Clinic Days 2 and 3

I hope all of this makes sense...it's been a really hard couple days and I just got medicine that makes me very tired.

Some days you just wish you could forget. Yesterday was one of the those days. Remember the boy my age who I asked for prayers for in my previous post? We got to the clinic yesterday morning and he was on oxygen and having terrible convolutions. Everyone was around him for hours. We were all crying, and didn't know if he would make it honestly. I don't think I've ever been that scared in my whole life. I can't even explain how scary and tense yesterday was. I really don't even want to think about it, but I can't stop replaying it over and over. We kept hearing sirens, wondering if they were coming to take him. All we could do was pray. They gave him tons of medicines to knock him out and try and stop the shaking, but it didn't work. This went on all day.

At the same time, I was getting a Vitamin C IV. I did fine until the end, and then I got so hot and was in so much pain. They gave me more IV pain and nausea meds, which helped after a couple doses. I had to have a fan on me because I was so hot from my fever. My mom and I and G and his mom were at the clinic until at least 7 again last night.

Everyday that you don't do the Major Auto Hem, you get 2 shots. One is a detox shot that goes in the arm. The other is Glyoxal aka the butt shot. It's pure oxygen, and goes in your hip. This shot is so painful that grown men pass out from it. It does hurt a lot, but you get used to it.

We came home and ate, then I went to bed. The Phenergan and Demerol makes me so tired.

We got to the clinic this morning and I had another Major Auto Hem procedure. It also went well, until the end. So I got the same pain and nausea medicine, and after a couple doses it was better. I had to have a fan on my again because I was burning up. We left the clinic around 4 today because they close early on Friday and Saturday.

Tomorrow morning, we will go to clinic again for a few hours. I'm not sure what they will give me tomorrow.

Some of you might be wondering why I'm still doing treatments that cause reactions and require strong meds. Having a reaction proves that there is an infection in my abdomen. As the Major Auto Hem and Vitamin C IVs are killing the bacteria in my abdomen, I react because of the toxins of the bacteria. That means that the treatment is working. So until we make improvement on the infection, I will just have to get pain medicine. The infection has been there a long time, so it will take a while to get rid of. In time it will get better.

I've had fever the whole time I've been here, and it was higher this afternoon.

The boy my age is doing better than he was, but still not great. But we are going try and go out to eat with them tonight, so that will be a good distraction. Please pray for him and his family. His mom has been here with them, but his dad flew in last night after what happened yesterday.

Thank you so much for praying.

"He heals the broken hearted and bandages their wounds" Psalm 147:3

"The Lord is close to the broken hearted;he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." Psalm 34:18

Clinic Day 1

Yesterday was a very long day! We felt every emotion possible. The first thing we did was meet with my doctor. He examined me, and we discussed everything. He thinks I have Mesenteric Adenitis, which is causing all the stomach pain. It could be a combination of that, and adhesions.

After we met with the doctor, we did some tests. They tested energy currents for every organ and system in body. It showed that everything is really stressed. They say that test isn't for diagnostic purposes, but they would run tests to confirm what it shows. Almost everything was in the moderate category in terms of how stressed it is. My liver and lymph node system were in the severe. Almost to the severe category were my heart, circulatory system, lungs, and I forgot what other ones. What does that all mean? It means my body is very stressed. My heart and circulatory system is not functioning as high as it should. That's why we are here though. We need to get things taken care of.

They also tested the IV and shot ingredients on me to see what I was sensitive to. After that, we went to eat lunch before starting my treatments.

I did what is called a Major Auto Hem. They accessed my port with a 2 inch needle first. Then, they take out a lot of blood. I'm not sure how much it is. Next, they mix the blood with oxygen, and put it through a UV light before putting it back in me. The oxygen and UV light kill bacteria and help clean the blood. It took a while to get the blood back in me, because the lines kept clotting. They had to get another nurse to figure out what to. They finally got it back in over a few hours. Sometimes people pass out from all the blood being taken, but thankfully I didn't. After that, you get an IV of hydrogen peroxide. This also helps clean the blood and is very effective.

 I was doing fine until towards the end of the IV. I got so hot and my stomach starting hurting so much that I was crying. By this time, it was 6 pm and the only people there were the doctor and nurses, my mom and I, and this boy my age and his mom. He was sitting next to me and was also having a reaction from the night before. The doctor and nurses came to the IV room and literally stood over us for hours, monitoring us and giving us medicine. The boy my age was having seizures and it was so scary. He was in so much pain too. They gave us both Toradol which is a strong anti-inflammatory. It didn't help either of us. They gave him some Demerol and Phenergan to see if that would help him. It actually made him worse.

