The Battle

Hey Everyone! I am sorry it has taken me awhile to update our blog. We had a very busy weekend and grad school has pretty much overwhelmed me! :P I will start with an update on how last weekend went. Many of you knew that we were going to go to a local church and have me prayed for. I had sent an e-mail ahead of time just asking those that would pray for me to not where any perfume/cologne/aftershave etc. Two days before we were supposed to go, they called me and asked me if it would be alright for them to just pray for me over the phone. They thought it would be better with all of my sensitivities, and I will fully admit I probably would be able to concentrate more on the prayer time instead of wondering when we had to leave before my reactions spun out of control. :) So, we set it up for them to call me around 9:15am Saturday morning. However, before I tell you about the prayer time, I am going to tell you what happened the night before.

The reason why I titled this post "The Battle" is because of the intense spiritual battle that wages in the spiritual realm. A lot of us don't think about it unless we do mission work or outreach where it is obvious there is an evil presence. In fact, I will tell you that Brian and I just don't talk about it much. I would guess that most churches don't spend a lot of time on it either. However, it is very real and we got a taste of it firsthand on Friday. In general, it's my personal opinion and that of so many of my Christian friends that the enemy really uses Lyme Disease to attack Christians. I have been amazed at the number of people who have this disease who are strong believers and were serving in ministry and had to resign from everything, be housebound and have become too ill to carry on normal day to day activities. Lyme Disease hits your cognitive function so it becomes difficult to read the bible, pray and memorize verses. It keeps you isolated from Christian fellowship and only a handful of physicians validate the disease and the need for long-term treatment. So you fight a torturous uphill battle getting others to believe that you are sick and support you when you don't get better in 6 months to a year. I feel this disease has a big spiritual component!

So, now back to my story...On Friday afternoon, I went to my doctor's office to get my PORT flushed. I have not been using it lately because we have been in the process or ordering and receiving supplies, so when it's not in use, you have to have it flushed and re-loaded with heparin every 30 days. Thankfully, it flushed perfectly and there were no adverse affects. However, later that night, I developed chills (no fever), chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, was extremely shaky and my heart rate was consistently between 110 and 120bpm. Now, all of those I have experienced before, but not all at once. However, even with that, I dread going to the hospital as I usually react to the place in about 20 minutes and they never find anything. Plus, I did not want to miss my prayer call in the morning, so I just toughed it out all night. It was horrible, and I did not get one hour of sleep.

At 9:15am, the prayer team called. It was such an encouraging time. They told me a lot of encouraging things that God had laid on their hearts when they prayed over my situation. God also gave them incredible insight as to the spiritual battle and bondage that we have been in because of this illness and our current restrictions. They prayed for a break-through and gave me Isaiah 60 which is a passage that all 3 of them had sensed God lead them to. For about 10 to 15 minutes as they prayed and I talked to them, all my symptoms were completely gone. It was amazing and refreshing. I didn't feel any immediate healing other than a break from the symptom list above; however, I could could sense God's presence in a real way. However, as soon as I hung up the phone, all the symptoms came roaring back within 5 minutes. That is why I said I feel like this is a spiritual battle as much as a physical one.

Well, I only lasted about one hour more toughing out the symptoms before we ended up in the ER. As I said above, usually at the hospital, I react to all of the chemicals in the air within a short time frame. This particular ER sets me off in about 20 minutes; however, this time, I did not react!!! We were in there for almost 6 LONG hours and I never once got a rash. I even made it through a VQ scan (Nuke scan) where they have you breathe in a gas and send a radioactive substance through your IV and still no reactions! We were praising God! They didn't find anything (as usual), so it must have been a major Lyme flare. My guess is it's because I have been off IV for so long. I have a feeling the bacteria in my body has been celebrating. However, it's just a bummer that we had to spend so much money to find that out. You don't mess around with heart stuff and when my heart rate was elevated to 110 to 120bpm constantly for 15 hours, it was necessary to get it checked out; however, we will now have over $1000 bill to show for it since my insurance will only cover 30%. Time to say our motto "The Lord will provide!" :)

So, that was our adventure. Sunday was a pretty bad day for me. I felt awful from the tests the day before, but we did notice my chemical sensitivities improve a bit. I have been able to go more places this week. Now, we are nowhere near where I need to be for life to get back to normal (hmmm....what was that like? I forget, lol), but baby steps are always appreciated. Both Brian and I are just trying to keep our eyes focused on Jesus with an open heart that is satisfied in Him and Him alone, and not our circumstances. We are still believing God for complete healing, and we will continue to wait on Him for my break-through. Brian's thinking about writing a Christian book about our story and also having hope in the midst of suffering. We have definitely learned a lot on this journey, and we are praying that God will use it for His glory. Who knows, maybe we can help others who are walking a physical trial too!

