Recovery from Serious Illness: Lyme, CIRS, & More – Page 116

You have made a difference!

Published on September 27, 2013August 5, 2014 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

I am grateful for the love, care, and support of some special folks who have helped me make it through nearly two years of serious illness. I am also sad for those who have left my life or misunderstood this time in my life. Hardship is not contagious folks!

First, the good stuff. The person nearest and dearest to my heart is my beloved husband, Steve. I am amazed when I gaze into his blue eyes at the sincerity of his love for me and for the Lord too. When he comes close and holds me through a tough episode, cradling my neck in his hands to comfort me and minimize the trauma of various noxious symptoms, I am humbled! There are not many people on the planet that would do this even for a loved one two years “down the road.” Many would become exasperated, angry, indifferent, or worse by now. Thank you Lord for this amazing man. Thank you for my “Jesus with skin on.”

The next group of folks closest to the fire, so to speak, who have helped me to survive are my Lyme Literate Medical Doctor and our local Lyme disease support group (who are largely his patients). You understand! You get it! And you believe me! When my Doc calls me on a Saturday with the name of a pharmacy where I can get a medication almost $100 USD cheaper, I am grateful! When it’s my turn to share at our monthly Lyme group meeting and my tummy is happy from the yummy snacks we bring that fit our special dietary restrictions, I feel loved! And then when we exchange text messages or Cindy, or Roberta or Diana offers help with a special task, I am humbled. Oh how I pray I may serve you too in your time of need.

A few dear friends and family members have witnessed and endured much of the past 10 years of this incredible journey of transformation. I love the kind of relationships that go on no matter what life brings, picking up when we meet again as if no time has passed. I hope my brother Mike, Brenda, Deb, Kinsey, Patrice, Mary, Judy, Maria, Tami, and a few others feel the same way? Now that my parents and grandparents have passed away, I appreciate even more my extended family including my Other Mom, Other Dad, Uncle Dave, Aunt Lori, Aunt Patty, and Aunt Shirley. I love you and thank you for investing in my life.

There’s a special place in my heart for the online community. Whether I met you on a Facebook Lyme forum, your blog or when you commented on my blog, I credit you with keeping me sane at the odd times of day when no one else cares! Thank you for your “likes,” for following this blog, for your comments and suggestions, for your time. The greatest gift from a friend is a gift of his or her time. When you reach out to me I know that I am not alone. While the internet can be a ruthless place, I am grateful for it’s goodness, especially when I am awake in the middle of the night. It’s pretty cool that my buds in the UK or West coast of the US are online when I am! Please let me know how I may return your kindness.

I’ll save the best for last. In the interim, I’ll briefly state my sorrow for those who have chosen to leave my life. He or she will not be reading this so I won’t waste much white space gushing this or that emotion. I am grateful that when I have endured hardship in the past, I learned the importance of letting go of the people, places, and things that leave my life at these times. Perhaps saying goodbye makes room to welcome the blessings that are to come? Thank you for all that you have taught me. Godspeed, dear ones. I’ll be here if you want to stop by for a chat or walk around the block in the future. As for the things, well they are just things. So long.

And now for the best: the One who knew me and my frame before I was born, fearfully and wonderfully made by Your guiding hand. (Psalm 139) I love you Lord and thank you for saving me from my path of destruction as a young woman. I praise you for crafting the incredible events of my life to bring me more blessing than I could have ever imagined in the middle of my journey on this earth. While I do not fully understand the sorrows that have come, I am convinced that You hold my tears in your hand, counting and caring for each drop, every pain. I have never felt alone. Thank you Jesus for bringing me to Your throne of grace where I may dwell in Your presence now and forevermore. Grow my trust in Your promises, Your plan for my life, Your will for me all that is around me in this world that is troublesome. Come soon my Lord!

So for all of you and you and you and you and You who have made a difference in my life, I give thanks. If I have screwed up somewhere, please let me know and consider forgiving me. I want to make it right if I can. And if any good comes from me, these blogs, or anything else, to God be the glory. He is worthy to be praised!

Sneak Peak: Hope Beyond Lyme: The First Year

Published on September 26, 2013September 26, 2013 by Jesus is for the Wounded1 Comment

Here’s an important peek into the eBook borne out of this online blog with updated material, bonuses, and references. Stay tuned for publication information, coming soon! Thanks a bunch, Just Julie

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Final Thoughts

August 24, 2013

“Life is like a box of chocolates. Sometimes you don’t know what you’re gonna get.”

Remember this famous line from the movie, Forrest Gump? (Paramount Pictures, 1994) Yeah, I “get” this message when the day begins with renewed hope and generally ends, well, somewhere else! Gratefully, the day is never without hope at some level.

