Hello folks!
I can't believe how fast January has gone by. It's so crazy that we are one month into 2012. March will be here before we know it and then I turn 23...jk...it's more like 32, but I like reading the numbers backwards better. :)
Things are starting to settle down after our fun adventure in San Francisco. Praise the Lord! My gallbladder is pain is intermittent these days, so we are hoping and praying we can avoid surgery. We suspect that I have what they call "sludge" that is moving through. They didn't see any gallstones on the ultrasound, but sometimes, you have "sludge" that is thicker than liquid. As it moves through your gallbladder and through your ducts it can cause a lot of pain. Many Lyme Disease patients have issues with their gallbladder because of treatment with long-term antibiotics. We are desperately praying for a miracle so that we can avoid surgery. If surgery was the only option, of course, we would trust God to take care of me. However, if we can avoid it, that would be much better as my doctor in California was a little concerned about what it would do to my body. He said I will probably do well during the procedure, but often times, Lyme patients relapse afterwards. Also, battling MCS and all my crazy allergies doesn't exactly make it risk-free. :P So, if you could please be praying that God would work a miracle, and we could avoid any further testing and surgery, we would appreciate it!!!!!
Before I continue with the update, I want to take the time to tell you how thankful we are for my Lyme doc in San Francisco. I can not put into words how grateful we are for who he is and what he does. He is brilliant, funny, understanding and goes above and beyond for his patients. While we were going through the hospital adventure on our trip, he talked to us on the phone a couple of times to help us make decisions. He even told Brian to call him if I had surgery so he could know how things went. He has helped thousands of patients, and I'm truly blessed to be under his care! It's very difficult to become a patient of his, but we are so thankful God opened the door.
We are actually on week 9 of no antibiotics! I can't believe it!! I am still doing so well. I don't really have any Lyme or Co-infection symptoms. God is SOOOOOOO good! We are celebrating big time. We have had lots and lots praises in the past 9 weeks. I am not completely healed, but we are seeing big gains. We had a little bump in the road with my gallbladder, but for the first time, that crisis didn't bring us down emotionally. We have confidence that God is working, and we are so humbled and blessed by what He is doing! A couple of days ago, Brian and I were chatting about what God has done. I haven't really posted a lot about it because we wanted to watch and see what happened. However, God is too amazing for us to keep quiet anymore. So, I am going to list the miracles we have seen lately. Hopefully, it will be an ecouragement to you!
-As I said before, we are on week 9 of no drugs! Whoohoo! :) My symptoms have not returned. I don't have ANY bone/joint pain, cognitive issues, twitching, numbness/tingling, air hunger and the list goes on and on. This has been the biggest praise for us! I used to only last about 3 weeks before I crashed. To be able to go this long and feel good is an absolute miracle.
-I have more energy and feel well enough to help around the house! This is such a praise as I am able to start taking some of the load off of Brian. He has carried all of the responsibilities for so long. It is exciting to be able to start doing things for him instead of him only doing things for me.
-My chemical sensitivities and allergies are improving! My stay at Stanford was a big testimony. I was in the hospital for 5 days and exposed to a ton of things. We didn't have hardly any issues. Also, I have been around perfume, and it doesn't make me want to escape or not breathe. I actually think it smells good sometimes which is amazing. I haven't been like that since I first got sick. I am tolerating the smell of all kinds of foods and spices. I have been able to expand my diet some which has made a huge difference in how I feel.
-My candida issue has gotten much better since I am off antibiotics. I have been able to add back in some milk products and eat more carbs.
-I am completely off Lyrica and Ativan! Lyrica was a bear to get off of with the withdrawal symptoms; however, I made it.
So, those are our praises! God is really working in my life ever since I was prayed for in December. We didn't experience a miraculous instant healing, but we are seeing God's miracles each week. His timing is perfect, and we are grateful for his blessings. We still have some prayer requests. The are listed below:
-Please continue to pray that the infections would not come back. We believe God has set me free from this area; however, we always pray for my protection.
-Please pray that my chemical sensitivities and allergies would completely disappear. We have taken large steps in this area, but I am still not free from them. We don't have to be as careful these days, but I still react sometimes. This is an area that we would like to break-through in a major way. I would LOVE to be able to get back into ministry and to be able to have Christian fellowship on a regular basis without a lot of health repercussions.
-Please pray that my gallbladder issue would be healed and that we could avoid any further testing and surgery.
