Awareness Necklace and random things

This will be a really random post because I just have a lot to talk about!

I've wanted to get some kind of awareness jewelry for a while and I decided to go to Hobby Lobby to see what I could find! I found a charm that says hope and an awareness ribbon charm. Lyme disease awareness color is a light green color so I put a couple beads with the charms! Now I have an awareness necklace!!

Here is one of the nastiest things I have ever tasted. Today I started this ultra meal stuff. It did not go well. First of all, why does it have such problem dissolving in water which makes it lumpy? Gross. As I tried to drink it, I started gagging and almost threw up several times. I plugged my nose and 20 minutes later had drank about 3/4 of it. By then I had had enough. I was full and it was disgusting. A few minutes after I was done drinking it, my stomach started hurting so bad and I felt horrible. I don't know what the problem is.

I've been feeling okay lately. Still not sleeping well.

My friends get out of school this week which is so exciting!!

Last night was the last Thirst Bible study. We went to someone's house and spread out along the property and spent an hour alone. Almost everyone I talked to said how fast it went! We practiced the disciplines we have learned or whatever else we wanted to. I will really miss the Bible study!

Three weeks from today my family and I will be on the way to Brazil!!! I'm so excited!

I'm planning on going to church camp and the mission trip this summer! It will be so much fun!

My medicines still haven't come in the mail yet from Nevada...aww how sad! :) I'm really enjoying the break! But I know I need to be on them.

As I was filling out paperwork for camp, there was a medical form of course. It just makes me laugh trying to fill that out! It gives you 2 lines to list the medications you are on. Good one! How about I list the medicines I'm not on!

This week I'm just hanging out with friends everyday! It's wonderful!

"Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises" Psalm 47:6

5/13/10 update

Yesterday was an eventful day! We decided that we can't go to Brazil next Friday because our visa paperwork to get in the country is having problems and my doctor says I can only go if we can take all my heart medicines with us. We are trying to figure out how to get the medicines in the country without them being taken by customs. We are looking at going in a few weeks hopefully.

I did homecare in the morning before the major auto-hem. During the auto-hem I got another clot in my port. It was great fun. So that took a while.

We were scheduled to meet with the doctor at 2. We finally met with him at 4 or so. We went through all my blood work. My platelets are better but still in the low normal range so he said we just need to watch it really carefully.

My cholesterol is high for some reason so he is putting me on some medicine to help that.

I told him how my fingers and toes turn purple and blue and green sometimes. Sunday during church I looked down and my left hand was all purple and green. He said that that means that I probably have Raynauds disease. I don't know a lot about that but it had to do with circulation. I don't remember the connection but that also means that I am likely to develop auto immune diseases. Lyme can cause those. When we mentioned that my concentration is zero and that I have lots of brain fog and confusion, he said that I really need to get stable so that we can try to stop the Lyme in my brain and make sure I don't get auto immune diseases. That means that I have to come back here once I'm stable.

He is sending me home with the heart meds that I have to take everyday either through my port or a shot. I'm also being sent home with homeopathic pain medicine called an arthritis push that we can put in my port or a shot.

This morning I had a TON of testing. We were testing a bunch of medications I will be taking home. Oh my. I thought I was taking a lot of medicine before I came here...ha. My colon, small intestines, kidney, liver, stomach, lymphatic system, skin, and throat are all infected and messed up. Not what we were hoping to hear. So, at home I have this huge list of detox things to do. Once I start it, I will post more about that because I'm still not sure what it is.

After testing I did homecare. Then I did a detox IV. I'm really frustrated with the nurses because 4 out of the 5 days they have to reaccess my port because of some problem. Today he "missed" my port and had to do it again. What in the world?! How do you MISS my port? It's RIGHT THERE. Good grief. After my IV I got my butt shots. Then I had a dark field. That's the thing where they take a drop of my blood and put it under the microscope to see what's going on. There is no Lyme in my blood! Praise God! It showed I'm fighting lots of viruses and allergies and some yeast infections. Nothing too bad showed up on there which is great! It was a long day!!!

Tomorrow is my last day at the clinic! I'm so so excited!!!!!

Here are the shots I take everyday.