Since I was in more pain than before, they also gave me Demerol and Phenergan. This clinic is a homeopathic clinic, meaning everything they use is natural. I didn't even know they had strong pain medicine like that. In all of my 2 years of coming, I've never known anyone having to get narcotics there. The first dose of Demerol helped, but it wore off quickly so I got another one. That one helped a lot.

My mom and I finally got to leave at 8pm. I'm so thankful that the doctors wanted to watch both us for several afters, knowing that we might have reactions. The reason I hurt so bad after the IV was because it was killing the bacteria in my abdomen, causing a Herx reaction.

Here are pictures from yesterday before I got really sick.

Clean blood going back in, and hydrogen peroxide.

My blood going through the UV light.

Today I am getting a Vitamin C IV. Vitamin C in high doses, has the same effect as antibiotics. It's possible that I could have the same reaction as yesterday with today's IV.

Yesterday we met a lot of great people. The clinic isn't very crowded which is wonderful. I have the best story ever from yesterday! Yesterday I was getting my IV, and the boy and his mom  (who stayed all night at the clinic too) walked into the room. His mom saw me and KNEW me! She found my blog a while back and knew all about me. She said she has even told my story to other people! They live in Tennessee! We felt like we knew each other, and spend most of the day just talking. It was weird that we both had to stay at the clinic till late at night, and both have to get strong pain medicine. I hate that we both had to stay late at the clinic, but it helped pass the time with other people there. Since the doctor and nurses had to monitor us so closely, we all just sat in the IV room for several hours and talked. Please pray for this guy and his mom and family. They have been through so much, and have a long ways to go.

We are fixing to go to the clinic for the day! I will try my best to update again tonight, but if not, I will tomorrow.

Im sorry i haven't updated yet. I've had a scary evening at the clinic and we just got back to the apartment. I will definitely update tomorrow, because Im too wiped out to now from the medicine they had to give me.

Safe in Reno

We are here. We woke up around 4 this morning and we are very tired! Both of our flights were good and everything went well. They upgraded our car that we are renting here, so we have a black Jeep Liberty! It's so nice. We were expecting a small car. After we got our car, we went through the drive through of In and Out Burgers. It is such good food. Everything is fresh, never frozen! Then, we went to our apartment where I am currently. I was so worried that it would bare and not fun to be in like one of our past trips. But it's so pretty and decorated!

My mom carried all of our bags up the stairs to our apartment and now I'm fixing to unpack. The plan for today is to just hang out! Later today we are going to Barnes and Noble, and then to Whole Foods to get dinner and some other food! I'm so excited for that!! We are getting a Whole Foods in OKC, but it's not there yet.

To us it is 4:30 pm, but here it is only 2:30 pm. I'm really excited to go to bed early tonight!

Tonight at 10 pm, I have to fast until after some tests tomorrow at the clinic. It's not a big deal, I just sometimes forget that I can't eat or drink!

Here are some pictures from the day.

In Dallas. It was very foggy

Here is our apartment!

This is what you see when you come up the stairs from the garage

Kitchen

Living room

Patio

My bedroom

So last night an anonymous person dropped off a package at my house. I opened it, and look what it is!!!! It's a Nook from Barnes and Noble!!! You put books on it! You can also put games, music, and get on the Internet. I am SO excited!! That's part of the reason we are going to Barnes and Noble tonight, so that I can ask them a few questions and get a case for it so that I don't break it :) They also gave me a gift card to buy books with! Seriously, I am so amazed at how generous and thoughtful people are.

To whom ever bought this for me and delivered it, thank you SO much. It will make the long days here easier! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

I'm now going to go unpack and get ready to go to Barns and Noble and Whole Foods! I hope you are having a great day. I'll update tomorrow sometime, probably in the evening since it will be a long day!

Tomorrow is the day...

My mom and I leave for Nevada tomorrow morning at 7. Way early! And yes, we are flying. I think it's at least a 24 hour drive, which does not sound pleasant. I've finally started to pack. Would anyone like to come help me pack? I didn't think so! How am I supposed to pack for snowy weather for a month?? It's so hard!

