my doctor wants me to be at.  She is doing everything slowly, which is what my body seems to want.  I am tolerating the treatments, so it's working!

I want to tell you another amazing part of this experience as I spend about 5 to 6 hours a day at my physician's office getting infusions.  It has been fun to meet some of her patients and believe it or not, a lot of them are Christians.  We have been able to talk about God, faith and ministry.  It's also exciting to hear about their journey and where they came from, how sick they were and how well they are doing now.  It has been such an encouraging time.  I thank the Lord again and again for bringing me to this clinic and for directing us down this path.  I would have never thought in a million years that I would have been able to tolerate any type of treatment or that I would have found a place that makes you feel like a part of their family the minute you step in the door.  It is such a blessing!

Allergy-wise, I can tell the treatment is stirring up quite a bit in my system as I have started reacting to a lot more things (water and food), but it seems like when one door closes, God has opened a window providing a substitute water to drink or food alternatives.  It has enabled me to press on through my treatment.  We are all hoping that we will get to a point where a switch will flip and my sensitivities will start decreasing instead of increasing.  What a day that will be! I believe God can do it!!! :)

Well, that is all for now.  Next week, they will start training me on how to do my own IVs so we can start doing more infusions at home.  Then, I will start antibiotics the week of Sept. 13th.  Wow, it's coming up fast! I do get a 4 day break from treatment because of the holiday.  I am excited to spend some time with my husband.  He has been working a lot this week because he is assigned to a big audit.  I miss him and it will be good to have him home for a bit.  So, our current prayer requests are much of the same that I have been writing about during the month of August.  If you could add to the list a prayer for my allergic reactions.  If you could please pray that they would start decreasing and that we could get on a larger food rotation diet and that I would continue to have a water that I can drink.  Water seems to come and go, but God is always faithful to provide for all my needs in His timing.  Thank you for your prayers! I will update towards the end of next week! Blessings to all of you and may the Lord reign in each of your lives!! :) Have a wonderful holiday weekend!