Allergy shot (arm shot)

Food allergy shot (arm shot)

Either Glyoxal shot (butt shot) or Placenta shot (we switch off days with these)

Amitripyline desensitization shot (arm shot)

Heart medicine shot (arm shot)

And lucky me I get to take medical food every day...(mixed like a protein shake)

Once I get the LONG list of other medicines I am on, I will share that too! It will take a while to figure out a routine with everything.

I get to come home in 2 days!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow afternoon after the clinic we are planning on going to Tahoe again for a couple hours and then come to the hotel to pack. Then Saturday night I will be HOME! :)

THANK YOU for your continual prayers and encouragement!!

Medicine and more medicine

I am on day 6 of the 190 day treatment plan I am starting. That's right, 6 and a half months of this. This is not the only only treatment I am doing though. That would be way too easy if I only did one kind of treatment...I wish I could do that!

This treatment is all natural things from plants in South America I think. Here's a schedule of what I'm doing right now.

30 Minutes before breakfast:

Banderol-5 drops

Burbur-10 drops

Magnesium-2 caps

Serrapeptase-1 cap

30 Minutes before lunch:

Parsley-10 drops

Pinella-10 drops

Samento-5 drops

Sparga-10 drops

Trace Minerals-30 drops

30 Minutes before dinner:

Banderol-6 drops

Burbur-10 drops

Mangesium-2 caps

Serrapeptase-1 cap

Bedtime:

Parsley-10 drops

Pinella-10 drops

Samento-6 drops

Sparga-10 drops

Banderol and Samento are the 2 that kill the Lyme bacteria. I started out on 1 drop a day because they cause herx reactions. Everyday I go up on 2 drops on both of those medicines.

So the drops increase as time goes on. Also, we start adding more medicines.

When I start having herx reactions, I can take 10 drops of the Burbur every 10 minutes. It helps some!

Yesterday I had a rough morning. I woke up and took the medicines. After I took a shower, I started coughing a lot. I couldn't stop and it was causing me to throw up. Since I didn't have any food in my stomach yet, I was dry heaving. It was horrible. I got to get out of the house all yesterday which was so great!!

I have to carry all these medicines around with me since I take them all through the day. Yesterday and today I have had a major headache and my legs hurt a lot. It's just reactions from the medicines.

Along with this treatment, I am starting shots and more pills. That is where the 40 pills a day comes from. I'm start Collagen and that will be 18 pills a day. So I've got a lot to keep up with!

Home sweet home!

It is SO great to be home! Sunday was such a wonderful day. Missions Sunday is probably my favorite day at church!!!

I am still doing IV fluids at home every other day or everyday. All my medicines and shots haven't arrived in the mail yet so obviously I can't do them...so sad. ha not! They can take as long as they want to get here!! It is nice to have a break from having a schedule full of medicines and shots.

Yesterday my home nurse came to change my PICC line dressing. Every time she comes we fill out a bunch of paperwork and she takes my vitals. For some reason my blood pressure has been super low for a month or two and my heart rate is always really high. Dressing change day is the best day of the week! Yes it hurts some, but when she cleans it, she is scratching it for you and it feels so good! My skin gets really irritated from having a dressing on it all the time so it always itches like crazy!!! I always ask her to clean it extra good so that she scratches it more...ha!

So yesterday afternoon I started getting a horrible rash around my PICC line. It started itching even more (which I didn't think was possible). I took some Benadryl and that did nothing. I figured out that now I am allergic to the stat-lock, which is what keeps the PICC line from coming out. By last night, there were blisters starting to form and it was a little swollen. I kept an icepack on it for a while. At midnight I couldn't take it anymore. It was hurting and itching so bad. Our only choices were to go to the ER or for me to change the dressing and put some itching cream on it. We were not going to the ER so, I got all geared up with a mask and gloves and started taking off the plastic dressing. I cleaned it with Iodine and then apparently alcohol. I didn't realize that it was straight alcohol until it got in all the blisters. At that point I wanted to scream. Never ever ever again will I do that. I put a new dressing and some cream on the blisters and rash.

I woke up this morning and it has gotten worse. It looks pretty nasty. I won't show you pictures this time..be thankful!

On Thursday I am going to visit church camp since all my friends are there this week! I'm really excited!! It's weird not being at camp. I will try and put up some pictures soon!

Coming home tomorrow!!!!

I'm coming home tomorrow!!!

