Another ER visit and more appointment updates.

Kerissa • February 27, 2015

Hi friends,

This past Monday evening, I started dealing with 100 degree fevers, severe nausea, and headaches.  So my mom called my GI doctor who recommended that we head back to the ER to get blood cultures drawn in case of a line infection.  Can’t catch a break, and ER visits always wipe me out.  We spent over 8 hours there—the ER was jam packed!  The doctors ordered labs, IV dilaudid, and zofran.  The meds helped a lot.  Thankfully, they couldn’t find signs of infection in my blood, although blood cultures do take a couple days to come back.  They came to the conclusion that this was either a virus or the dysautonomia (autonomic nervous system dysfunction) that I deal with on a daily basis—my body could now be having trouble regulating temperature..

We got home after 6 in the morning on Tuesday, so I’ve been so exhausted!  I did have two appointments yesterday with my surgeon and a new ENT dr.  I had a lot of granulation tissue growing at my j-tube site, so my surgeon used more silver nitrate sticks to burn it off.  The ENT visit went well.  I had a laryngoscopy done—one of the doctors inserted a scope down my nose to look closely at my swallowing muscles and voice box.  My ENT dr. noticed that all the muscles in that area have atrophied a lot, so he thinks this may be what’s causing my chronic cough/swallowing issues.  He ordered another modified barium swallow study with x-ray to be done in 3 weeks.

Here is some good news: I am now off both blood thinners!  I’m so thankful.  I had a follow up with the anti-coagulation clinic at OHSU on Monday, and the nurse practitioner consulted with one of their hematologists.  They all agree that I’ve been treated long enough for this type of clot.

I have a lot of upcoming appointments next month with Neuro-urology, Neurology, ENT, and GI..  This week has again been rough, but I strive to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and not on all these continuing problems.  One day they will end!

“Days have come, days have gone
I know one thing’s sure
Hanging on by the words of Your promise, Lord
You are good, You are true
Even in my pain

And I’m thankful for this suffering
‘Cause it’s brought me right here on my knees
~partial lyrics from Perfect Love by Jeremy Camp

Surgery Update 😊

By Kerissa Lee • August 21, 2026
Dear friends, I just wanted to thank you all so much for praying for me during my abdominal surgery on August 6th! 💚 All of your messages/emails really encouraged my heart! If you missed my previous post, I had to have an unexpected surgery to take down the jejunostomy tract and repair an enterocutaneous fistula (a rare complication from having a j-tube for 12 years). I truly felt your prayers, and the Lord answered so many of them as well! 🥹 My surgeon only had to remove about 1 1/2 inches of my small intestine which is great news! I was in the hospital for 4 days because my blood pressure was low and pain control was rough (it’s a long story, but pain management is complex due to a specific medication I take daily at home..). But aside from that and having an allergic reaction to the surgical glue, I’ve been healing well. Thank you again for praying!! God has been so faithful throughout this journey. I got a visit from my sweet foster nephew when I was in the hospital (2nd picture)! 🥰 I can’t wait until I can show you his face—he’s so adorable. 🩵 I’ve mentioned this before, but an important medication I take causes severe insomnia (still not falling asleep until anywhere between 3 AM-9 AM). 😞 But I saw my naturopath this past Monday, and she’s going to treat me for suspected cortisol spiking up during the night (which disrupts the body’s circadian rhythm). I’m thankful for the wisdom God gives her, and I’m excited to see if this treatment will help! It will take 6 weeks to see if there’s any benefit, but I first have to specially order it.. 

August 6th Surgery Prayer Requests 💚

By Kerissa Lee • August 6, 2026
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." -Psalm 46:1

Another surgery 😞

By Kerissa Lee • July 25, 2026
Hi, friends, I thought I wouldn’t be posting for a while since I’ve been doing really well, but I’ve hit a bump in the road again and would appreciate your prayers. 💚 This past Tuesday the 21st, after nearly 12 years living with it, I had my jejunostomy tube removed completely. I thought it was going to be a simple process and that the stoma (hole) would close quickly within 30 minutes like they said. That didn’t happen, though, as the stoma started draining a ton! I couldn’t even leave the lobby and had to go back up to the clinic on the 8th floor to have an ostomy bag placed to collect all the small intestinal digestive juices that continually drained. Unfortunately, I’m experiencing a very rare complication called an enterocutaneous fistula. 🥺 I’m disappointed this is happening, but I’m not exactly surprised since my whole medical case with Mitochondrial DNA Depletion Syndrome has been rare from the very beginning.. I also don’t heal well due to connective tissue problems from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (case in point: my port site issues back in May when I had to have a new one surgically placed on the other side of my chest).. 😞 The clinic told me to keep emptying the ostomy bag and monitor the output. It wasn’t a fun 2 days. This whole process has definitely made me so grateful to God that I’ve never needed something like an ileostomy! TMI, but I lost almost a whole pound of fluid because so much was gushing/spurting out of the stoma every time I ate or drank. Losing so many electrolytes, I started experiencing symptoms of dehydration—weakness, high heart rate, and headaches. So yesterday, I had to go back and see the surgery resident who basically placed another j-tube (it was so painful again!). 😭 This is a temporary “plug,” and I’m bummed to say that I have to go to the operating room to have the jejunostomy tract taken down and the fistula repaired. This surgery will be happening as early as next week (it depends on my surgeon’s schedule).. She said it will be complex, especially because adhesions (scar tissue) form when a person has multiple abdominal surgeries.. I lost count what number this surgery/procedure will be, but I do know I’ve had more than 20! 😞 I know God is with me wherever I go and will supply me with the strength to endure yet another surgery like he always does. But, I’m still sad that I have to have more incisions added to my body. I shared the lyrics to this song before on an old blog post (the song is called It Is Well With My Soul by Matt Redman), but it immediately came to mind again when I was thinking of scars. As the song below said, it’s a reminder to me that my scars can be a testimony to others of God’s grace in my life and how he has brought me through every single pain and sorrow. In the Bible, I’ve always thought it’s so neat that Jesus still had his scars after he rose from the dead—he had a new body, and yet, his scars were still visible. ❤️ Our scars are a sign of grace in our lives Oh Father, how You brought us through When deep were the wounds And dark was the night The promise of Your love, You proved Now every battle still to come Let this be our song It is well (it is well) With my soul (with my soul) It is well, it is well with my soul