-Please pray for my insomnia. For some reason, this is the only thing I am struggling with, and I don't really feel like it's related to any of the infections. We are trying to stay off a lot of drugs to give my body a break, so we are praying I can start getting a restful nights sleep on my own.
-Please continue to pray that I will win the battle over Candida. It will take some time to heal from all the antibiotics. We are praying that my system will be restored quickly.
-Please pray that Brian can finish his last required class so that he can obtain his official CPA license. It's always hard to balance studying and life. Brian is almost done. He can see the finish line. Please pray that God will help him finish strong.
Well, that is all for now. Thanks so much for your prayers! God is using them to move mountains in our life. We are so humbled that you have supported us for so long while we have been on this journey. We continue to hope and pray that I will experience complete healing so that God can use us in big ways in the future!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
San Fran and Beyond
Hello Everyone! I know I have made some posts on Facebook, but I wanted to give you an update via this blog so you can be praying! I know it seems like our San Francisco trip was full of trials; however, we actually did have some really positive parts too! I will make sure to highlight those big time because we can really see God working miracles!
We started out early Thursday morning on the 12th. I had actually been having abdominal pain for about 4 days before we left and it was worse that morning. We weighed the pros and cons of going to the ER in Tucson before we left for our trip, but decided against it. Unfortunately, we only made it 2 hours down the road before we had to stop in a small town ER to get me checked out. It was ghetto lol, and no, they weren't sure what was causing it. We wasted a good 5 hours which really put us behind in our trip.
We had scheduled an appointment with my LA doctor at 1:30pm that day, but obviously weren't going to make it at that time. She was nice enough to reschedule for 6:30pm. Overall the appointment went very good. She said all of my infections (Lyme, Bartonella etc.) had drastically improved and that it seemed like my immune system was fighting the infections on it's own for the first time in FOREVER! Yay God and acupuncture!!! I was still in quite a bit of pain, and she was a big concerned that it could be an ectopic pregnancy (no, that would have not been planned), but it was NOT. So, praise the Lord for that! Since our LA appointment was so late, we didn't arrive at our San Francisco hotel until 3:00am early Friday morning. This trip was serious the trip without sleep!
The next day, my pain was still there, but I believe with all my heart that God held off the pain so that we could spend some time with our dear friends Melody and Spencer. They are an amazing Christian couple who have also struggled with Lyme Disease. Their faith and testimony are such an encouragement to us. They drove down from Northern California to spend the day with us on Friday. It was such a precious time! Thank you to both of you! You blessed us more than words can say!!! :)
We had my Lyme doctor appointment on Friday afternoon. It went really well. He was happy with the progress I was making without antibiotics. He encouraged us to stay the path, but to keep him posted if anything changes. It was fun to start dreaming about our future again since I have taken such a turn for the better. I don't really have too much to say about the appointment. It was actually pretty quick. He did examine the cause of my abodomen pain and was a little concerned it was appendicitis. Every doctor has an opinion. :) However, we trust my San Francisco's opinion a ton more than the LA doc's.
After we got done hanging out with Melody and Spencer that evening, we went to bed only to have to wake up and hour later because I was in excruciating pain once again. We headed to the ER. Fun times! Another night with no sleep!!! It's difficult to completely rule out appendicitis with me because I am allergic to the contrast IV dye for Cat scans. The surgeons were convinced it was appendicitis when they examined me, but were hesitant to do a laproscopy procedure without absolute proof because of my horrible allergies and chemical sensitivities (which have markedly improved...another yay God!). So, we ended up going through a battery of tests, and I was admitted there for 4 days.
Most of our stay in the hospital was good except when Brian kicked one of the doctors out of the room, lol. It was actually our last day there, and they had a general medicine doctor come in to start the full body work-up because their tests for appendicitis and gallbladder were inconclusive. This young doctor comes in and basically gives us a lecture about how we are not going to have surgery (I did NOT want surgery so I have know idea where he got that). Then, when Brian asked him what other causes could this pain be from, he proceeded to only give us one option which was "psychological trauma manifesting itself in pain"...REALLY???!!!! I started crying because I was exhausted and I knew I wasn't making it up. He looks at Brian and says, "see, that further proves my point". It was appauling and Brian threw him out of the room! After he left, the rest of the day the hospital did damage control. We saw about every high powered official in the hospital. They came to apologize and basically bend over backwards for whatever we needed. We ended up leaving that day with pain meds in tow because we were getting no where. They said we would mostly likely be safe to make it back to Tucson, so we trusted God and we made it just fine. I don't really remember most of it. Dilauded will do that to ya! :P
Once we were back, life hasn't slowed down. I had an appointment with my primary care physician and she said I needed to see a surgeon asap because of my pain. She suspects it is my gallbladder but we need to rule out the appendix too. I had my surgeon appointment yesterday, and she said I have to do one more test that involves the gallbladder before I have surgery. I should have that towards the beginning of next week and HOPEFULLY I will be able to have surgery on Friday. Please be praying for this! I am not sure how far she books out, but I am in a lot of pain and Friday would work out best with our work schedules since we both have missed so much work! Brian's work has been awesome, but my work is more difficult because my students tend to freak out when they have a substitute. It directly impacts our income which is not what we need right now with all of the upcoming astronomical hospital bills!