We met with the doctor yesterday. He wanted me to stay longer, but we just can't. He gave me some natural sleep medicine to try because I am not sleeping well at all. Two nights ago I was up until 6am and last night I was up until 3:30. That is crazy!! He said the medicine could take a week or two to start working.

Last night was my last bad push! Tonight I am getting the lowest dose so I can pack. The clinic is full with people from everywhere! There are people from Brazil, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Kansas, Virgina, Texas, North Carolina, California, and lots of other places. It's really interesting to have people from all over the world here!

This morning I had more skin testing for my food allergy shots. They gave me 10 shots in my lower arm to see if I would have a reaction to them. They made sure I had the right level of medicine and now I have to do more testing with the shots. I do a shot every 30 minutes and I have to watch for a reaction again. Once I'm done testing all 10 shots, then they send me the real shots. I have to do those shots 3 times a day at meals. I will have to give those to myself since I won't always be at home for every meal.

I just finished my IV for circulation and I got another bag of fluids. I have to wait an hour until I can get my shots.

Outside in the back of the clinic there is a really pretty fountain and a putting green and maze. If your good they will let you take your IV outside and walk around. It is so nice to go outside and get out of the blizzard temperature of the clinic...

Thank you for all of your prayers!

"I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints." Philemon 1:4-7

Friday is the day!!!!!

I am coming home Friday!! I will have been gone a month! I am so excited to come home!!!!

Yesterday I had my weekly blood work done. I also had a thyroid test. Hopefully we will get those results soon! Last night was a really bad push. I got so cold and shook for a couple hours and was so nauseous. My head hurt so bad. I had to be in the pitch dark because the light seemed so bright. After about 2 hours of horrible pain I took some Tylenol. I was so out of it for several hours. I finally was able to eat something around 8. At 10 I took my pain medicine because I had let the push going on for about 6 hours. It finally started to help and I got to sleep around 3.

I had a dark field today. That is where they look at my blood under the microscope. The Lyme is back out of my blood!! Praise God! My body is all messed up though because they found out that I have some virus. So they are going to check me tomorrow to see if it's gone. Tomorrow we have our last appointment with the doctor. When we are home, we will have a telephone conference every week or two.

Today I feel a lot better! I got a bag of fluids along with the regular IV. Everyday I get SGA in my IV. That is an adrenal booster. I also get the arthritis push everyday that helps with pain.

Here I am getting the push shot in my vein today

I just came out of the worst push that I have had. The push hit so fast, so I got in an extremely hot bath to try and calm the shaking and help the pain. I had to turn all the lights off because I was so sensitive to light. During the push tonight, I was shaking and couldn't breathe at all. I started hyperventilating and crying; it was so scary. The push can make it feel like your chest in closing in. Also, the virus that we found out that I have could have been in my chest and lungs causing the push to attack it and bring it out. We called the doctor immediately and told him what was going on. He said for me to breathe into a paper bag and take some Tylenol. It took me a long time to calm down. The pain all over was almost unbearable so I took another bath then took my pain medicine. I didn't let the push run for the full 6 hours this time. I just couldn't handle it. I'm finally feeling better now. Only 2 more pushes to go!

This song is beautiful and has such a great message.

Go Light Your World by Chris Tomlin

"There is a candle in every soul
Some brightly burning, some dark and cold
There is a Spirit who brings a fire
Ignites a candle and makes His home

So carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the helpless, confused and torn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, and go light your world
Take your candle, and go light your world

Frustrated brother, see how he's tried to
Light his own candle some other way
See now your sister, she's been robbed and lied to
Still holds a candle without a flame

So Carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the lonely, the tired and worn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, and go light your world
Take your candle, and go light your world

Cause We are a family whose hearts are blazing
So let's raise our candles and light up the sky
Praying to our Father, in the name of Jesus
Make us a beacon in darkest times

So Carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the helpless, deceived and poor
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, and go light your world

Carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, and go light your world
Take your candle, and go light your world
Take your candle, and go light your world"

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16

4th of July Weekend

We had a crazy but good weekend! My aunt got here Friday so we headed to Lake Tahoe. We went to the North Shore and it was great weather! Yesterday we went back to Tahoe. On the way there, someone was switching lanes and didn't see us. They hit the front left of our car then drove away. So we stopped and got out to see if there was damage and there wasn't a scratch on the car!! That was pretty scary, but thankfully no one was hurt. We then went to South Tahoe. We drove around all day and decided to stay for the fireworks! The fireworks were over the lake so we found a great beach to watch them from. It was a full moon over the mountains and lake; it was so gorgeous.