Perhaps you have wondered what you would “get” when you were beginning to read this eBook. Maybe you downloaded it because of the words, “Lyme disease” in the title. I appreciate you wanting to learn more about it as it seems I too can never learn enough about this complex and almost sinister disease process that is so difficult to diagnose and treat successfully. If you would like more information on Lyme disease see the About Lyme Disease chapter at the beginning of this eBook. I also encourage you to go to the websites of the International Lyme and Associated Disease Society and Mercola.com.

By now you realize that you have gotten something quite different from me than a Wikipedia description of this and other serious illnesses. I am hoping that as we close here, you have seen how there can be more to a journey colored by a chronic sickness than the illness itself.

Most importantly, I hope that you can see how much of a difference it can make to have a personal relationship with God through His son, Jesus Christ, when enduring a serious illness. He has changed my perspective and transcended my experience over and over again in a way that continues to make a difference. I could not go on without Him! Life is just too difficult otherwise.

I hope that you have come to understand that you too can have this personal relationship with God by coming before the Father in prayer and supplication, in the name of Jesus Christ. As we each approach the “throne of grace,” we must first acknowledge that we are imperfect, live in an imperfect world, and have an imperfect life. The world is imperfect not because of our mistakes but because of its falleness and that is due to the presence of sin. Sin in turn affects us no matter who we are as a part of our human condition (Romans 3:23). We come to understand that we can overcome sin by admitting our brokenness, asking for forgiveness from the Giver of life, and accepting the gift of saving grace to wipe the slate clean: He then restores us to a right relationship with God. We are forgiven and free, now and forevermore. (John 3:16)

The faith needed to believe this truth and go forth comes from reading and hearing His inerrant Word, the Bible. (Romans 10:17) When we do make a decision to believe, we enter into a relationship with the God of the universe (and with fellow believers too) that can never be taken away unless we denounce that Jesus is Lord. We are saved from the guilt of our sin and our perspective in life changes. We are never, ever alone again as we receive the indwelling gift of His Holy Spirit: our Counselor, Our Guide. We also embark on an amazing journey that brings peace, love, joy, spiritual gifts, blessings, and promises that will take us through everything and anything that happens on this earth. We will not truly know what this is like until we make a decision for Christ.

And one day when our time on this earth is over, we will enter into His presence to live with Him forevermore. We cannot even fathom the infinite glory of heaven in our finite earthly minds. In heaven there will be no more suffering, no more tears. Wow. None!

If you have not already done so, and would like to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, I encourage you to pray a prayer of repentance and submission right now. In doing so, you surely will receive: Hope Beyond Lyme. And if you do, would you send me an email and tell me about? I’d like to be among the first to welcome you into the family of Christ.

Take care, Gentle Reader. Just Julie

Blasting through the block

Published on September 22, 2013September 25, 2013 by Jesus is for the Wounded2 Comments

Just do it!

Carpe diem!

Go for it!

He who hesitates is lost!

What’s your excuse?

I don’t have a good excuse. It’s simply a case of a block in creativity. When I feel like crap-o-la-ski (there’s my Polish again) for days on end, I do not “create” new and exciting things very well. Even my writing gets a little bland and I start posting pictures of green frogs saying cute things! You saw that one, right?

So today I have a jewelry order due and I’m stymied by this block thang. So today I will employ the only strategy I have the energy for: a little cleaning, a little organizing, a little reviewing of records, and a little blogging. Then if I can get myself to turn around from the computer and linger over my home studio area, surely the creativity bug will start to buzz a bit . . .

Gratefully, the Lord placed some fresh ideas in my mind earlier today when I was laid up in bed recovering from some noxious symptoms. Receiving a gift of some new ideas without even trying to make them happen is a blessing indeed! I guess all that time spent wandering around Pinterest, a LinkedIn jewelry forum, and watching You Tube videos last month probably helped some too.

Yeah, that’s the ticket! If you can’t go forward, go sideways for awhile. Like dwelling in the grace of my Heavenly Father. Allowing His love to wash over me prepares me for all He has in store for me whether good, bad, or indifferent. Often these days there is no label for the hours that pass, they just pass as I lie on the bed recovering from this or that, looking out the window at the variegated dogwood bushes on a sunny day. Maybe I’ll just focus on the soft leaves waving to me in the wind and woosh of their “hello, how are ya?” I’m sure if they could talk, the crimson branches would say that to me. No one else is around so they wouldn’t be talking to anyone else, would they?

Oh no. Did you see what just happened? The creative juices started flowing again as I continued to write! Better turn around quick and find some pink hemp cord before the inspiration leaves again.