On Tuesday, I will start IV therapy again. I don't know what to expect as I have been off since Christmas. I am preparing myself for it to be hard, but praying that it will be easy. :) We did find out that my adrenals aren't working correctly. Apparently, my cortisol levels are flipped. They should be low in the evenings and high in the mornings and mine are the opposite. This is probably one reason why I have insomnia at night and no energy in the morning. So, we are going to try and flip them back. I actually have quite a bit of new stuff to try (meds and supplements) and get on in the next two weeks before my phone appointment with my Lyme physician. So, if you could be praying that I would be able to tolerate it all, that would be awesome!

School is really tough. In fact, when I got the syllabus for both of my classes, I cried. I knew these classes were going to be hard, but they are EXTREMELY hard. That on top of everything else is just plain overwhelming. I am exhausted after working each day and it's really hard for me to study when I feel so cruddy at night. Then, I don't sleep well, so I have to catch up in the mornings before I start work and well...you get the huge problem I am running into. That leaves little time where I am coherent enough to work on my grad projects. The perfectionist in me wants to get a perfect score in these classes and give it my all; however, physically, I am not sure that will be possible. I am going to have to find a balance and I kind of stink at it. :) I'll still shoot for graduating with a 4.0, but I have promised Brian I won't let it kill me. :)

Well, that is it for now. I'll update towards the end of next week/weekend to let you know how IV therapy is going. I hope you had a good week! Congrats, you made it to Friday! Yipee! :)

Quick update!

Happy Tuesday Everyone! I wanted to write a quick update before school starts, and I start back up on IV therapy. We have had some praises lately. We were able to reschedule my doctor's appointment in CA for April 8th. Yay! Also, we were able to order all of my IV supplies through my NMD and they should arrive Wednesday or Thursday. On Friday, I will go and have my port accessed just so new heparin can be put in. This has to happen every 30 days when you are not actively using it so it doesn't clot. Please pray that there would be no problems. I haven't gaped this long from using it before. Our tentative plan if all the IV supplies arrive is to start up IV therapy this coming Monday. We are still trying to iron out last minute details, but that is our hope.

Another praise that we had was that I (Dawn) got a scholarship for graduate school. It didn't cover all my tuition, but it covered a portion of it which means we will have more money for treatment. Yay God! I do start school tomorrow (well technically...it's online and self-paced, but the official start date is tomorrow). Please pray for this semester. Like I said before, I don't really have a choice as to whether or not I go to graduate school right now for financial reasons. So, I need make it through the semester. However, I have heard from students and teachers, the two classes I am taking are really intense. I am just praying God will help me to make it through!

Finally, the last praise that we had was that I was able to start working at my old job again. I was on a medical leave of absence and probably would have preferred to stay that way during the next six months; however, that was not feasible for us financially since my insurance has stopped paying for treatment. This past week I trained and took the tutoring exam and passed. I started tutoring again on Sunday. I really missed teaching, so I am glad to be back; however, it will be hard to keep up with everything physically this semester. Again, I am just praying God will help me make it through and plastering Philippians 4:13 on my forehead. :)

Yesterday, I put together an e-mail and sent it to the prayer team at the church we want to go to on Saturday to be prayed for. We had to request that anyone who would be around me would not wear any perfume, cologne, aftershave or smelly lotion so that I am able to be in there longer than one minute. :) I haven't heard a response, but we are hoping to hear from them so we can proceed. If we don't hear from them, we might still try to go just trusting God that He will protect me from any serious reactions. Our life has been one big faith walk and this is the biggest step we have taken!

Well, that's all for now. Brian is in the middle of studying for the next section of the CPA exam that he is supposed to take the second week in February. He is also still trying to work on his classes. He should have more time now that I will be so busy (I tend to be a chatterbox and apparently a distraction, lol). Thanks for reading our update! Have a blessed week! :)

Faith-Stretching Prayer

I have thought about what kind of post this might be for the last couple of days, but really have not had any kind of revelation. There are a lot of things going through my Lyme brain (which sometimes is a bit scary, lol), but I don't know what to say or maybe even how to eloquently put it down on paper. I am going to try though in hopes that it will help others who are struggling with this very thing.