The pain got bad again last night and we ended up in the ER AGAIN. Another night without sleep. Brian and I are absolutely exhausted. Thankfully, my mom is coming today to help out. I can't mention enough what a gift this will be. We are so behind in life and are so exhausted that Brian and I didn't even ask the surgeon any important questions when we had my appointment. We walked out and probably only said two words to her since we were in shock from the past week. We should have grilled her about the procedure, talked to her about my chemical sensitivities and allergies etc. We did nothing. We just sat there as she told us we needed a scan first, and then walked out. Duh!! I am glad we will have my Mom here to think of those things for awhile. :)
It's crazy how life ebbs and flows. God has been doing some miraculously things with my health, and we definitely don't want to discount that! We have seen my symptoms from my infections pretty much disappear with God's power and acupuncture. My chemical sensitivities have improved too! I am definitely not as sensitive as I used to be. Perfume actually smells good to me instead of being a major threat to my body. I am still reactive to stuff especially after the events of the past week, but I am improving! During the past week, we have both been challenged to not look at the past and wonder if we are going backwards. That is something that our pastor has talked a lot about recently. I won't say that we have been totally successful (Brian is so much better at it than I am), but we are trying to hard even in the midst of these circumstances to believe God for my healing and trust that I am still moving forward even with these little bumps in the road.
So, here are a few prayer requests:
1. Please pray that I do not react to the Gallbladder test that I will have this next week. New things are always scary, but God has definitely been faithful every step of the way!
2. Please pray that we can schedule surgery on Friday of next week. This would be a miracle and would work out perfectly with our work schedules. Also, please pray that the surgery would be successful, and that they would locate the source of the pain with an easy resolution!
3. Please pray for the pain and my sensitivities. It seems like the more pain meds I have to take, the more it sets off my histamine system. So, if I can stay off of them, it would be so much more beneficial!
4. Please pray for our finances. Our bills from the past two weeks (extra hotel nights, hospital visits etc) and the upcoming surgery are really going to drain the finances. Please pray for God's provision!
5. Finally, please keep praying for healing! Please pray that we would keep our focus where where it needs to be - on Jesus! We believe that he is doing to miracle in my body and maybe, this is all part of the process of up-righting my system to it's full capacity. :)
We will try to keep you posted! Thanks for praying friends! :)
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
A New Year ~ Overwhelmed by God's Grace
Now, onto the exciting news! Today marks week 5 of being off antibiotics. Actually, it is week 7, but at the beginning of December I went back on antibiotics for a week, so the count kind of started over. That's why I am still looking at it as week 5, but what a great accomplishment! I haven't really noticed any decline. I have a little bit of pain in my feet and shins, but on a scale of 1 to 10, I would say it's a 1. So, it's barely noticeable, and I can definitely live with it. That is such a praise! We know this is the right road for me. In fact, I am actually feeling so much better off of the drugs. We have decided to do acupuncture twice a week. I feel the best when I do that, and it's really helping. Another praise is that I am completely off the drug Lyrica, and my autonomic nervous system hasn't freaked out. Yay! We are praising God for these miracles! We are also starting to attempt to work on regulating my hormones since I have PCOS. This is going to take awhile. We will use acupuncture along with some natural supplements and herbs. It's exciting to be able to take these steps.
Week 6 is big for us! That is when I started crashing the last time; however, we feel strongly that I will be fine. We can see God working, and we are trusting that he is going to heal me without the use of those drugs. We go to San Francisco next week on Thursday. My appointment with my Lyme doctor is on Friday. I am really excited to go. I am excited to tell him all that's happening and share with him what God has done. We have some things we want to discuss with him, so please be praying that he will be accepting of our current decision in regards to treatment, and that he will be able to give us some guidance.
