Repeat copper test.

Kerissa • September 4, 2015

Here are some updates for you all.  Thank you so much for continuing to pray!

The past two weeks, I started experiencing sharp pain in the ball of my right foot—it became very painful to bear weight on it.  I saw Orthopaedics, and the doctors think I’m dealing with something called metatarsalgia which is pain, swelling, and inflammation of the metatarsal bones/joints in the foot.  Thankfully, it’s improving!  Ice and rest has helped.  The doctors also referred me back to occupational hand therapy because my right hand has been cramping up a lot again, even when I wear my splint that the therapist made for me.  I see them next week after physical therapy.  My left hip/leg muscles have also “shortened” a ton which is causing severe charlie-horses (muscle spasms) and an inflamed sciatic nerve.  So my therapist is working on this.

Using BiPAP at night has been going so well!  I’m tolerating it much better than CPAP.  I have a follow-up with my sleep dr. next month.

My neurologist called me yesterday with my overnight video EEG results…thankfully, no sign of seizures!  I’m glad I don’t have to add another problem to my plate…the jerking I deal with daily is non-epileptic.  She said she still saw brain wave “slowing,” but it’s not constant which is a good thing.

On Tuesday, I saw my GI specialist.  We discussed how my 24 hr. copper results came back very high.  He wants to repeat the test, and if it’s high again, he said we have to get a liver biopsy done. :/  He doesn’t want me to have to go through that, but if the 24 hr. copper results are high this week, it’s a big indication that I probably have Wilson’s Disease, a genetic copper metabolism disorder that causes copper build-up in the body and damages the brain, liver, and other organs.  We’ll hopefully get results next week..

The GI dysmotility has been really rough lately.  Soft food I eat is not moving well down my esophagus, and the abdominal distention and pain is lasting longer each day.

I’ve been on TPN (IV nutrition) for more than 8 months now..

I wanted to share a few pictures I found on ThriveRX’s facebook page (a company that makes TPN).  I thought it was cool how TPN is put together!

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. ❤️
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
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