"...that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
This is also the day I finally heard from The Mayo Clinic. All test results are in. This is the day I finally have an official diagnosis. Drumroll, please...
Urticarial Vasculitis in addition to Chronic Autoimmune Urticaria
My reaction? Well, I really don't care what they call it. All I care is if they can fix it! After more bloodwork, they will be starting me on a new immunosuppressant drug and slowly weaning off the steroids. Yay for no more steroids! Now I'm just hoping the new meds don't have more side effects than steroids. Well, the good Lord has led me this far, and I know He's not letting go now!
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:16
"But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jeses, after you have suffered a while, perfece, establish, strengthen and settle you." 1 Peter 5:10
Sometimes, waiting faithfully for God's plan to unfold is more important than understanding God's plan.
"This is the day that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
that I found many blessings in disguise, have you?
"...that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
This is also the day that I did not hear from The Mayo Clinic. I was supposed to hear something by last Friday, but I heard nothing. The Mayo did call yesterday, however, just to let me know they are still waiting on some test results and would call me as soon as they had answers.
This is the day I have patience. This is the day I know God is leading the doctors to answers and I will have them soon enough. The end of the tunnel is up ahead and I'm headed straight for it.
As I wait patiently for the answers from the doctors, I think back on the journey through the tunnel. A dark miserable tunnel that has produced so many blessings. Blessings? What? Yes, that's what I said. I have had awful hives, life altering hives, life altering medication and two cancer scares in a year. Yes, I said blessings.
Ode To Hives
They came without warning
They left bruises, were itchy and red
They made me absolutely miserable
Covering me from my toes to my head.
But what they didn't count on
Is that in the midst of my misery
That God would reach down
And pour out so many blessings on me!
For while I cried out for healing
God was moving in my life
He was changing me from the inside
All the while knowing my pain, my hurt, my strife.
The doctors threw up their hands
"There's nothing more we can do"
But God was leading me
He was not through.
God opened my eyes to so many things
He blessed me greatly, and my family, too
For I am completely changed within
I am a child of God, through and through!
And if all this came about
Through a mystery that kept the doctors guessing,
I will look at this chapter in my life
As not a curse, but His great blessing!
So, when life has you down. When you pray, but don't seem to see your prayers answered. When you feel like you are drowning in everything this life has thrown at you. When you throw up your hands and say, "What next?" or "Well, it can't get any worse." When you just don't want to face another day, just think of the blessings in your life. God is there, I assure you.
I heard a song that touched me greatly and hope to sing it one day. Here are a few words from the song "Blessings" by Laura Story:
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching(s) of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise
So look back on your life. The good times and bad. What miracles did God work for you? What prayers did He answer for you? Do you remember them? All the time? Oh, how easy it is to forget all the miraculous things God did for us! All I have to do is look at my scars. I have accumulated quite a few over the past year. They are beautiful to me! They remind me of the amazing miracles God gave me! Never forget what God has done! He loves you and He shows you all the time! Are you seeing it? Do you have the faith that opens your eyes and heart to these miracles?
While I think about my miracles, I am humbled. He did all this for me? What can I do to repay Him? This is yet to be determined. Going to church and studying God's word is helping me to be open to His plan for me. If you don't have a church home, please, please find one. This has really been on my heart. What are we doing to serve Him and thank Him for all He has done? Also, is the God we worship and thank on Sunday, the same God we are TGIF'ing on Friday? "Let Others See Jesus In You," was my grandfather's favorite hymn. I have found myself singing this to myself quite a lot lately. Do others see Jesus in you? Are we as quick to share our blessings and miracles as we are to complain?
Don't miss out on a wonderful opportunity to serve the God that has so richly blessed you! I can never return the favor, but I can sure try.
Over the past year, my friends have often said, "I know when I talk to Krissy, there is always something new." Well, boy are they right. Except now, that something new isn't a new ailment, it's my soul.
"This is the day that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
This is also the day that I did not hear from The Mayo Clinic. I was supposed to hear something by last Friday, but I heard nothing. The Mayo did call yesterday, however, just to let me know they are still waiting on some test results and would call me as soon as they had answers.
