Overwhelmed!

It's been a long time! A lot has happened since my last post. Long story.....well I guess that's what a blog is for....you don't have to read the whole thing if you don't want, I just like getting it out for those of you who (if anyone =) ) would like to pray!

After my endoscopy and diagnosis of Acid Reflux Disease I continued to have stomach aches. My heartburn did get better though. I didn't think much of it just because I guess I am used to having stomach pain.

A couple Sundays ago I woke up with a stomachache and a small headache. Again, I thought nothing of it and Danny and I went to church as usual. Through out the sermon I started getting a worse stomachache and started feeling feverish. We left right after church and I went right to bed. I ended up with the achy flu...YUCK. On Monday I went into work just to open the clinic and went home right after someone else got there. My body aches went away but my headache, fever, and stomachache continued; and my stomachache traveled from all over to my lower right abdomen-bad. I called Danny at work around 6:30pm and told him I could barely get up to take the dog out....he said he would come home early(originally scheduled until 8pm) I told him not to worry yet, since when I didn't move it wasn't as bad. I called the urgent care who told me they would NOT see me....they don't/can't deal with abdominal pain due to the possible emergency surgery needed if it was something severe and that I would have to go to the ER. The pain was getting worse, and I hadn't eaten in two days due to nausea and lack of appetite. He came right home and took me into the ER. When I first got there they got me right in and the nurses were"sure" it was my appendix. The Dr. was pretty sure to but wanted to confirm it with a CT scan. I drank some fabulous contrast that tasted like lemonade, waited an hour and a half, received pain meds and then went for the scan.

The Dr. came back and said "Good news is, your appendix looks normal, bad news is, your appendix looks normal".....I kinda laughed... (I was a little dopey on the morphine) and then he told us that my small intestine (or Ileum) was very swollen. He said he wanted to do some blood work, and more tests "tomorrow"....HUH??? I am not staying!!! He then pushed lightly on my right lower abdomen and I just about went through the roof...."You are staying" he said and I was ok with that then.

The next day, after a very long sleepless night, I was visited by first and Internal Medicine Dr. He told me that my white blood cells were normal and so was the rest of my blood work...which meant probably not an infection. He then said that we would need to wait to see what the GI Dr. said since he is the specialist for intestinal issues. Next around 2:30pm the surgeon came in and said he did not think I would need surgery but again, I need to wait to see the GI Dr.

Where....oh where was the GI Dr?????? It was 6:30pm when he finally came....and he wanted to do antibiotics thru my IV (which I ended up having a reaction to) and some tests...yucky ones. And said I would be staying another night due to the same amount of pain and because it was too late to do then that day. Bummer, another sleepless night for me and Danny. The Dr. also said he was suspecting Crohn's Disease. I had to do "prep" for my tests the next day that tried my faith. But God is sooo much bigger! Thanks to God for giving me my sweet husband and AMAZING friend Carrie to encourage, pray, and help me in my most vulnerable state. Of course thanks to everyone that was praying!!!

So I had the test done the next day and it actually went fine. They released me and finally after 5 days of not eating or drinking (just had IV fluids) I got to eat, and drink normal things. The pain was much better and I got to sleep in my own bed!

This past Tuesday we went to the GI Dr. to get my results. The blood work or "serology" came back positive for Crohn's Disease. The biopsies of my small intestine and Ileum came back inconclusive. The Dr. decided to treat me for mild Crohn's Disease. I now take 8 GIANT, and I mean GIANT pills per day. 2 pills 4 times per day to try to calm down the inflammation and ulcers in my intestines. So far it has not done much, I am still having some pain, though very tolerable, but no side effects except for headaches. I go back for a follow up in 2-3 months depending on how I am doing. At that time they will do more blood work and tests. If they come back the same or worse than now they are going to start me on immunomodulators.....crazy stuff!

After not running (actually almost no movement) for 3 weeks I ran today! It was 65 degrees here today so I decided to take Spike and run around the short trail by our house. It was beautiful!!!! God's majesty was amazing. As I ran I thanked Him for what He has blessed me with! The beautiful Pikes Peak that I ran towards on the trail, my sufferings, my husband, my church and the family there, my family, my friends and the life that He has given me.
Here is a quote that my sweet friend Mandy shared with me:
"God never pursues His glory at the expense of the good of His people, nor does He ever seek our good at the expense of His glory. he has designed His eternal purpose so that his glory and our good are inextricably bound together." -Jerry Bridges