Blood tests

Kerissa • July 14, 2016

Oscar Wilde wrote: “In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.” To rephrase his thought, I suggest there are likewise only two joys. One is having God answer all your prayers; the other is not receiving the answer to all your prayers. I believe this because I have found that God knows my needs infinitely better than I know them. And He is utterly dependable, no matter which direction our circumstances take us. ~Joni Eareckson Tada

Hey friends,

Thank you for always checking in and reading my blog. It means a lot to me as I continue on this journey!

Can’t remember if I ever mentioned this, but I’ve been dealing with daily hives/itching for more than a year now. My eosinophils (a type of white blood cell that increases with inflammation/allergic reactions) have also been getting pretty high. My hematologist said we’ll keep monitoring this and run more tests if they get to a certain level.

But the hives/itching makes me so miserable, so in April or so of this year, I finally went to see an allergy/immunology doctor. She suspects I have a mast cell disorder, and she even mentioned that she sees this often with EDS and mito. I’m thankful for answers, but I do wish it wasn’t another condition to add to my ever growing list. I had lots of food allergy testing which shows that I react to pretty much all the foods I can eat (basically, eggs, dairy, oats, soy, etc.). All those foods are the only things I can really tolerate with my GI dysmotility. :/ These food reactions are related to my mast cells which are too hyper. So I was put on a mast cell stabilizer medication—it helped immensely! But only for a little while. Either its effectiveness decreased or the mast cell disorder has worsened…but I can’t increase the med dosage at this point because my insurance doesn’t cover compounded meds. So now I’m to trial some other things in addition to what I’m currently taking.

I’m blessed to have a knowledgeable doctor! She knows a lot about how mast cells are related to EDS and mito. I’d explain it here, but I don’t fully understand it myself. lol

I saw my new PCP at OHSU recently, and she is amazing! She exceeded my expectations and is so kind and compassionate. She has several pediatric patients with mito! She’s going to try to make my “coordination of care” even better. I see her again the beginning of August.

This past Monday, I saw my orthopaedic hip surgeon for follow-up. She discussed the surgery in more detail and drew us a diagram of the hip socket and labrum. She explained about the risks/potential complications with surgery and wrote down the plan for rehabilitation. I have Pre-op on July 29th, and I’ll be seeing the peri-operative medicine dr. instead of the nurse practitioner as originally scheduled since my case is so complex. After surgery, I’ll be sent home with a machine called Continuous Passive Motion. This machine will move my leg passively to prevent scar tissue formation in the joint and so that my hip/leg doesn’t get stiff. I’ll have to use it for 4-6 hours a day. :O

This past Sunday night, I had a bad episode of vomiting. That’s what happened the two weeks before I became septic in March. Praying another central line infection isn’t brewing. I saw my GI dr. today, and he ordered blood cultures to be drawn when my home health nurse comes tomorrow to draw my regular labs. My liver function lab tests have been increasing as well, and my platelets are the lowest they’ve ever been. Both can indicate infection, so we’ll see if the cultures grow.. Even if infection is ruled out, my GI dr. said something is going on regardless. I haven’t been feeling my normal this week.

P.S. My family and I had a wonderful time at the coast last week! We played lots of games, watched movies together, and put together a 750-piece Beauty and the Beast puzzle—the beach house was so nice! We also went to the beach a couple of times. And my physical therapist was so happy to hear that I tried walking a little on the sand, despite the muscle weakness and fatigue. My muscles got tired so fast, but it was nice to stand on the beach!!

me and my older sister

sunset in Pacific City

me and my IV backpack

From left to right: my older brother, me, my younger brother, and my older sister<3

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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