Before I give you our update, I want to share something with you that up until I started typing tonight for this blog post, I wasn't sure if I would even share it. However, a blog is supposed to be a place where you can share your feelings, ideas and thoughts. Sometimes, I think I hold back a bit because I am nervous about what my readers will think, and I am not totally sure who is reading it. :) However, when I read other's blogs, the people I learn the most from and the ones that touch my heart are the blogs where the writers provide an open window into their struggles, trials, celebrations and achievements. So, here it goes...are you ready? :)

For awhile now, Brian and I have been thinking, praying, thinking, praying and thinking some more about whether or not we should go and have people pray over me. You might think this is a really easy decision..."why not", "give it a chance"..."you have nothing to lose" right? Well, you are right in some ways, but let me share with you a story so you know why we wanted to "pray and think about it" before taking any action.

When I first got sick in December of 2005, we were in crisis mode with full assurance that we would be out in a couple of months. That's how scary trials work right?!? We had seen others walk through hardships, sudden illnesses and accidents, and it always seemed like everyone recovered quickly. I am sure there were people that suffered long-term pain or battles with cancer or other diseases, but at the age of 25, those types of things were not what our friends were experiencing. With that, we headed into our trial with a thought that life would get better around the next turn. Well, that turn turned into a long and twisty road. We kept praying for our doorway out and believed with all of our heart that it was coming. We were supported by our friends and families. We received cards, financial donations and phone calls and were told countless times that God was going to heal me. It helped us endure a lot during those first seven months when I could only eat a specific kind of chicken and drink a specific kind of water, when we received no answers from the countless physicians we met with and when we left everything we had in Nebraska to move to Arizona to improve my health as suggested by a physician.

I remember sitting on a little igloo cooler with my husband surrounded by boxes right after his parents and sister left to go back to Nebraska thinking what in the world are we doing here. However, since we were both firstborns and not ones to wallow or let boxes stay sitting there unpacked, we began to tackle our big "to do" list and started trying to make Arizona our home. We were in coasting and survival mode and it was working, but we were getting tired very quickly.

It was about 4 months later when we heard about a healing conference taking place at a local church. At that time, we were desperate. My chemical sensitivities and allergies had increasingly become worse and our world was getting smaller and smaller. We had no answers from any physician as to why I was so sick and seemed to be on a downward spiral. Brian was working two jobs to help make ends meet and we were visiting the doctor's offices and hospitals off and on for heart issues, horrible flushing episodes (the kind where you feel like you are going to pass out) and allergic reactions. The bills were piling in, and I was starving as my food choices were dwindling by the day. We needed a way out. In our minds, we were SO done with this trial (or so we thought). So, when we heard about the conference, we jumped at it. Within a short time, we came to the conclusion that maybe this was why God sent us to Arizona. We were ecstatic. We read scripture and felt the Lord speaking to us and guiding us to go, so we went. I was prayed for at the end and as you might expect, nothing happened. Now that in itself should not effect this upcoming opportunity, but it was our mindset at the time that threw us into kind of a tailspin (well, more me than Brian because I tend to be a tad emotional, lol).

You see, when nothing happened at that conference, I was devastated. I struggled with belief, wrestled with pain and hurt all the while trying to pound into my small brain the truths that I know about God instead of caving into the tidal wave of emotions that I was drowning in daily. It was a fight within and it lasted a LONG time. I switched into obedience mode when it came to my faith. I did the right thing, said the right thing and never dropped my faith, but my heart was so full of discouragement and devestation that I kept God at arms length. In obedience mode I looked at scripture, read about biblical miracles and even heard and saw modern day miracles. I believed that God could heal, but where the gap fell was whether or not he wanted to do it for us.

I will be the first one to say that I definitely don't "have a right" to be healed. It's by God's grace and sovereignty that those types of miracles take place. However, I guess, over the years, I just gave up on the fact that He wanted to do it for me. God was silent (or so I thought), and I was obedient. I knew the right things to say and even believed them, but when it came to the topic of healing and my health, I ran away out of fear. I just couldn't imagine going through the devastation and disappointment of the possible "No" or "Not right now" once again. Five years came and went, and I never quite recovered until the last year or so. That was when I came to the realization that if I ever was going to go somewhere and have someone pray over me, my heart would have to change first in preparation.

