pain – Pain With Purpose

Sep 15, 2019

Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week 2019

* I shared this on Facebook and Instagram but wanted to post it on my blog as well since some of you here aren’t on social media. 💚 * I originally had the background of this in blue, but then I remembered that today starts Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week 2019! So I of course had to change it to green. 😉 You know how diseases have a specific color/ribbon (gold is for childhood cancer, etc.)? Well, green is for mito. 💚💚 To bring more awareness, I just wanted to share a little about how Mitochondrial DNA Depletion Syndrome affects me which is the [...]

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Aug 16, 2019

2019 Mitochondrial disease appointment recap

Hey friends, First of all, I’m sorry it’s been so long again since I last blogged. :( Last month, I had my mitochondrial appointment in San Diego—traveling and the trip in general was hard physically (more details below), so when we got home, I had terrible nystagmus and other rough mito symptoms. And then, 2 weeks after that, I had an appointment with my pain doctor in Seattle. So it’s been pretty busy! I also never mentioned here that I got a little job in January. I am a hand lettering artist with a company called Punkpost (you can look at their [...]

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Jan 3, 2019

Reflections on this past year 2018

Dear friends, As I look back on 2018, it brings back so many emotions and memories.... But, I see God’s faithful hand throughout all of it once again. There were many joyous and happy times....like when my family and I were able to spend 10 amazing days at Disney World/Universal Studios Orlando in February (a very, very special gift from some dear friends). It was such a memorable trip. But less than 6 months after that, I experienced one of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through—my body going into septic [...]

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Jul 2, 2018

Discouraging news.

Hey friends, I got my MRI arthrogram results, and it shows that I do have a right hip labral tear. :( So now I’m waiting to hear from the surgery scheduler to schedule orthopedic hip surgery. Have to get insurance authorization first. Can’t believe I have to go through the same process once again—-hip surgery was incredibly rough.... :( I couldn’t bear weight on my affected leg for 2+ weeks, I had to use crutches, physical therapy twice a week was so very intense to try and prevent scar tissue from forming in the joint, and so much more... Once I do [...]

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Jun 6, 2018

7 years ago.

“When the storms of life hit, they almost always appear stronger to us than God’s word. It is crucial for us to remember that our perceptions can be deceptive. When circumstances strike fear into our hearts, the questions we must always ask ourselves is, where is your faith? What God wants is for you to trust what He says over what you see.” ~unknown (I took a screenshot of this quote months ago and can’t remember who wrote it.. 😅) Hey friends, On June 4th, 2011, I graduated from high school. That was seven years ago. 7 whole years. :( It's been [...]

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May 1, 2018

Very long medical update.

Hey friends, I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a while! It’s been a pretty rough two months.. :( The last half of March, I started experiencing severe, cramping abdominal pain, terrible nausea, distention (I looked pregnant! :( )....and just felt really unwell. The abdominal pain started happening every few days to every single day. Pretty soon it hurt terribly to eat (much worse than the usual pain from gastroparesis) and drink water. :( Even pushing meds through my jejunostomy tube caused pain right away. I lost weight and felt really weak. Everything [...]

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Jan 9, 2018

Reflections on this past year 2017

Dear friends, Happy New Year!!! I’m very late in posting my annual end-of-the-year “reflections” post, but better late than never, right?! ;) I didn't get to post this on December 31st like I usually do or even at the very beginning of this year because I was feeling pretty sick from a terrible feeding tube infection (more on that below)....right after that, I caught a bad virus, and both of those together really took its toll.. :( 2017 was the hardest year health-wise, and I know I said the same thing in 2016’s “reflections” post...but each year [...]

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Oct 5, 2017

Keeping on.

Hey friends, It's been over 3 weeks since I last posted, and again, there's so much to tell and to process. :( But I will try to post an update for each medical specialty: Podiatry~ On September the 19th, I had toenail surgery under anesthesia to correct the ingrown toenails. Everything went well, but my toes are still bleeding/draining even now which means I have to continue soaking my feet in epsom salts. It also hurts too much to wear shoes. I have a follow-up with my podiatrist next week to make sure everything is healing [...]

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Sep 13, 2017

Updates on the past few weeks.

Hey friends, Thank you so much for praying for me and my family. It means a lot to all of us! Your love and support really encourages me. :) My sister had her abdominal CT scan, but aside from some incidental findings, the scan was completely normal and didn't explain her symptoms at all. :( She saw her GI specialist who recommended an upper GI endoscopy. That was done on the 11th. Other than a little tissue inflammation (the dr. biopsied 2 areas, and we're now waiting for results of those), the scope, too, was completely normal and again doesn't explain [...]

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Aug 24, 2017

Please pray.

"If I should say, 'My foot has slipped,' Your loving kindness, O Lord, will hold me up. When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul." ~Psalm 94:18-19 Hey friends, I don't even know where to begin. :( These last several weeks have been so hard to say the least. I'll try to explain everything, but just a warning---this is a super long update!! First off, please please keep my sister in your prayers! Over the course of 2 1/2 months, my sister has lost 12 pounds, and she continues to lose one pound [...]

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