This morning we went to church. After church we decided to go see a movie at the outdoor mall here. When we were pulling into the parking spot someone didn't see us and hit us again in the exact same spot. What in the world is going on?! Two days in a row we get hit. There was damage this time. We exchanged information and waited around for a while. We are finally safe at home.

This week is going to be a really hard week. I have some hard treatments to do so that I can hopefully go home Friday! The doctor will
let us know early this week if I can go home...I am praying that I can go home. This will be my fourth straight week of treatments. I am SO SO SO ready to be home.

These are pictures from the weekend at Tahoe

3 Weeks Down!

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Today was a pretty good day! This morning I had an IV that helps with circulation. Then we had an appointment with the doctor. He said that my weekly blood work showed that I am really dehydrated, so I got a bag of fluids. He also said that if my migraine doesn't go away I will have to have a bunch of shots in my head. I'm having thyroid tests run too. I've been having some weird side effects to the treatments. I have had mouth and throat sores that are really painful and I have been bruising easily. I'm praying that won't last long.

We are planning on coming home next Friday the 10th. Hopefully the doctor will let me go home.

We are going to Lake Tahoe tomorrow and Saturday! They have fireworks at the lake on Saturday!

This is Dewey, Morgan, and me hanging out at the clinic! They were here in December and January too!

Yesterday I decided to get a half dose of the push. I didn't have a reaction. Last night we were able to just rest and watch TV. We had a great dinner from Whole Foods! That is the best store in the world. Why don't we have one in Edmond?!?! For those of you who don't know what Whole Foods is, I'll explain. It's an all organic and natural grocery store along with a take out bar
with fresh soups and meals. It is all SO good and it's fun to see what all they there! I could eat there everyday.

I have had a migraine for a couple days now and it got worse today. I decided not to get the push today since I already have a migraine. They gave me a headache push instead. I'm not sure what that is... it's suppose to get rid of headaches.

Tomorrow is our last day at the clinic this week. They close on Friday for the 4th. We have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow too.

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure." 1 John 3:1-3

A time for everything.

" There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace."

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Last night might have been one of the worst pushes I've had. The pushes are always stronger at the beginning of the week because they are made over the weekend.

I got the push around 5:30 last night and started reacting around 6. Usually it takes an hour to react. It started with pain all over and nausea. It's not a kind of pain that you can describe. It's deep inside of you. Then I had fever and horrible jaw and throat pain, along with the body pain and weakness. I couldn't talk for a couple hours because of the pain. The pain continued to get worse for a few hours, almost unbearable. Around 8, I started to shake and I was so cold. Usually the shaking and ice cold feeling comes first. But, you never know what kind of reaction you will get. All of this continued until around 11:30. I was then able to get off the couch and be up for a while. I took a shower and read. Just when I thought everything was getting better, I got a migraine. I finally could take some medicine because I had let the push go on for 6 hours. The medicine did nothing. My mom rubbed my head for a while and pressed on the pressure points for headaches. That helped some. I finally fell asleep around 2am. I woke up at 3:30 with the migraine again. I took more medicine, so that helped a little. I went back to bed at 4 and slept until 7. I woke up again with a headache. Thankfully, I fell back asleep and slept until 11. It was a very long, exhausting night.

I'm thankful that we could sleep in today and go to the clinic this afternoon. I think I'm going to get the lowest dose of the push today so that I can recover from last night. Thank you for all the prayers, I really appreciate it.

The clinic is the place to be!

We had a really good weekend! We went to Lake Tahoe on Saturday. It was so pretty. Yesterday we went to church! We went to the North Virgina St. Church of Christ. We have gotten to know the people there from when we were here in December and January. It is a great congregation!

Today was a great day! The clinic was very crowded, but lots of the people we knew from when we were here in December and January were here again. It was quite a party!!!! We had a lot of fun and were probably way too loud...oh well! I didn't have any appointments today, so we got to the clinic around 11. I got another Placenta IV this morning. This afternoon, I got the glyoxal and detox shots. I also got the push. I went up a step with the push, which means a higher dose, so we'll see how that goes tonight!

