(Originally posted on December 23, 2018)
I have been trying to piece together in my mind the right combination of words for this blog post for a couple of weeks now - and still am not sure exactly how to describe (in either of the languages that I speak) all that I have been walking in recent weeks. I also have waited to attempt to write this until I have more firm news, but as we are still waiting on them most recent results, I have decided to go ahead and ask for prayer in the meantime from those of you who support me so well.
Most people don't know, but I wasn't feeling my best while in the States in November, however there was so much work to be done that I had to press on through the serious fatigue, body aches, and weakness. I hated it, but it meant that when we got to my parents' house in the evening times after a day's worth of meetings and church services, most times I had to lay down to recover and to be able to make the next meeting.
I chalked it up to the excessive amount of appointments and constant translating, as I had Pastora Ana with me who doesn't speak much English.
When we returned to the DR, long story short - I got worse. So much so, that I almost fell twice in public places, standing and waiting in line or fulfilling ministry obligations. I wasn't able to participate actively in church services or gatherings - my body just was not able to withstand the demand of energy to stand, clap along to praise songs, or hold children for just a couple of hours. I realized that it wasn't normal fatigue. The pain also increased. The pain from sitting in a plastic chair for an hour would put me in the bed. Again, not normal.
This began days spent in clinics, seeing a total of 4 different doctors, being stuck with needles SO many times, running different tests, lots of parking fees, lots of pharmacy costs, and gas expenses with the travel, and some tears. Okay, a lot of tears.
We are waiting on more results now. Many things have been ruled out and they (2 of the doctors that I have here that are working together on my case) believe I have Dermatomyositis.
Briefly (because this is super long, already, sorry) Myositis is an autoimmune disease - it causes the immune system to become confused and attack the muscles in the body as if they were something bad, like the flu. There is no human or scientific cure as of now, but they can treat it to help a person go into remission for awhile, or to prolong better days and slow down the progression of the disease.
The "Dermato" part in front refers to the fact that there are two types of this disease. There is one that you never see. There is another that can manifest itself in a body rash and affect the skin. In my case, I broke out with a full body rash on the same day I went to see my rheumatologist for the first time. That was one of the things that clued her in to this possibility.
We are currently waiting 10-15 days to get the most recent blood test back to know more. (It had to be sent out of the country to be run/read.)
Please pray for me. This journey has been very hard. (Even harder than my emergency surgery in January.) It has been super humbling (and even frustrating for me, at times) to be the one in the bed and sick and having to depend on others to do basic everyday life things for me instead of being the one attending the bedside and taking care of others. Give thanks to God for Pastora Ana, her family, and the people here that God has placed in my life to carry me physically through this time. It has not been easy for them to walk through this with me, either. The days are long. The tests and clinics and doctor's appointments are tiring.
But God gives more grace and He will see us through this.
I will update more as I receive results. In the meantime, I take advantage of the moments of the day that I have some energy and am working a little bit at a time on the projects that we have going on right now. If anyone has questions about that, feel free to ask.
Love you all - and I am so thankful to have each one of you on this journey with me. I couldn't do it without you.
