Notes from the Porch (thirty-seven): Month 1 of Treatment Round 1 Done!

From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety...
-Psalm 61:2-

This precious verse is a verse that I have been clinging to, crying through, and praying through a lot in this journey, but none more so than these past five weeks. Yesterday I shared an updated "day in the life currently" and as y'all can see this is dramatically different then a few months ago due to additional medicines, IV therapies, shots, etc. It is extremely intense and physically and emotionally my heart has often been overwhelmed. I have been trying to take each day on its own without thinking of how this will look in a week from now or even the next day. I am finding more than ever the wisdom of the verse that states that we should not worry about tomorrow as today has enough to deal with. AMEN!

The reality is that this round of treatment (this particular round of treatment is about 4 1/2 months long) is extremely difficult. As my closest friends and family know, there has been a lot of tears, a lot of discouragement, and a lot of exhaustion. Due to the treatment schedule (with alternating days of different shots "on and off") certain days are typically more difficult for me physically and usually those are the days that tears flow a little bit more freely. I am so thankful that we have a God whose mercies are new every morning and that He is our rock of safety. 

I recently have been reading through Paul Tripp's book, "A Shelter in the Time of Storm" and read the following quote that has truly touched my little heart: 

Here is the hope of every weary traveler whose feet are tired of the slippery instability of mud of a fallen world... There is a Rock to be found. There is an inner rest to be experienced that's deeper than conceptual understanding, human love, personal success, and the accumulation of possessions. There is a rock that will give you rest even when all those things have been taken away. That rock is Christ, and you are hard-wired to find what you are seeking in Him. In His grace He won't play hide-and-seek with you. 
In your weakness and weariness, cry out to Him. He will find you, and He will be your Rock.

Truly our Lord is a Rock in the shelter of any storm and tenderly leads me there, providing comfort and strength for each new day. This is what I cling to in the most difficult parts of this journey. 

As always, I am so grateful for all of your prayers on this journey. I wanted to give you some updates (and some praises!!) and humbly ask you to continue to pray. Your prayers are such a blessing on this journey!!

(1) One of the continued prayer requests is for financial resources to help with this round of treatment. As I mentioned in yesterday's post the days are quite intense with tons of traditional and alternative therapies that are designed to not only kill Lyme Disease but to help my body heal, fight back, and be given resources to make a complete recovery from the devastation that Lyme has caused. Approximately this round of treatment will cost about $6,000 (you can read the breakdown HERE) and I am praying for a miraculous $1000 to come in to help offset the costs. It is always humbling to discuss this part of this journey and yet so many of you lovingly continue to ask how you can financially help so I will share and appreciate your kindness in understanding how difficult and humbling this area is. I have put a link to a "go fund me" page set up for this round of treatment and appreciate your prayers for this area. 

(2) I would ask for continued prayers for specifically one of the IM shots that I take 3 days a week. This shot (administered by my amazing mama!!) causes a lot of pain and a lot of difficult side effects. I won't bore you with the details here, but I appreciate your prayers as this is incredibly difficult. 

(3) Another prayer request is about another shot that I need to give myself and it is also difficult with a host of different side effects then the shot I mentioned in #2. 

(4) I would appreciate prayers for my severe exhaustion. Yesterday my doctor prescribed another medication that will hopefully help with this but there are literally some days that it is difficult to even sit up in bed without passing out due to exhaustion. 

(5) a HUGE PRAISE was that we received some blood work back and we are PRAISING the Lord for some amazing news!! I have NO signs that Lyme has affected my heart at ALL. This was a huge concern and a HUGE praise as my heart looks normal. (I shared this news with several friends yesterday and all of them expressed surprise that Lyme could affect the heart. Unfortunately, yes, and very seriously. Just two weeks ago another Lymie died to heart complications from Lyme Disease and this is a very serious issue for many Lymies.) 

(6) Another PRAISE is that the blood work showed that I have NO candida.For almost every single Lymie this is a HUGE issue and causes so many complications. My doctors are THRILLED with this and we are praising the Lord that this past year of working hard to eradicate this and get my digestive system stable has obviously worked. *tears*- PRAISE THE LORD!!

(7) We are praising the Lord that this week we are finishing ONE whole month of treatment being completed!! For those of you that have been following my story from the beginning you know what an incredible MIRACLE that this is. From going to having anaphylactic reactions to everything (including food) to being able to handle over 10 different antibiotics, 40 different supplements, vitamins, IV therapies, IM shots, detox shots, etc. This is truly a miracle. There are LOTS of tears that have been shed and we are rejoicing regarding this news. 

(8) I would finally conclude with asking for prayers for me emotionally. Treatment, even with all of this wonderful news is .... extremely rough. I would appreciate prayers for perseverance on this journey that the Lord has set before me, strength for the physical demands, and encouragement for my discouraged heart. 

Thank you so much friends for all of your love and support,