Postponed again.

Kerissa • March 17, 2018

Hello friends,

My family and I recently got back from an amazing vacation in Orlando, Florida!  I shared this on FB, but for those who didn’t know, a very kind friend and his wife wanted me to “make a wish,” so I chose Disney World/Universal Studios since I’ve never been there, and my family and I all had the most wonderful time!!!   The weather was so beautiful, the food was amazing, the parks, rides, and shows were all so very fun, and it was just so nice being able to get away from weekly doctor appointments and all things medical-related.

Anyways, this past Wednesday was supposed to be my big surgery, but it got postponed AGAIN.  I’ve had central vertigo for almost 2 whole weeks now, and it has never lasted this long. It makes my head feel awful, and the medication that calms it down makes me so exhausted (it’s a benzodiazepine).  Also, my prealbumin blood level (which shows nutritional status and how well a patient will heal) dropped down to 18 even though it got up to 22 at one point, and my surgeon said it NEEDS to be 20 or above in order to do surgery.

I can’t remember if I ever mentioned this before, but there’s been a TPN (IV nutrition) shortage because one of the main places TPN is made from is Puerto Rico..  They’re still recovering from all the hurricanes, etc., so because of the shortage, my IV protein had to be decreased by 10 grams per day.  That is one of the reasons why my prealbumin dropped.  My dextrose (sugar) also had to be taken out of my IV magnesium bags because they’re short on that, too.

So, I made another appointment with my surgeon to discuss the new plan once again.  She’s booked out, so it’s not until next month..

I recently saw my orthopedic hip surgeon, and she thinks my right hip labrum is torn (my left one tore in 2016, and I had to have surgery for it…recovery took a whole year unfortunately).  My right hip has been locking, getting “stuck,” popping, and causing a lot of pain with certain movements.  So I have to do more physical therapy and get a diagnostic ultrasound-guided hip steroid injection into the hip joint soon.  Once I fully recover from this other major bladder surgery, I have to get a hip MRI arthrogram, and if the scan confirms that the labrum is torn, then my surgeon will have to perform surgery to repair the labral tear. I just can’t wait until I have a new body in Heaven!

I will keep you posted when my bladder surgery gets rescheduled and what my surgeon plans!  I will also try to keep the updates going when/if anything new comes up..

P.S. Not sure if any of you have noticed, but I haven’t blogged as often like I used to because I’ve gotten side-tracked.. I now hand letter pretty much every single day, and I love it so much!!  It’s just the best!!  I’ve also been doing custom orders!

 

October prayer request

By Kerissa Lee • October 19, 2025
Dear friends, At the beginning of October, I started taking a new medication for the autoimmune disease. I thought I was tolerating it just fine, but after several days passed, I began experiencing nausea, loss of appetite, weakness all over, and increased pain. 🙁 It’s like I’m experiencing another “mito crash.” I found out that this specific lupus medication affects mitochondria. That is, it causes an overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This, in turn, causes cell damage and oxidative stress. I sure wish the rheumatologists would have known about this before prescribing. But I have to remember that Mitochondrial DNA Depletion Syndrome is rare, and they’re not “mito experts.” Anyways, the last time I felt like this was back in May.. I’m so grateful to God that I haven’t needed to be hospitalized from this, but at the same time, I’m also sad that this happened at all, especially because I had such a nice stretch of stable health. I’d really appreciate your prayers, that this muscle weakness can resolve soon, and that this increased pain all over will get back to my baseline. Every time I have a “mito crash,” it feels like I’m fighting the flu which always sucks. The pain has been hard to bear. And whenever I’m in the thick of it, it’s difficult to remember that this too will eventually pass. 😢 Pray that I will endure and follow Jesus’ example like this passage from Hebrews 12:1-2– “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross...” Thank you all so much for praying for me. ❤️

Thank you! (+ a prayer request)

By Kerissa Lee • October 4, 2025
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." James 1:2-3

Praises & Prayer Requests

By Kerissa Lee • September 3, 2025
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23