Yesterday was such a hard day. During worship Sunday morning, I completely lost it. I had held it in until then. I don't mean just a few tears, I mean sobbing. I got up and ran out and went to the bathroom. And of course we were sitting close to the front, so I'm sure everyone saw me lose it and leave. My mom came after me, and then we finally went back into church. I was hurting so much and knew it was my last time at church for a long time. I hate goodbyes.

At church last night, they also prayed for individuals who were sick or lost loved ones and they prayed for me. I got to see most of friends yesterday, and say goodbye.

We arrive in Reno tomorrow at 11am local time. They are 2 hours behind OKC. Thankfully, I don't go to the clinic until Wednesday morning, so tomorrow we can just get settled.

I will update again when we get to Reno. Thank you so much for your prayers.

Here's a picture of some of my friends and I yesterday at church.

Q&A about upcoming trip to Nevada

Are you excited about going to Nevada?
- I don't think I would use the word excited. Of course I would rather not go at all. Who would want to go across the country to their doctor and do treatments there? I would rather not have to do this, but I have to.

What will your days look like there?
- I will go to the clinic every week day and maybe Saturdays. We will get there in the morning, and some days not leave until 6 or 7 at night. I'll explain more of the treatments when Im there.

Have you been there before?
- Yes. I have been there 4 times in the past 2 years.

Who is going with you?
-My mom. My dad and brother are coming to visit for about a week over my brother's spring break.

How long will you be there?
- I think around 4 weeks.

What do you wear at the clinic?
- I usually wear tee shirts and sweats. Since I do have a port in my chest, it's a little tricky trying not to stretch my shirts when getting my port accessed. It works a lot better if I wear a tank top under a v-neck shirt. On days that I don't do a lot at the clinic, I might wear "nice" clothes and look cute. You never know if there will be any cute boys there! Gotta look your best! Haha just kidding. Everyone there will see you so sick and looking your worst. You become family since everyone is separated from their family.

Where are most people from that go to the clinic?
- Everywhere! We've seen people from almost every state, along with Europe, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and Im probably forgetting some.

Where do you stay?
- At a hotel or apartment.

What is the weather like in Reno?
- Currently, it is covered with snow!

Do you have other questions? I would love to answer them!

Claustrophobic Girl + Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber

Yesterday I went for my first hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatment. It was very interesting! It's called "diving" because the pressure is like going 12 feet underwater. You have to ease in to get to full pressure, then ease out. 

Here is what the whole chamber looks like. You can see me in the window. And yes, I am claustrophobic. Was I terrified? Yes. 

You crawl in and then it zips up twice. Once inside, you put on an oxygen mask. They start the pressure and oxygen in the chamber slowly. The doctor sat right by the window so I could tell him if I was okay. As the pressure changed, my ears popped and my head hurt. It's a weird feeling! You really can't describe what it's like unless you experience it. Once at full pressure, the chamber is getting 100% oxygen. Oxygen helps heal, kill bacteria, helps pain, and so many great things. In there, I could tell that something was different. The air felt different than normal. I did take an anxiety pill before I went because I knew it would be scary in there. It was very loud, and the people outside were muted. I could hear them, but not really understand them. It reminded me of when you come out of surgery. You start waking up and you hear all these people talking, but you can't understand them and it seems quieter because you're still drugged up. That's what it seemed like to me!

Here's a picture of me in the chamber. These pictures aren't very good because of the reflection.

Here is the zipper where you crawl into the chamber.

I was doing good at the beginning. I didn't feel claustrophobic. But as time went on, the more panicked I got. I was in there for a little over an hour. He would like for me to do 90 minute sessions. I'm a little nervous about that since I could barely do an hour. I was freaking out at the end. But everything was fine.

I don't feel any different after the treatment. He said it could take several times before I see improvement. We're just trying to get me stable enough to fly to Nevada. Once I get back from Nevada, I'll most likely do more of these treatments. 

Last night right after my treatment I went to see Spring Sing at Oklahoma Christian University, which is a show done by the clubs. I had to hurry home and change before the show. I literally had less than 5 minutes at home, and I was still late to the show. I was at the doctor's office for over 3 hours just talking with the doctor, and doing the treatment. Today I've been able to hang out with my friends all day because some of them were out of school. It was really good to be able to hang out with them before I leave! 

I will update again before I leave for Nevada on Tuesday. While I'm there, I will post pictures and updates hopefully everyday. 

I hope you all have a great weekend!!