So, I have spent the last year wrestling and working on heart issues in this area. I wouldn't say that I am 100% there, but I feel a lot better about it than I did a year ago. I think there is still a "faith gap" when it comes to whether or not I believe God would do it for us; however, all we need is faith the size of a mustard seed right?! Recently, Brian and I listened to a sermon where the pastor was talking about the paralytic outside the gate who comes in contact with Peter. He asks Peter for money and Peter obviously doesn't have any; however, he says that he can give him something better and tells the paralytic to get up from his mat and walk. The pastor's point was that as far as he could tell, this man did not have extreme faith before he was healed. He was just obedient. I think that was another road block that I kept coming to. I guess I kept putting it off because I felt like my faith wasn't strong enough yet; however, guess what?!! It's not about me or my faith, it's all about God and what He wants to do. As Brian would say quoting from the Chronicles of Narnia, "He is not a tame lion".

Here is the link to the Sermon if you want to hear it...it was really good! You will need to look for the title of the sermon as this link only goes to their podcast home page: "Vintage Us - God Heals"

So where does that leave us? Well, we have decided to go have people pray over me on Saturday, January 22nd. I know, it sounds funny to plan it out like that, but there is an awesome church that has prayer teams two Saturdays a month who pray for the sick. As with all of our trips and adventures (even if they are in-town), we have to call ahead and let them know of my chemical sensitivities, and especially in this situation. It's one thing to be sitting across the room from someone who has cologne and perfume on (I have about a 10min to 15min window if that happens); however, it's a totally different scenario if I am one foot from those individuals (I would have about 1min of tolerance before we'd have to leave). So, people have to be warned that I am coming (if Brian was here he would make some sarcastic remark, lol).

I guess I share all of this so you can be praying for us. This is something we don't normally do (growing up in a completely non-charismatic background), but we feel God pushing us down this path. However, this time, I can say with confidence that if the result is "No" or "Not right now", I am okay with that. I trust in the Lord's sovereignty and would rather be ill and in the center of His will than healthy and in a place He does not want me to be. Do I have enough faith to be healed? Hmmm...I am not sure, but it's not about me. It's about God and what He wants to do. I do know that we serve an amazing God who knows no boundaries. His power is far greater than anything our minds can comprehend, and I have complete trust that His will is perfect and will unfold for us in His timing. However, with that said, that doesn't mean that we wouldn't appreciate everyone's prayers for this day. Please pray for no reactions and most of all that we would experience God in a new fresh way whether that is through a super-natural healing or just a touch by the Holy Spirit.

Okay, there, it's out there. Now you know and now I have accountability to actually go that day. :) I will be honest with you and admit that I am nervous, but it's a nervous excitement just to be taking a step of faith even if nothing comes of it.

Onto a quick a update...We have been working with my local NMD to order all of my IV supplies, and I can say successfully that we have located and ordered all of them. The manufacture that makes the Heparin Flushes that I use is out of stock until mid-year, so I am going to have to use a different kind for my port. Please be praying for no reactions as I HAVE to have Heparin in my port at the end of each day that I do infusions so that it does not clot. Also, we are going to have to change our April appointment with my Lyme doctor in San Francisco because of Brian's work schedule. This office is extremely busy, so please be praying for a smooth transition to another day.

Another change for me is that I am going to have to go back to work. It's a home-based job where I tutor South Korean students in English 3 to 4 hours a day.  I loved my job before, and I am excited to get back to teaching, but I have NO IDEA how I am going to do this on top of treatment on top of taking the two hardest classes of my master's degree. I am pretty overwhelmed just thinking about it.  However, to be able to continue to afford my IV's (since our insurance is no longer paying) and our trips to San Francisco to see my Lyme doctor, I have got to bring in some money.  I have to go to school full-time this semester out of financial necessity (it's a long story, but feel free to write me personally and ask me if you are curious).  It's just a rotten place to be in; however, I know God has the power to sustain me through it and boy will I be relying on Him on an entire new level.

I have not been doing good health-wise lately. I think it's because I have only been on oral amoxicillin as we have been trying to line up all my IVs; however, I have had a lot of neurological symptoms surfacing (some old and some new) and also a ton of nausea and dizziness. I think the "electric shock" sensations are the craziest. It literally makes my head or limbs jerk (depending on where it travels) and no I am not touching an electrical outlet when it happens. :) I have also had extreme fatigue and a lot of joint/bone pain. I am not too surprised since I have been off IV for about 3 weeks now, but it's never fun to have to deal with all of the rotten symptoms. Hopefully, we will be able to start IV up again in the next week or two. I am just waiting on all of my supplies to be shipped. Who knows...maybe God will heal me, and I will be able to donate all of those supplies! :) Finally, please pray that I can continue to get on the medications and supplements that my new doctor has me on. We have had 2 unsuccessful attempts, but have a few more to try. It's hard not to get discouraged because some of these things would really help me if I could take them, but again, God is in control and He knows what my body needs and what it doesn't.