This is the day I have patience. This is the day I know God is leading the doctors to answers and I will have them soon enough. The end of the tunnel is up ahead and I'm headed straight for it.
As I wait patiently for the answers from the doctors, I think back on the journey through the tunnel. A dark miserable tunnel that has produced so many blessings. Blessings? What? Yes, that's what I said. I have had awful hives, life altering hives, life altering medication and two cancer scares in a year. Yes, I said blessings.
Ode To Hives
They came without warning
They left bruises, were itchy and red
They made me absolutely miserable
Covering me from my toes to my head.
But what they didn't count on
Is that in the midst of my misery
That God would reach down
And pour out so many blessings on me!
For while I cried out for healing
God was moving in my life
He was changing me from the inside
All the while knowing my pain, my hurt, my strife.
The doctors threw up their hands
"There's nothing more we can do"
But God was leading me
He was not through.
God opened my eyes to so many things
He blessed me greatly, and my family, too
For I am completely changed within
I am a child of God, through and through!
And if all this came about
Through a mystery that kept the doctors guessing,
I will look at this chapter in my life
As not a curse, but His great blessing!
So, when life has you down. When you pray, but don't seem to see your prayers answered. When you feel like you are drowning in everything this life has thrown at you. When you throw up your hands and say, "What next?" or "Well, it can't get any worse." When you just don't want to face another day, just think of the blessings in your life. God is there, I assure you.
I heard a song that touched me greatly and hope to sing it one day. Here are a few words from the song "Blessings" by Laura Story:
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching(s) of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise
So look back on your life. The good times and bad. What miracles did God work for you? What prayers did He answer for you? Do you remember them? All the time? Oh, how easy it is to forget all the miraculous things God did for us! All I have to do is look at my scars. I have accumulated quite a few over the past year. They are beautiful to me! They remind me of the amazing miracles God gave me! Never forget what God has done! He loves you and He shows you all the time! Are you seeing it? Do you have the faith that opens your eyes and heart to these miracles?
While I think about my miracles, I am humbled. He did all this for me? What can I do to repay Him? This is yet to be determined. Going to church and studying God's word is helping me to be open to His plan for me. If you don't have a church home, please, please find one. This has really been on my heart. What are we doing to serve Him and thank Him for all He has done? Also, is the God we worship and thank on Sunday, the same God we are TGIF'ing on Friday? "Let Others See Jesus In You," was my grandfather's favorite hymn. I have found myself singing this to myself quite a lot lately. Do others see Jesus in you? Are we as quick to share our blessings and miracles as we are to complain?
Don't miss out on a wonderful opportunity to serve the God that has so richly blessed you! I can never return the favor, but I can sure try.
Over the past year, my friends have often said, "I know when I talk to Krissy, there is always something new." Well, boy are they right. Except now, that something new isn't a new ailment, it's my soul.
"This is the day that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
That I went to the Mayo Clinic and drank from The Fountain of Youth!
"...that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
This is also the day I became a patient at the Mayo Clinic. This is also the day I drank out of The Fountain of Youth.
I haven't flown in forever. Alexandria airport was a breeze. Atlanta, not so much. We exited our plane and speed walked to our gate because we were cutting it close for time. We shouldn't have rushed. Plane delayed an hour. Not bad. Then we finally boarded the gigantic plane, and here comes a storm. Two hours later, we finally leave the runway. On a wing and a prayer, cause I was doing some serious praying while watching the lightening all around us.
Safely landed in Jacksonville, got our rental car, told guy at rental car place he was crazy if he thought I was paying an additional $26 per day for insurance (on top of the $35 per day) and headed out in the middle of the night. In a rental car. With no insurance. In a strange city. Praying some more. Finally found our hotel! Thank you Jesus!
Tuesday. This is the day of my initial Mayo appointment at 1:15. Woke up at 7:00 am, with either a stomach virus or food poisoning. I'll spare you details. Not pretty. Couldn't leave the bathroom. I was soooo sick! Thank you prayer warriors! With all those prayers, God helped me make my appointment. Paper bag in hand, pale and weak, but I made it!
