Quick Updates

I went to our primary care doctor this morning for the cold, throat, chest crud that is going on. I finally went to sleep around 4:30 this morning after having to breathe in a paper sack for a while...We're still waiting on the lab results, but he put me on an antibiotic. I feel like I have strep but thankfully my strep test was negative. So we'll see what the blood tests show.

I'm actually not going to the doctor in Seminole tomorrow. We didn't get the paperwork to them or something so I'm going next Wednesday. That is better since I'm sick right now.

Trading My Sorrows

*UPDATE*

It's almost 3am on Tuesday..I'm asking for prayers. I've been up all night with extreme throat and chest pain. I've really been struggling to breathe for the past hour and a half. My breathing is still really heavy and fast. I'm so dizzy and shaky from not being able to breathe. I'm so exausted. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow. Please keep me in your prayers. It's going to be a long night.

I started homebound again last week. My teacher came out for an hour and a half and we worked on mostly Algebra. I'm trying to finish Algebra 2 and English 2 by December so that I can take the EOI test. Then I will work on Chemistry and World History. I'm really a semester behind. School is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I really haven't done any school work since March, so it's hard to get back into it. Plus, all my work is online, meaning I get distracted a lot. And there are a lot of distractions at home. To get those two subjects done by December I am suppose to do 3 lessons in each subject a day. I thought I was doing good by getting a lesson done every couple days..but she said that we just have to accept where I am and what I can do. It's hard though.
I had a great weekend! I hung out with friends and got to go to church! It was wonderful. I have a terrible cold and sore throat though. I feel like I have a sinus infection. I am so wiped out. I guess I got it from church. My teacher came again today but she didn't stay long. I tried to work on school but I felt so bad. She said not to worry about it and just rest. I'm learning to not worry about anything. Just take it a minute at a time. Be thankful for that minute.
"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." Matthew 6:34 (the message)

I go to the doctor in Seminole on Wednesday. So please be praying that it goes well and that she can help me. We're making progress. It's great that she has actually agreed to take on my case. Most doctors haven't even gone that far! I really really need a doctor that is not across the country..yes we'll keep going to the clinic in Nevada, but we need a doctor here in Oklahoma.

This is a link to the documentary that has just come out about Lyme Disease. The movie tells about how Lyme is becoming a silent epidemic in the US. It tells stories of how real the disease is. How the blood tests aren't accurate. It tells the story of how so many are misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia, MS, rheumatoid arthritis and so much more. It tells how the CDC says Lyme doesn't exist in some states, even though there are so many cases of dogs having Lyme is every single state. It tells the story of doctors being shut down because they treat a Lyme patient longer than the recommended 3-4 weeks of antibiotics. It tells the story of the political controversy of the disease-about how Chronic Lyme does exist. It tells the story of people knowing more about the disease they have than the doctor treating them. It tells the stories of people being rejected by doctors because their case is too difficult. It is a sad story. Sad that no one will listen and that people have to suffer so much. But it is also a story of great hope. Hope that there is something better to come. Hope that we can make a difference by telling our stories. We're trying to bring awareness to help those who are misdiagnosed or don't even know the disease exists. Because it is a serious problem affecting people in every state. Please go read the background of the movie and watch the trailer, and bring awareness.
http://www.underourskin.com/

"You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever." Psalm 30:11-12

This is a great song about having the joy of the Lord.

Trading My Sorrows by Darrell Evans
I'm trading my sorrows
I'm trading my shame
I'm laying them down
For the joy of the Lord
I'm trading my sickness
I'm trading my pain
I'm laying them down
For the joy of the Lord
We Say
Yes Lord yes Lord
Yes yes Lord
Yes Lord yes Lord
Yes yes Lord
Yes Lord yes Lord
Yes yes Lord Amen
I am pressed but not crushed
Persecuted not abandoned
Struck down but not destroyed
I am blessed beyond the curse
For his promise will endure
That his joy's gonna be my strength
Though the sorrow may last for the night
His joy comes with the morning"

I will be updating soon with what we find out at the new doctor. I hope you are having a great week!

Lots of appointments..

There has been a lot going on lately. We found a doctor in Seminole, Ok that treats Lyme with both conventional and natural medicines. My appointment is next Wednesday with her. We're praying that she really does treat Lyme and actually knows something about it.

I'm going to a pain management team at Children's hospital on September 8th. They said that they treat tons of teens with Lyme and they understand the pain and lack of sleep in a Lyme patient. The pain management doctors are also the anesthesiologists for Children's. They sounded really helpful!
We're still waiting on the sleep lab results.

My homebound teacher called today and I'm starting homebound again on Thursday. She'll come to my house once a week to answer any questions I have or help with anything. I will do all my work online through the school. They have been really helpful and encouraging.

