Surgery date :)

Kerissa • July 22, 2014

Last week, I had 5 appointments—all at OHSU..  I feel like I live there! lol  But do you want to hear some good news?  Surgery had a cancellation, so I was able to see them this past Wednesday instead of the previously scheduled consult appt. the beginning of August!  All the praise goes to God!  My 6th surgery (jejunostomy feeding tube placement) is now scheduled for Aug. 7th (pre-op is Aug. 5th), just two and a half weeks away!  If all goes well, it will only be a one night stay in the hospital.

I’m glad this surgery is coming soon.  I’m still losing weight again, and on top of all my other GI diagnoses, the general surgeons gave me another diagnosis called Failure to Thrive (FTT).  It’s odd to know I now have that..

The CRPS pain in both of my feet and the muscle biopsy site has been so horrendous.  I haven’t been sleeping well at all, and I often have to keep my feet over the side of my bed because sheets cause pain!  I saw my pain doctor on Thursday, and I’m just so grateful for all that he does to try and lessen CRPS flare-ups.  He wants to do another bilateral lumbar sympathetic nerve block which is scheduled for next Wednesday the 30th.  We discussed the J-tube surgery, too, and his recommendations for pain control during and after the surgery.

Next week, I also have a follow-up with my neuro-ophthalmologist, and my orthopaedic spine dr. wants to see me as well to check up on everything with scoliosis x-rays.

At the recommendations of the mito specialist and my neurologist, I recently started a bunch of high dose antioxidants and supplements—this combination is called a “mito cocktail.”  Not sure if anything will help, but it’s worth a shot.

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