You will find a tale of two contrasts in the top photo:   Aunt Lori and I in our outrigger canoe paddling in a bayou, Tarpon Springs, FL; and photo below:  wearing a respirator mask in my home.

Here is evidence of the victory over illness that began when we traveled last week from our home in Indiana.  I was able to paddle a decent length for the first time in over a year!  And paddling in our OC-2 was particularly sweet as my husband had just finished repairing the hull.  (It was damaged at the USCA Nationals in 2011.  The risk of racing, I understand!)

The escape of faith started with a lovely visit with my husband’s cousin, Christine Oswald and her family in Atlanta, Georgia.  Their four girls are adorable!  From there we travelled to Florida so my husband could participate as the Indiana delegate to the United States Canoe Association.  Meanwhile I gratefully enjoyed having lunch at Hellas on the Sponge Docks:  authentic Greek food that matched my narrow dietary regime.  Amazing.  From Tarpon Springs we made our way to remote Patrick, South Carolina (near Florence) to the hideaway log cabin of Ed & Kinsey and little Gunnar Artfich.   We really enjoyed some meaningful fellowship and are pretty sure we now have the answers to Obamacare, gun control, and preparing for the End Times.  Thanks guys.

Preparing for the trip was a nightmare as I had a neurological collapse earlier that day, two medical appointments, was recommended not to drive, drove anyways to the grocery store, and cooked my special foods for hours with the windows open.  The latter was to attempt to minimize the exposure to mold enough that I could prepare the special anti-seizure diet and pack as needed to get away for a few days.  I was sooo sick!  The Lord gave me a supernatural dose of adrenaline to start the process then finish the next morning despite a “hammer headache” and seizure attacks.  This gal was getting out of town if it killed me!

The trip did not kill me.  The trip began to restore me.  Within 48 hours, all of my symptoms had either diminished or temporarily reversed.  The antibiotic and fungal medications started to work (thanks to a run to CVS pharmacy at 2:30 a.m.!  Too bad the credit card got cancelled because we were out of State.  Sometimes I wish computers didn’t think so much!)  I had mini flare ups here and there.  HOWEVER, THE PATTERN OF DAILY 3-4 HOUR SEIZURE ATTACKS AND COLLAPSES WAS NOW BROKEN!!!  This is the miracle for which we desperately prayed in the doctor’s office on January 8th.  We praised the Lord and had a great time.  I finally started to sleep a little more too.  Amazing.

We are now in the reality of returning home.  My last post reflects the crying and feeling of being overwhelmed that has characterized these last three days.  I arranged to stay in a hotel-with-a-kitchenette for two nights beginning at 4:30 a.m. when I got there.  Steve went home as he was getting a sinus infection and needed to take care of things at our home then return to work the next day.  Turns out that I would not see him again for almost 2 days, too long.  While traveling, we were without internet access for the first half of out trip then was finally able to share a prayer request of our need for a place for me to stay.  We are one accord that I cannot live in the house that is killing me!  We had begun the process of filing a claim with out homeowner’s insurance since the mold causing the severity of this illness was from an incomplete clean-up of water damage by a restoration company in January of 2009.  The immediacy of the housing need and time of arrival back in Indiana necessitated a hotel expense.

After much prayer and consideration in my “lost” state of mind, I selected the home of one of two friends that appeared to meet my needs:  no water damage, no chemical fragrances, kitchen access, and distance from the internet router (an issue for some folks like me with Lyme Disease).  I unpacked, made a late dinner, and went to bed around midnight.  At 4:22 a.m. I was awakened by severe seizure attacks that would not subside!  Oh no!  Fear gripped my heart.  I don’t want to go back there!  What shall I do?  What is causing it?  I stayed up for 2 hours then went back to bed, hoping to catch my host couple in the morning.  The seizure attacks returned and sleep alluded me.  The old “hammer headache,” ringing in my ears, stomach ache and more began to escalate.  We really never figured out what caused this surprising setback:  was it the iron bacteria in the water or some residual from a basement flood 9 years ago?  With sadness, I had to pack up and head back to the hotel.  There I was able to sleep peacefully once again, albeit a short time until the next appointment this afternoon.

Our “ace-in-the hole” to meet a housing need for the estimated 2-months needed for the mold restoration project was the newly renovated home of another couple we know.  Sounded like it would be ready within 2 weeks and sitting empty until it would be sold in the Spring.   We toured the sweet, older home by a lovely wooded park; everything inside was to be new.  Unfortunately we found an area of drywall in the basement that had been cut away due to mold damage.  All it took was our friend tapping on the tattered insulation in the basement-smelling basement and I was in crises.  I went outside for some fresh air, stepped back inside by the screen door, then hurried back out before the major collapse ensued.  Gratefully I was able to yell for Steve.  By the time he reached me in the side yard, my gait was stumbling, I was crying, and the seizure attacks were ramping up.  All I could do was blurt out, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry” and yield with horror to the loss of control of my body.  Steve assisted me to the car and transferred me back into the passenger seat.  Decision made:  can’t live here!

Sometimes a burger at Five Guys Burgers is just the ticket.  By the time we got there, I was slowly regaining motor control and my speech rate was returning to normal.  The headache was subsiding and the embarrassment, well, still there.  Thank the Lord that beef is o.k. on my diet once per week!  Five Guys Burgers are organic beef you know!  Even sipped my husbands cherry coke twice.  I needed comfort big time!

It’s now evening and I’m sitting at my home computer with my new respirator mask digging into my face.  This is the only way for now that I can do anything in my home of the past five years.  I gathered a few more things to take back to the hotel room and am grateful that Steve will be joining me tonight.  Oh how I miss him when he is away!  Thankfully my Heavenly Husband was my companion when I needed him to make most of these moves with all my provisions and luggage, up a flight of stairs.  Thankfully I own a truck which makes it all a lot easier.

This continues to be a wild ride.  And yet, the miraculous answer to prayer is here.  With great expectation and no clue as to the next chapter in this saga, I will leave my home again tonight.  Sure miss being with Steve each day and even my dog, Elle.  I do know this, that the Lord knows the desires of my heart and has granted them in marvelous ways in the past.  Exceedingly.  He has not changed and never will.  Thank you for joining me in prayer and faith.   (Reference:  Proverbs 3:5-6, Jeremiah 29:11)