My home nurse still comes once a week to change the PICC line dressing and take my vitals and everything. My PICC line has been in for almost 6 months so it's almost time to get it out. We're trying to decide what to do next. Not doing IVs is not really an option. Our choices are another PICC line or a port. I pick the port. It's a device that is inserted into the upper chest and goes to the heart. The nice thing about a port is that it is under the skin and you can't see it-unlike the PICC line. The port can also be left in for years. But you do have to have surgery to get it put in. We are hoping that the pain management team could order the port since I don't really have a doctor that can order it. Plus, they would be the ones we worked with anyway since they do the anesthesia for surgeries. We are just looking at options right now.

There is a really cool website where you can make something with words and print it or do whatever with it. Mine is hard to see, but there are verses and different words. You can click on the picture to see it bigger. Here's the website:

http://www.wordle.net/

"But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me." Micah 7:7

You want me to SLEEP like this?!?!

I spent the night at the hospital last night for a sleep study and monitoring. The sleep study area is a part of Children's hospital on the 10th floor that is a little scary.. You press a button for them to let you in and when you get inside it's a long dark hallway that is completely silent. Apparently I was the first one there because it was deserted. We got there at 7:15 and filled out all the paper work and got to my room. The rooms are really nice! They are just hospital rooms that are a little bigger and decorated really nice. Why can't all hospital rooms look like that? And, the shower was a whole lot nicer than the rest of Children's showers, which doesn't make sense because your not even allowed to take a shower during the sleep study. Great planning, I know.

They told me to get ready for bed and they would come back and hook me up. Hook up took about an hour...so I got done with that at 9:15. They wanted lights to go out at 10. What?! I don't fall asleep until 4 am! That is like 6 hours from now.. So they let me stay up "late" and read while they hooked up other patients.
There were wires on my head, neck, face, heart, legs, and stomach. Then I had two different things in my nose and mouth. I had a belt on my chest and stomach that was really tight and almost suffocated me. Oh well, they would have known if I stopped breathing, since they monitor your every move. I also had a pulse-ox on my finger to monitor my oxygen levels.
I was a little freaked out to even move with all the wires and everything. Also, after everything was hooked up, my nurse came over the intercom and made me move my eyes and hold my breath and all this testing so they could make sure they could see me and know everything I did. I asked what button I pushed if I had to go to the bathroom (which I think would have been impossible. Good thing I dehydrated myself yesterday so I wouldn't have to go...) and she said "oh just talk and say something, we can hear everything you say." OH that makes me feel better. So you've heard everything I've been saying the whole time I've been here?! Wonderful.

So lights went out around 11 and I layed there and made faces at the camera. Just kidding, I should have though. It was a long night of restless sleep. How could you sleep being hooked up like that and knowing that they are watching you? This morning all she could tell us was that I woke up a lot. We get the results back in 7-10 business days. When she took all the wires and monitors off, there was a glob of sticky paste everywhere that there had been a wire. That apparently helped hold the wires in place and helped to get an accurate reading. I still have globs in my hair. I hope it comes out easily!

The room was really nice!

Sleep Study

The hospital just called and I'm doing the sleep study tomorrow night. I go to the hospital right after dinner and stay until the morning. So please pray that they will figure something out.

1st Car!

We've been looking at cars for me for a while now and we finally bought one! It's an '09 Pontiac Vibe that was a program car. I LOVE it!!! The dealerships are desperate to sell cars, so there are some great deals. It's weird to think that I will always talk about my first car! This is it!!!

Waiting...

"I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God." Psalm 38:15
Well not much has been going on. I have been put on a few new sleep medicines, but none are helping. Last week I had a scary reaction to one. All day Thursday I was hurting really bad and just felt really weird. I went ahead and took the sleeping medicine early that night. An hour after I took it I got so confused and out of it and couldn't walk. I couldn't explain how I felt and just cried. I didn't know what was going on. I finally went to bed around 4:30 the next morning...my days seem so long since I'm up all night. Nothing knocks me out. Every medicine I'm on is suppose to make me tired, but it doesn't. The doctors warn my parents to watch me because I should be passed out from all the medicines. But I still can't sleep. It's very frustrating.

We are waiting on a referral for a sleep study in Children's Hospital. I'll spend the night in the hospital and they'll hook up to 19 wires all over my body and monitor my sleep, or lack of. I'm so ready to start sleeping again. It is completely wearing me out. We are also waiting on a referral to a pain management doctor at Children's Hospital. That will probably take a few months though.

These are some of my medicines and my IV pole (whose name is Squirt). How boring would it be if I didn't name my IV pole?

Syringes and needles for all my shots


These are the flushes for my PICC line


Dressing changes and tubing for my PICC line

Some more supplies

These are some of my oral medicines and formulas that I mix into water

I would like to know some of your favorite verses or quotes! So please leave a comment and let me know! I hope your having a great week!