Now, I want to get to the reason for this post. For a couple of years now, I have consistently read a number of blogs written by Lyme Disease patients. Many of these patients post videos that they have found of those suffering from Lyme Disease. To be honest, I haven't really watched a ton of them because it's a little difficult emotionally. However, I believe with my whole heart that God led me to watch the video at the bottom of this blog post. It is one hour and 14 minutes long which is more time than I usually spend on these things; however I was drawn to it.
I have to say that in that hour and 14 minutes this amazing Christian couple's testimony impacted me in so many ways. It literally turned my life upside down. It is a video assembled by her husband for her birthday. Her name is Christa, and for years she has suffered from a chronic illness that causes her excruciating unimaginable pain. She actually tested positive for Lyme Disease and other co-infections and went through treatment. This amazing Godly couple has handled her condition with a faith in God that absolutely astounded me. I will be honest with you and tell you that the video is extremely difficult to watch at times. They made a decision to document both the good and bad times, and I have never in my life seen such suffering. They have been to so many doctors and clinics and have gone through the agony of getting no answers. You visibly see the pain that Justin goes through as he walks the halls at night praying while his wife is screaming from the bedroom. This is not a video you will want to watch in the presence of young children.
You might be asking why I would want to share something that is so difficult to watch. I want to share it with you because as you watch their journey, their faith and perseverance will touch your heart. They never have once questioned God. Scriptures carried them through the darkest of times. Justin talks about his wife's faith and how this has only brought her closer to the Lord. Whenever she had a break in the pain, she studied her Bible. She never once asked why. Their goal as a couple has always been to give God glory in ALL circumstances even through pain and suffering. I was so overwhelmed by what an example of Christ Justin is to His wife. Their life has been extremely difficult as shortly after they got married Christa became deathly ill, but he never once stopped loving and serving. He is a true example of how Christ loves the church. As he cared for his wife, I was reminded constantly of how Christ made the ultimate sacrifice for us. He loved us that much!
Even as I write this, I feel like I am not explaining adequately how incredible this video is. I know it's long, but I promise you, it will change your outlook on life. It taught me what true faith and surrender is. It showed me how we should serve one another. Above all, it showed me how God can be glorified even in the darkest of circumstances.
For those of you who will struggle to get through to the end (have a box of Kleenex ready), the ending is filled with hope. She is doing much better now. She still has healing to do, but her pain is decreasing every day, and they have been able to do things like a normal couple. Please be praying for Justin and Christa! They are an amazing couple, and I have a strong feeling that God is going to use them in incredible ways.
The video is below. You will have to push pause on my music player at the bottom of my blog so it doesn't interfere. (More writing below the video)
I want to take this time to thank my husband. I know that I have said it before on this blog, but there are some who know what people like Justin and my husband go through as their wive's struggle through an isolating and sometimes debilitating illness. Yes, they have to carry the load of being a full-time care giver and provider; however, they do much more than you can ever imagine. Although, I do not have horrible pain, my chemical sensitivities and horrendous allergies have made our journey very difficult. One of these days, I want to write out our story from start to finish. There are things that would make your jaw drop like driving home from the Mayo Clinic in the middle of the night because I couldn't drink the water in Minnesota and was severely dehydrated. We froze for 7 hours in 20 degree temps because we couldn't use the heater as it would let too much exhaust into our car and I would have an asthma attack from the chemicals. We had to stop half-way home in a small town to get IV fluids in the emergency room because I almost passed out in the car.
There is the time when we were moving to Arizona because I was too sick to live in Nebraska anymore. We couldn't find a hotel to stay in that I didn't react to in Colorado. We drove around for 6 hours and checked out over 20 hotels. We were exhausted, stressed and knew that I was so sick, but had no answers. I remember standing in the middle of the hotel room balling my eyes out. All I could eat was chicken and drink a specific kind water. I wanted to sleep, but I couldn't even sit on the bed without having an allergic reaction. Brian was at a loss at what he could do to help us. I remember he just held me and we cried together. We were taking a huge risk moving to Arizona not even knowing if I would be able to live in my new environment. We felt like we had hit rock bottom; however, God carried us through.
It's time like these that I am so thankful for God and his provision and protection. I am thankful for the husband who has been my rock through it all. Brian's life has and is not normal, but he has never complained. He loves me like Christ loves the church, and our marriage is as strong as it's ever been. God doesn't owe us anything, but his blessings abound. Our journey has taught us to cherish the little things, and for that, I am forever grateful.
I can truly say, I am overwhelmed by God's grace...
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