The Internal Medicine / Rheumatologist was very thorough and nice. He asked lots of questions. He said my case is complicated and rare. Imagine that. However he did say "there is always something we can do!" Thank you Lord. That sounds promising to me! So, he ordered tons of bloodwork and set up appointments with Allergy/Immunology and a Dermatologist that specializes in autoimmune diseases. Oh, and stop all meds until you see all docs. Say what?!? Uh, yeah, I am now covered in hives and bruises from hives. The upside: no one ever sits really close to you :-/
This is the day I had bloodwork only. Well, 23 tubes of blood. Then we headed to St. Augustine! Such an awesome city! Such amazing history! And shopping! We really did visit The Fountain of Youth. Well, when Ponce de Leon landed and named the land Floridia, he knew he had found the fountain of youth because the natives lived to be 70-80 years old. An age completely unheard of back then. Anyway, the water smeed like eggs because of the sulfer content, but I drank it, every drop. Well, I was sadly disappointed!
Today, I didn't recieve the miracle of youth from a fountain, but the miracles I recieved and am about to recieve doesn't come from a fountain. It comes from a higher source! I have complete faith God had led me here for a reason. He is working through these amazing doctors, I know it. I am covered in hives and bruises from hives, but I know all of this is about over. The doctor said he would call me next week with results from this week.
Thank you to everyone who has prayed and continues to pray! I definitely feel your prayers! We serve an amazing God! I can't wait to reveal His next miracle!
"This is the day that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
This is also the day I became a patient at the Mayo Clinic. This is also the day I drank out of The Fountain of Youth.
I haven't flown in forever. Alexandria airport was a breeze. Atlanta, not so much. We exited our plane and speed walked to our gate because we were cutting it close for time. We shouldn't have rushed. Plane delayed an hour. Not bad. Then we finally boarded the gigantic plane, and here comes a storm. Two hours later, we finally leave the runway. On a wing and a prayer, cause I was doing some serious praying while watching the lightening all around us.
Safely landed in Jacksonville, got our rental car, told guy at rental car place he was crazy if he thought I was paying an additional $26 per day for insurance (on top of the $35 per day) and headed out in the middle of the night. In a rental car. With no insurance. In a strange city. Praying some more. Finally found our hotel! Thank you Jesus!
Tuesday. This is the day of my initial Mayo appointment at 1:15. Woke up at 7:00 am, with either a stomach virus or food poisoning. I'll spare you details. Not pretty. Couldn't leave the bathroom. I was soooo sick! Thank you prayer warriors! With all those prayers, God helped me make my appointment. Paper bag in hand, pale and weak, but I made it!
The Internal Medicine / Rheumatologist was very thorough and nice. He asked lots of questions. He said my case is complicated and rare. Imagine that. However he did say "there is always something we can do!" Thank you Lord. That sounds promising to me! So, he ordered tons of bloodwork and set up appointments with Allergy/Immunology and a Dermatologist that specializes in autoimmune diseases. Oh, and stop all meds until you see all docs. Say what?!? Uh, yeah, I am now covered in hives and bruises from hives. The upside: no one ever sits really close to you :-/
This is the day I had bloodwork only. Well, 23 tubes of blood. Then we headed to St. Augustine! Such an awesome city! Such amazing history! And shopping! We really did visit The Fountain of Youth. Well, when Ponce de Leon landed and named the land Floridia, he knew he had found the fountain of youth because the natives lived to be 70-80 years old. An age completely unheard of back then. Anyway, the water smeed like eggs because of the sulfer content, but I drank it, every drop. Well, I was sadly disappointed!
Today, I didn't recieve the miracle of youth from a fountain, but the miracles I recieved and am about to recieve doesn't come from a fountain. It comes from a higher source! I have complete faith God had led me here for a reason. He is working through these amazing doctors, I know it. I am covered in hives and bruises from hives, but I know all of this is about over. The doctor said he would call me next week with results from this week.
Thank you to everyone who has prayed and continues to pray! I definitely feel your prayers! We serve an amazing God! I can't wait to reveal His next miracle!
"This is the day that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
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