Excited :)

Kerissa • August 23, 2012

Yesterday, I got trained to volunteer in the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Vincent’s.  It went great!  There definitely was a lot to learn!

  • We were taught how to use our ID badges to get past restricted doors.
  • We learned how to put together infant oral care bags that doctors use every day.  I have to stuff in 16 tiny syringes, 4 strips of labeled stickers, and 6 plastic cups in each!
  • We were taught how to keep rooms fully stocked with things ranging from gloves, gowns, and bottles, to baby clothes, blankets, and lots more!
  • We learned how to make labels for baby bottles and print different things to stuff in folders for new parents.

The NICU is currently on two floors, so I’m gonna get tons of exercise going back and forth!  In addition to all the above, sometime in late October, I get to be trained as a cuddler!!  That’s gonna be an awesome 20th birthday present.  So excited!  They need lots of cuddlers cuz so many of the babies have to be there for many months.  One baby girl has been there for over 70 days now!  There can be 50+ babies in the unit when at capacity.  They melt my heart.  It’s hard to believe I was once in an NICU myself when I was born!

I’m glad these Tuesday shifts will only be 4 hours long cuz at the end of training yesterday, my feet were really hurting from the CRPS!  But it’s all worth it.  This will be a great experience!

I know many of you are probably wondering how my left hand/arm is doing since the nerve block last week.  Well, to be honest, it’s kinda hard to say…  Thankfully the pain is still a lot lower than before the block, but the side of my palm is a little swollen again, and my fingers have been getting stiff at night..  But, I’m not gonna freak out.  We’ll see what my pain dr. says next month at my appointment.  He has the rest of August off, and I’m so glad that he can have this short break.  I realize more and more how much he sacrifices to help his patients like me.

In the meantime, I’m enjoying this beautiful weather!  One of the elders from my church came over this afternoon, and he and I each recited Philippians 1-2 and James 1-2!  My brain is fried now.

Letter to my GI specialist 💚

By Kerissa Lee • March 31, 2026
Dear Dr. Phillips, There aren’t enough words to express how thankful I am to have had such an amazing GI doctor like you these past 13 years. I think of all the hard challenges that have happened starting at age 20 and beyond: experiencing GI dysmotility, not being able to eat “normal” foods without terrible abdominal pain/distention, only tolerating soft consistencies like baby food pouches (which was not fun as a 22 year old!), needing an NJ tube placed down my nose, having a jejunostomy tube surgically placed, then no longer tolerating tube feeds, dropping down to 77 pounds, getting admitted the day after Christmas to start TPN, being surprised by the extremely high copper levels on my liver biopsy and starting treatment for that, going through septic shock which caused ischemic hepatitis (remember when my liver function test was 1674!), having sepsis 5 other times from multiple central lines and ports, requiring urgent surgery to remove my gallbladder, needing D10 added to my IV fluids for numerous mitochondrial crashes, and much more. Through all the highs and lows, you were there for me, and I truly feel like I hit the “doctor jackpot” to have had a GI specialist as caring, compassionate, knowledgeable, and kind as you. I shed quite a few tears to my chagrin at my last in-person appointment with you in February 2026, and I still do as I reminisce and write this letter. But, they aren’t just tears of sadness. They are also tears of gratitude—I know this journey would have been much more difficult if I didn’t have your wonderful care and support all these years. I’m so happy that I was able to get off of TPN back then after 5 years of being on it. Not only that, but I’m so thankful that I can eat orally to my heart’s content without pain and abdominal distention. I know that’s in part due to you, so thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so very much for caring for me. I will never forget you, and I wish you all the best as you start your retirement. :’) With immense gratitude, Kerissa

J-tube update

By Kerissa Lee • March 17, 2026
"God is always doing more than we know, working toward a good we will one day rejoice in." -Lysa Terkeurst

Please pray ❤️

By Kerissa Lee • March 7, 2026
Hi, friends, I would really appreciate prayer. Some of you already know this, but at the end of January, I started dealing with an abdominal abscess right next to my j-tube. I looked back through my records, and that was my 6th abscess. :( Since then, it’s sadly been one issue after another. I won’t go into all that has happened, but I’d especially love prayer for my j-tube site. After the abscess, I had my tube changed to a new one on 2/27. The surgery nurse practitioner decided to try the next size up to see if it could possibly decrease some of the leakage, but unfortunately, that was the wrong decision. It’s too large, so now the site is leaking tenfold compared to my previous size. The small intestinal fluid that keeps leaking out around the tube is full of acid which is burning my skin and making it raw. 😭 If you want to know what it feels like, imagine having a bad burn on your skin…then, on top of that, imagine acid being poured onto the burn every hour continuously. That’s how much pain I’ve been in, and I haven’t been able to sleep very well until after 6:30-7 AM each night because the burn is so intense! :’( I could cry, and I have—that’s how bad the pain is… I would show you a picture of the site but it’s not pleasant. 🥺 I’ve been emailing the nurse practitioner every single day, asking to have the tube changed back to the previous size. She hasn’t been helpful. I’ve tried all of her recommendations, but they aren’t fixing the root cause. I had to get an x-ray with contrast earlier today to check tube placement. If she does eventually agree to have the tube changed, I don’t know how I’ll bear the pain of the procedure… Remember, they don’t use sedation for these procedures (my GI specialist is shocked they don’t!), and even though I’ve been asking for lidocaine to be injected for past tube replacements, how do I bear to have needles pushed into such raw tissue?! 😭 Please pray that I will be courageous and strong in the Lord. I think of the verse from Philippians 4:19, and it’s comforting: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” He will grant me the peace and strength I need to be brave. His grace is sufficient. ❤️