Well, this has turned out to be REALLY long! I hope in someway that this post will minister to others or maybe encourage others to take that step of faith. I know what it's like to wrestle through the pain and hurt, but God is always faithful especially through "Faith-Stretching Prayer".

2011 arrives along with big changes!

Happy New Year! I know it has been a LONG time since I updated. Okay, it just feels like a LONG time to me because so much has happened and I haven't been able to share a lot with you until now. However, one chapter has come to a close and I feel like it's time I bring everyone up to speed. Before I do that, I wanted to make an announcement....

Awhile ago, I mentioned that I started making Lyme Disease Awareness beaded bracelets. Well, I finally have the website up and running and the bracelets are available for purchase. The business is called "Hope Creations" and 10% of all proceeds will go to "Turn the Corner Foundation" which is an organization that assists in training physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme Disease and is also involved in medical research. It is my hope that these bracelets will help spread awareness about a devestating disease that impacts so many lives on so many levels. Please feel free to pass the word along! Here is the link: Hope Creations.

Okay, now onto our update. The thing we have been praying about, but haven't been able to share up until this point is that I am going to be changing doctors. We have spent a lot of time seeking the Lord's direction, and we feel like this is the right move. I am not going to share too much about why except for the fact that my case is extremely complicated with my inability to detox, my allergies to meds and supplements and finding the right combination to help kill the Lyme bacteria. The disease is complicated to treat in general, but you add my other issues and I definitely give doctors a challenge. :) My current physician was able to get me started with IV treatment and did help with my nutrition, but we have had a lot of trouble getting my body to detox so that my liver enzymes don't ride a weekly roller coaster. We also were struggling to figure out how I would get to my weekly appointments because the doctor's office is 2 hours away from us and Brian doesn't like/trust my driving skills since Lyme has hit me cognitively especially on treatment days. Financially, treatment at this office was getting too expensive for us as we just got a letter in the mail telling us that my insurance would no longer be paying for my treatment. So, after much prayer, we decided to pursue a different avenue.

God did something amazing and opened up an appointment on December 27th with the PA of one of the top Lyme doctors in the country who is based in San Francisco, CA. The plan was to try and leave on December 26th at around 4:00am (I know it's a horrible hour, lol). However, the night before I went to the kitchen to get a drink of water around midnight (a total God thing) and saw that there was water everywhere on the floor and pouring out of our dishwasher (that was not on...go figure). So, it took us about an hour to clean-up the mess and then on about 3 hours of sleep, we left for California that morning.

I was ecstatic to be going on this trip. It was a gift for us to be able to go somewhere we had never been and see places that were so beautiful even if we could only sight-see from the car. :) My friend, who has multiple chemical sensitivities like myself, had told us about a hotel that she stayed at in San Francisco successfully. That is so important as you can only imagine the chemicals, air fresheners etc. that are usually in hotel rooms. We called ahead, and they were willing to clean according to our specifications-I was fine. We still had to bring our own water (since I am allergic to every bottled water or anything from the tap) which was a challenge to figure out how to bring 6 gallons. However, my clever husband found these HUGE 2 gallon glass containers (they looked like gigantic cookie jars) and we filled them to the top. It worked out perfectly. Can you believe all the little things we have to do for a 3 day trip? It's crazy! :) Always an adventure, let me tell you.

On Monday, December 27th, I had my appointment. It went very well. We were so impressed by the PA's knowledge in how to treat Lyme Disease, and also how to help me with my chemical sensitivities and detox issues. She gave us about 7 new things to try and also adjusted my antibiotics. For the first time, I felt like I didn't have to run my own treatment and make requests to implement what the top doctors are doing. We came away from that appointment with total peace. The PA did say that my case is so complicated (not surprising, lol) that I will be treated and seen by the main doctor from now on. She will do phone appointments, but he will be the one seeing me in the office and overseeing my case. We have a phone appointment to discuss my progress on Feb. 8th and on April 22nd we will travel back to San Francisco to see the main doctor.

