Rocky Start But Positive Outcome Update 11/16/23

           ~Though the road is long, it is possible. ~

After finding out that I had relapsed back in August, I have been aggressively treating through oral protocols. During first several months, I was very sick, in full body pain, and herxing like crazy on and off treatment weeks. BUT by the last protocol in October, I was not as sickly nor did I herx as much. I was hopeful going into my D.C. Specialist appointment that my symptoms would be a positive sign… and it turned out they were.

          Since my last update, I have been continuing to work teaching students English online. I also got to celebrate several friend and family birthdays. I got to watch my niece run her personal best time for cross country as well as go to my nephew’s Fall band concert. Additionally, I had the privilege of seeing two close friends get married. Recently, I got to attend painting and worship night with a group of ladies and enjoy family time playing games. In October I underesnt an eye procedure to help with dryness and pain. We are still waiting to see if it was successful. It has been a busy long season. I am very thankful for the joy even amidst the pain.

           On the way up to D.C. my family took a detour to visit my niece in Virginia Beach for her birthday. Our visit was short but a delight to see one another.

           After our visit, we made our way to Washington D.C. We hit some major traffic during our journey, which made it tough for my body. After resting up, it was time for my appointment. One thing after another got in the way of the appointment, piling on the stress. We left the hotel 30 minutes ahead of time, even though we were only going two miles away. We had to wait fifteen minutes just to get our car. Then we got a bit lost on our short drive to the office.

By the time we got inside it was 1:02pm. Two minutes late and the office was calling me. Again, I felt the stress. Then there was all this paperwork to fill out, that I had filled out before and nothing has changed. Unfortunately, my experience with the office staff was not great. They were not understanding, patient, welcoming, or even gracious toward me.

  Then the nurse came while I was filling out the tedious paperwork and was pressuring me to come back. At one point I simply said, “What would you like me to do? I can’t be in two places at once.” Next, I went back with the nurse, who never introduced herself. She also was not very welcoming or understanding that things were quite stressful. She took my weight and height and essentially told me that I had shrunk and inch and a half, which was concerning to me with the degenerative disc I have in two places in my spine. She then argued/accused me of never being as tall as I claimed and made me feel like a liar on top of my concern that if I truly was the height she said then something was seriously wrong. After about ten minutes with her, my mom commented, “I’m sorry but we didn’t catch your name.” And rather than saying I am so sorry my name is… she said, “Everyone knows me.” Well, we didn’t, and she was not very helpful. By the time she left I was crying. They have no idea how difficult it is to simply get to the appointment, much less remember everything and go through all the motions.

           Once, the doctor came in, we briefly talked about the hardship of the appointment thus far. Then we got started with the important things about my heath. He did a physical exam and asked a lot of questions. He told me several times that I did the hard work, that I put in the work to get to where I am. His prognosis was that my relapse was over! There have been several improvements since July and the aggressive treatment the last few months. The Specialist has changed my protocols from aggressive to being one week on treatment and three weeks off. I am looking forward to a less potent protocol.

 Some goals over the next six months are to work on getting stronger through stretching, PT at the pool, and working back up to walking, which will all help with endurance. I am also going to work on strengthening systems, especially digestive. I will begin working towards rewiring my brain to help with sensory, short-term memory, and even seizure issues. The doctor told me I have years of healing ahead of me, but I am looking forward to getting started on this healing journey.

           Thank you for always praying for me and supporting me.