"But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:

'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.'"

Isaiah 43:1-4

2 Weeks Down!

Well, I have finished 2 weeks of treatments! These have been 2 very long weeks...but at the same time, they seem like a blur. The past couple days have been long and hard. I've had fever from the push and haven't slept good at all. Last night I was up way too late with fever and pain. That made today very hard. I wanted to just stay in bed and not have to deal with any IV or shots. But that is not why I'm here. I'm here to fight this fight. I didn't get the push today though. I decided that it would be too much for me to handle. So I will start that again Monday. We met with the doctor yesterday. We decided to stay here for 2 more weeks. Today I got the list of all the medicines I have to take for 6 months. Oh goodness! I have 6-7 shots a day...along with lots of nutritional supplements and medicines. Thank goodness I'm not scared of needles!

Tomorrow, we are going to try to go back to Lake Tahoe!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

This is a great song!

Changing Happy by Jadon Lavik

"I’ve always found that happiness hides

Just around the corner just out of my reach

And the moment its found the next that it’s missing

And I need to change my own definition

Cause nothing’s ever quite all that it seems

And I am not convinced that anybody is ever living the dream

And expectations kill as reality plays this show of your life

It’s a whole different scene

Yeah, I’m changing what it means to be happy, what it means

Yeah, back to the way I know that it should be,

Close to YOU is where I need to be

No matter how hard we push or how hard we pull

There’s just a little bit more ‘til we’re full

Cause we’ve all tried to cover sadness and sorrow

With temporary things that never seem to last

Yeah, I’m changing what it means to be happy, what it means

Yeah, back to the way I know that it should be

So explain to me why we fill up empty with empty and at the end of the day

We’re confused by the longing

change it back, change it back, change it back, oh change it

Yeah, I’m changing what it means to be happy What it means to be happy, to be happy, truly happy

Close to YOU is where I need to be"

"Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always."

Psalm 105:4

This is Teresa, updating for Victoria. Victoria is very tired after a long day at the clinic. She had an appointment with a nutritionist late this morning that lasted a couple of hours. Victoria had a Bioimpedance Analysis done, and this test shows several important factors regarding cellular function. The test showed that Victoria has very poor cell membrane integrity and sluggish toxin removal, both of which can impede cellular energy production and recovery from the Lyme. She will start a few supplements that will aid in correcting these problems. After lunch she started a new iv treatment that helps the liver and the spleen in their functions of dealing with all the toxins that the Lyme bacteria releases when it is killed. She finished the day with the detox injection, the Glyoxal injection and the Chlorella Push. Big day with a lot going on internally! Victoria was able to visit today with Chuck Norris's wife. She is so very sweet and was such an encouragement to Victoria, and we are thankful that family is at the clinic. Thank you for all your prayers for my precious daughter!

Yesterday I had a dark field. A dark field is where they look at a drop of your blood under the microscope and project it on a tv. There is a little Lyme back in my blood. Also, my liver, spleen, joints, and central nervous system are inflamed. I started the push last night too. I didn't have much of a reaction. Just pain and my arms shook a little. It wasn't bad.

This morning I had skin testing. I have 11 allergy shots and they had to test me on them. They take a shot with a little of each medicine and put it right under the skin in your arm. I had to have 12 shots because I reacted to one of them. Then I had another detox IV. They decided to change my PICC line dressing today. They changed it and I started reacting to the medicine they cleaned it with! So that means another dressing change. I also had an EKG today. Everything with my heart is fine!! That is great news! We just got back to the apartment and I'm starting to react to the push.

Changing my PICC line dressing

This pictures are from the family's ranch that we went to on Sunday

"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes."

