Reflections on this past year 2015

Kerissa • January 1, 2016

This year alone, I had a total of:

  • 51 doctor appointments
  • 21 physical therapy and occupational therapy appointments
  • 5 MRIs (brain, cervical spine, thoracic spine, foot, and heart)
  • 2 more surgeries (central line placement and liver biopsy) which makes a total of 9 so far
  • 2 overnight hospital admissions
  • 1 blood clot in my right cephalic vein
  • 14 days of blood thinner injections
  • 52 home care nurse visits
  • 52 central line dressing site changes
  • 3 sleep studies which showed worsening sleep apnea
  • 1 skin biopsy
  • 2 trips to San Diego to see my mitochondrial specialist in January and July
  • 2 genetic tests (whole exome sequencing and a periodic fever syndrome panel)
  • More than 150 tubes of blood drawn (thankfully, most of the blood draws were through my central line, so I didn’t have to get poked for all of them
  • 5 weeks of IV iron infusions for iron deficiency anemia
  • 2 ER visits
  • 2 electroencephalograms in June and August
  • 1 pulmonary function test
  • 1 modified barium swallow study/esophagram which showed esophageal dysmotility
  • 2 EKGs
  • 2 new medical diagnoses (Mitochondrial DNA Depletion Syndrome and Wilson’s Disease)
  • 1 jejunostomy feeding tube infection
  • 2 multi-organ abdominal ultrasounds and 1 venous duplex ultrasound study
  • 4 “24-hour” urine tests to check histamine and copper
  • And more than 365 hook-ups to IV nutrition and IV fluids

I look at all these numbers, and I’m humbled by God’s grace—I truly couldn’t have made it through another hard year without the Lord’s help.  He has been my Rock!  I’m reminded of the verse in 2 Corinthians 12— But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  I was weak many times this past year, but the Lord made me strong (2 Cor. 12:10).

2016 is upon us…  It’s always a little hard when a new year begins because of the unknown, but I know the Lord will give me courage to face whatever comes next!  Plus, He blesses me with such loving and supportive friends and family.  Thank you for staying on this journey with me!  I couldn’t do this without you!

Happy new year, friends.  May we hold fast to the Lord and trust Him in everything these next 12 months—He is faithful!!

jeremy-camp-quote

Saw this quote recently and wanted to share. Perfect as we begin 2016!

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