Brian and I did try and get up early so we could see the Golden Gate Bridge from the car (something I have wanted to do for a long time); however, the weather did not cooperate and we were only able to see about 20 feet in front of us because of the fog. So sad! Brian wanted a picture near the bridge so we took what we could get and ended up with a lovely shot of the toll booths (not too mention my handsome husband!). We will be going up there 3 or 4 times a year, so I am sure we will get other opportunities where the weather decides to be our friend.

On our way home, we had the opportunity to visit a precious friend of mine who I have met on this journey. She is also suffering from Lyme Disease along with her husband. Their faith is so strong and is always such an encouragement. They are true testimony of what it looks like to walk through a difficult and long trial while keeping their eyes focused on Jesus. This is such a difficult disease as it hits you on so many levels (the physical torment, isolation, financially, and emotionally). I would appreciate you lifting this young couple in your prayers. God has major plans for them, and I believe that complete healing will come for both of them!

Overall, it was such a wonderful trip even though I didn't feel the best. It was great to be able to spend a lot of time with my husband and it gave us a small glimpse of what life used to be like when we would travel long distances and see new places.
Once we got home, we had another praise. For awhile now, we have struggled to find a local doctor that would accept me as a patient (I have been outright denied 3 times because of Lyme) and a doctor who would at least agree to support my treatment enough to be there for emergencies or to handle my maintenance prescriptions not related to Lyme Disease.

Well, we found one! A friend of mine had suggested a local NMD (naturopathic physician). I had an appointment with her this past Thursday, and it was AMAZING. I think my jaw might have been on the floor the whole time. She was not only willing to support me locally, but also willing to take a back seat to my Lyme doctor's protocol. She doesn't know a lot about Lyme Disease, but is excited for the opportunity to learn from one of the top treating physicians. She said she would be my "IV monkey". I find that statement humorous, but honestly, that is exactly what we needed. Her specialty is working with thyroid, adrenal and hormone issues, so I will get help in that area too. She even went so far to say that she would be willing to order my IV supplies from the same manufacturing company old doctor used so we could avoid any allergic reactions as much as possible. Brian and I walked out of that appointment truly in awe of what God did. All praise and glory to him! He took what looked like a very bleak situation and flipped it to be an amazing gift.

Whoa, this is getting long, lol. That is what I get for waiting so long to do an update. We did have a great Christmas. My parents were here and my sister was able to fly in on Christmas Eve. Brian had about 11 days off of work, so it was really nice to be able to spend that time together as a family.

I am going to start to wrap this up as I am sure your eyes are getting tired of reading, lol. Here are some of our current prayer requests:

• Please be praying that I can get my IV treatment lined up. I need to get some price quotes from some infusion companies and also get a script. Please pray for all the details to fall into place. We are trusting God that I won't react to any of the new IV materials. We are going to try and keep things as identical as possible; however, I am sure we won't be able to obtain everything that I was using. Also, please be praying that I will be able to take the new supplements/herbs and drugs. It's always such a challenge for us; however, it's necessary if I want to have a chance at getting better.

• Please pray for our finances. As I said above, my insurance is no longer covering our treatment. My treatment in the fall really took a lot of our money. To be on the other side and know that there have only been small improvements, it's pretty hard to swallow. We only have a small amount (in the big scheme of things) left and it's scary to look at my needs and what we have and see the LARGE gap. However, we serve a huge God who has come through for us again and again. We are trusting with all of our might that God will provide. He has done it before, and we know He will do it again.

• Please pray for wisdom about what I should do about work. In August, I took a leave of absence from my job because of treatment. I got very sick when it's my treatment days, so working would have been very difficult. Also, I was taking weekly trips to the doctor and it would have never worked out. I am still very sick and now, we are kind of stuck. With my current health condition and treatment along with studying, it's hard to imagine how I will manage working. However, I look at our budget and see the need and so it makes me want to do something about it. Brian doesn't think I should go back yet, but I feel the financial pressure. Please pray that we would have wisdom at what to do.

• Please pray for Brian. He is under a lot of pressure working towards obtaining his CPA license. He has the next exam section to study for while also trying to complete 2 college classes that he needs to fulfill the overall credit hour requirements for the license. He is very tired, and I can tell that our life pressures are wearing on him. Please pray for strength, energy and perseverance.

Well, that's it folks! Sorry this was so long, but I hope you will now have a clear picture of everything that has been going on. Blessings to all of you!