Psalm 37:4-7

Last night I started having an allergic reaction to the dressing on my PICC line. When I woke up this morning the rash on my arm was worse. We got to the clinic this morning and I had another Major Auto-Hem. Everything went fine! They did a liver detox IV instead of the hydrogen peroxide. When we were leaving for lunch they had to flush my PICC line with saline and heparin. Right after the nurse flushed it, everything got quiet and I got dizzy and almost passed out. We made it to lunch around 2:30. When we got back they had to change my PICC line dressing again because of the allergic reaction. At 3:30 we had an appointment with the doctor. We decided that I am going to start the push tomorrow. In the morning I will get a placenta IV. It helps support the immune system and helps to create stem cells. Then in the afternoon I will get my 3 shots. The last one is called the push. The push is a shot that goes in a vein in your arm. It kills the Lyme bacteria and creates an immune response to the Lyme bacteria so that the immune system will start fighting the Lyme. This treatment is also called the "shake and bake". About 45 minutes after you get the push you start reacting. First, it feels like ice is running through your veins and there is a deep pain inside of you. Next, you start shaking. Its like your having a seizure. That can last up to a few hours. When that finally stops your fever starts to rise really fast. Mine has gotten up to 103 from this treatment. Also, pain and weakness start to hit. You really can't eat or drink anything or you will be sick from shaking so bad. The doctor wants all of this to run for 6 hours without any kind of medicine. Six hours of all that is a long time. If you really can't handle it anymore you can get in a bath of apple-cider vinegar. The vinegar pulls out the medicine and stops the reaction. It only stops the shaking though. The fever and pain are still there. Everyday the doctor encourages you to go up a step on the push. That means a stronger reaction.. Tomorrow I shouldn't have a bad reaction since it's the lowest dose. Tomorrow I am also having an EKG. My heart has been skipping beats a lot, so the doctor wants to make sure everything is ok. Later, I might have some immune system testing done. The doctor thinks mine isn't working right now. My adrenal glands are not working either. We will be trying to get everything working again through detoxing and the push. The doctor is concerned at how much weight I've lost. He isn't going to do anything about that yet.

The weather here is so nice so we might try to drive to Lake Tahoe this weekend! It's only about 30 minutes away from here. I hope you have a great weekend!

You can see a little of the rash around my PICC line. The picture really doesn't show it...

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Today I had a vitamin C IV. It had a lot of Vitamin C along with other vitamins and minerals. That much vitamin C acts just like an antibiotic and kills bacteria in the blood and helps the immune system. After I finished the IV, I got two injections! Best part of the day! Just kidding.. Everyday you get 3 shots. The first is an arm shot. That shot is for detox to help clean out toxic junk and help the next shot work better. Next is the glyoxal shot. This is everyone's favorite...it goes in the hip. It is pure oxygen and is also called the oxygen bomb. It kills viruses and the cyst form of the lyme bacteria that hides inside your red blood cells. This one hurts so bad that people have passed out from it! Once you get it you have to walk the pain off. Some people prefer jumping up and down...haha. You always can tell when someone just got THE shot. You also continue to do this shot when you get home. The last shot of the day is called "the push." I haven't started this one yet on this trip. Tomorrow I am doing another Auto-Hem (which means no shots!!) and we meet with the doctor. It will be a full day!

Sierra Nevada Mountains in Reno

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

One Day Down!

Today was a very long day. First, I was tested on IV ingredients to see what I was allergic to. Then we got the doctor's order for me to have an Auto-Hem. An Auto-Hem is where they take out almost all of your blood. Ok.. maybe just a pint...but it seems like all of your blood. They take it out through an IV and it goes into a big bottle. Then they mix it with ozone, which turns it bright red and kills any bacteria in it. Next it goes through a UV light, which also helps clean the blood. Once it goes through the UV light it goes back in you. After it all goes back in, which takes about 2 hours, they start an IV of hydrogen peroxide. The whole procedure takes about 4 hours. Today, it didn't go well. It is so weird because you can taste every IV and shot they give you. The taste alone is enough to make you pass out. They started taking all the blood and I got so shaky and was so close to passing out. This has never happened before to me. Thankfully, I didn't pass out. I made it through the rest of that part just fine. Right when they started the hydrogen peroxide I started having an allergic reaction. The taste was horrible and made me really nausious. I all of the sudden got so hot and achy and almost passed out again. My mom came over and made sure I didn't pass out while the nurse ran to get the doctor. They immediately stopped it and started me on fluids to flush the hydrogen peroxide out of my system. It took me a while to recover from the reaction. When I could finally sit up, they decided it was time to change the dressing on my PICC line. That took a long time but went great! With the Auto-Hem you don't get any shots, so we were done for the day! We got to leave the clinic around 6. I'm doing better but still worn out from the reaction. Please pray that I don't have anymore reactions to any of the medicines. This is such a great verse about not worrying. Taking it one day at a time with the help of God.

"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)