Let’s see, it was a Breast Cancer Awareness bracelet for my sister-in-law’s friend, right? Gotta go. Seeya later! :J

Author’s Addendum: 24 hours later, we have this fun wrap bracelet now available at Trinity Jewelry by Design. Feeling some better and love this new direction! :J

From the bathroom mirror

Published on September 21, 2013 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

Psalm 71: 20-22 (NKJV)

You, who have shown me great and severe troubles,

Shall revive me again,

And bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

²¹You shall increase my greatness, And comfort me on every side.

²²Also with the lute I will praise You—

And Your faithfulness, O my God!

To You I will sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel.

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Yes Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer,

My hope and my rest.

Thank you for Your timeless Words.

Thank you for revealing Yourself and Your truths to me this day.

May all who find them come to know you and love you exceedingly.

In Jesus name, Amen.

Brief treatment update

Published on September 20, 2013September 24, 2013 by Jesus is for the Wounded3 Comments

Here’s a brief update in my continuing adventure of recovery from Lyme, fibro, mold, and whatever:

Saw a new chiropractor for 7 visits and while the treatment got rid of my headaches and increased my overall ability to move, I had seizure attacks every visit! I finally got word this past week that Dr. N did talk to my LLMD as I had requested. Still Dr. N referred me to another chiropractor for more “comprehensive” care. That did not work out so well. (See posting from Tuesday!) I’ll probably go back to Dr. N after a few more magnesium treatments and after I’m able to drive 30 minutes to his office several times per week.

Began treatments of IV magnesium on Friday the 13th; spent the evening with seizure attacks/convulsions followed by 7 hours of tic/seizure attacks into the morning. Yipes! Had a better day by the time Sunday came, albeit weak from the previous 2 days. (Only had one episode that night, on the way home from our Sunday church home group.) Getting the IVs started has become an arduous, painful process with a minimum of 2 wretched sticks before the RNs find a suitable vein. What follows on the day of treatment or the day after appears to be a herx reaction or healing crisis of sorts. This treatment is scheduled to continue for a month; supplemental magnesium is a promising treatment for me despite the difficulties. I’m praying that the Lord sustains me and that my tender vessels endure it! Tomorrow I’m going to let them give me the PRN narcotic pain med. with the treatment. I just need a break from these awful neck headaches that come from the wrenching head-n-neck motion during attacks. Gratefully, there is improvement with one fewer attack per day, barely a few tics last night and significantly less chest compression pain! Yes!

Rife or Beam Ray treatments are on hold. My tolerance for this sound and light wavelength technology was decreasing so it’s on hold for now.

Waiting in the wings is a new round of low dose antibiotics after some lab testing pending soon to rule out a new UTI. Got lots of itchy, burning, ringing, stinging, stabbing, aching symptoms all over right now possibly flared up by the stress of the IV treatments. “Rest” is my focus at the moment in my weakened state. I do make dinner most nights, however!

A neurology appointment is now scheduled for October 1st at the Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis. IU is the go-to place for persons in the Fort Wayne area needing a special consultation. So to Indy we will go at 5 in the morning. Hey, if my beloved can take off at 6 in the morning for a kayak race, 5 should be a piece of cake, right? Gooooo Steeeeeeve! As for me, well I might still be up from the night before!

Steve and I are grateful for some help with a meal once per week from the lovely ladies at our church. It seems like the night they bring dinner something bad happens later on, like an emergency room visit 2 1/2 weeks ago. Their generosity is a real blessing and it sure breaks up the isolation for me when they stop by!

Well that’s the main stuff or at least the news for the masses. If you wouldn’t mind praying for us that would be great. My heart is tender for Steve right now because we had to cancel our trip to see his grandson for Jackson Rees’s first birthday and to see some dear friends in South Carolina. I really need Steve in the evenings when the attacks and physical episodes of collapse are usually quite nasty. This would be too much for a female friend to handle if a gal was staying with me at night and Steve went out of town by himself.

Steve has travelled alone 3 times since this process of illness began for me nearly 2 years ago. We have cancelled a trip before but rarely decline local invitations. Steve just goes to them without me and that is cool with me. Travelling to Arkansas this past summer was very hard on me despite a couple of nice visits during the 5-day trip. So to cancel the South Carolina/North Carolina trip is just what we have to do this time, although it’s a bummer. JR is going to get a big box in the mail real soon! Anyways, if you wouldn’t mind praying a prayer of sustaining grace (for me) and strength (for Steve) that would be super. The Lord has helped us and even blessed us. We are trusting Him and hopeful for all He has in store for us. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Take care all,

Just Julie