“I want my life to be only Christ in me…”

Kerissa • April 29, 2016

Hello friends,

Last week, I saw my general surgeon who changed my jejunostomy feeding tube to a new one.  The replacement was so painful, and it’s done while you’re awake!  Basically, the doctors pull the old tube out of the stoma (hole) in my small intestine and stuff a new one in. Glad that’s over!  My feeding tube is nice and new now. They didn’t have my tube size in stock, so we decided to try a smaller size….and it’s soo much better!  The raw skin around my tube site is now healing which is a huge blessing!

All the iron labs that my GI specialist ordered came back low…one of them is almost down to zero..  So I have to get 5 weeks of IV iron infusions to correct this iron deficiency anemia.  I have daily headaches, dizziness, and pale skin from being anemic, so I’m looking forward to feeling a little better soon.  It will take a while for my red blood cells to make new ones with the iron, though..

This past Tuesday, I had a monthly follow-up with my GI specialist.  I’m still having painful intestinal spasms, so he ordered an anti-spasmodic medication for me to try.  He’s also having me try this new medical supplement to see if it can help some of my GI symptoms.  They’re capsules with lots of super tiny beads of ultra-purified peppermint oil.

I’m still working on increasing my j-tube feeds, but it’s slow progress.  Anemia on top of mitochondrial disease makes me extremely tired, so the motility in my whole GI tract has been poorly lately.

When I was in the hospital for sepsis last month, I mentioned how the doctors ordered a lumbar spine MRI.  Well, something was found on the scan that wasn’t there before (for those who like the medical jargon, it’s called a spinal nerve root sleeve cyst….), so my pain dr. referred me to an OHSU spine specialist.  More doctors to see… I hope he can help figure this out as I’ve been experiencing some new and painful symptoms.  The appointment isn’t until May 24th, though.

Soo true.

P.S. I’m loving the new look of my blog. Thank you again so much, Curtis!! <3  Love you!

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