Excited :)

Kerissa • August 23, 2012

Yesterday, I got trained to volunteer in the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Vincent’s.  It went great!  There definitely was a lot to learn!

  • We were taught how to use our ID badges to get past restricted doors.
  • We learned how to put together infant oral care bags that doctors use every day.  I have to stuff in 16 tiny syringes, 4 strips of labeled stickers, and 6 plastic cups in each!
  • We were taught how to keep rooms fully stocked with things ranging from gloves, gowns, and bottles, to baby clothes, blankets, and lots more!
  • We learned how to make labels for baby bottles and print different things to stuff in folders for new parents.

The NICU is currently on two floors, so I’m gonna get tons of exercise going back and forth!  In addition to all the above, sometime in late October, I get to be trained as a cuddler!!  That’s gonna be an awesome 20th birthday present.  So excited!  They need lots of cuddlers cuz so many of the babies have to be there for many months.  One baby girl has been there for over 70 days now!  There can be 50+ babies in the unit when at capacity.  They melt my heart.  It’s hard to believe I was once in an NICU myself when I was born!

I’m glad these Tuesday shifts will only be 4 hours long cuz at the end of training yesterday, my feet were really hurting from the CRPS!  But it’s all worth it.  This will be a great experience!

I know many of you are probably wondering how my left hand/arm is doing since the nerve block last week.  Well, to be honest, it’s kinda hard to say…  Thankfully the pain is still a lot lower than before the block, but the side of my palm is a little swollen again, and my fingers have been getting stiff at night..  But, I’m not gonna freak out.  We’ll see what my pain dr. says next month at my appointment.  He has the rest of August off, and I’m so glad that he can have this short break.  I realize more and more how much he sacrifices to help his patients like me.

In the meantime, I’m enjoying this beautiful weather!  One of the elders from my church came over this afternoon, and he and I each recited Philippians 1-2 and James 1-2!  My brain is fried now.

Surgery Update 😊

By Kerissa Lee • August 21, 2026
Dear friends, I just wanted to thank you all so much for praying for me during my abdominal surgery on August 6th! 💚 All of your messages/emails really encouraged my heart! If you missed my previous post, I had to have an unexpected surgery to take down the jejunostomy tract and repair an enterocutaneous fistula (a rare complication from having a j-tube for 12 years). I truly felt your prayers, and the Lord answered so many of them as well! 🥹 My surgeon only had to remove about 1 1/2 inches of my small intestine which is great news! I was in the hospital for 4 days because my blood pressure was low and pain control was rough (it’s a long story, but pain management is complex due to a specific medication I take daily at home..). But aside from that and having an allergic reaction to the surgical glue, I’ve been healing well. Thank you again for praying!! God has been so faithful throughout this journey. I got a visit from my sweet foster nephew when I was in the hospital (2nd picture)! 🥰 I can’t wait until I can show you his face—he’s so adorable. 🩵 I’ve mentioned this before, but an important medication I take causes severe insomnia (still not falling asleep until anywhere between 3 AM-9 AM). 😞 But I saw my naturopath this past Monday, and she’s going to treat me for suspected cortisol spiking up during the night (which disrupts the body’s circadian rhythm). I’m thankful for the wisdom God gives her, and I’m excited to see if this treatment will help! It will take 6 weeks to see if there’s any benefit, but I first have to specially order it.. 

August 6th Surgery Prayer Requests 💚

By Kerissa Lee • August 6, 2026
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." -Psalm 46:1

Another surgery 😞

By Kerissa Lee • July 25, 2026
Hi, friends, I thought I wouldn’t be posting for a while since I’ve been doing really well, but I’ve hit a bump in the road again and would appreciate your prayers. 💚 This past Tuesday the 21st, after nearly 12 years living with it, I had my jejunostomy tube removed completely. I thought it was going to be a simple process and that the stoma (hole) would close quickly within 30 minutes like they said. That didn’t happen, though, as the stoma started draining a ton! I couldn’t even leave the lobby and had to go back up to the clinic on the 8th floor to have an ostomy bag placed to collect all the small intestinal digestive juices that continually drained. Unfortunately, I’m experiencing a very rare complication called an enterocutaneous fistula. 🥺 I’m disappointed this is happening, but I’m not exactly surprised since my whole medical case with Mitochondrial DNA Depletion Syndrome has been rare from the very beginning.. I also don’t heal well due to connective tissue problems from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (case in point: my port site issues back in May when I had to have a new one surgically placed on the other side of my chest).. 😞 The clinic told me to keep emptying the ostomy bag and monitor the output. It wasn’t a fun 2 days. This whole process has definitely made me so grateful to God that I’ve never needed something like an ileostomy! TMI, but I lost almost a whole pound of fluid because so much was gushing/spurting out of the stoma every time I ate or drank. Losing so many electrolytes, I started experiencing symptoms of dehydration—weakness, high heart rate, and headaches. So yesterday, I had to go back and see the surgery resident who basically placed another j-tube (it was so painful again!). 😭 This is a temporary “plug,” and I’m bummed to say that I have to go to the operating room to have the jejunostomy tract taken down and the fistula repaired. This surgery will be happening as early as next week (it depends on my surgeon’s schedule).. She said it will be complex, especially because adhesions (scar tissue) form when a person has multiple abdominal surgeries.. I lost count what number this surgery/procedure will be, but I do know I’ve had more than 20! 😞 I know God is with me wherever I go and will supply me with the strength to endure yet another surgery like he always does. But, I’m still sad that I have to have more incisions added to my body. I shared the lyrics to this song before on an old blog post (the song is called It Is Well With My Soul by Matt Redman), but it immediately came to mind again when I was thinking of scars. As the song below said, it’s a reminder to me that my scars can be a testimony to others of God’s grace in my life and how he has brought me through every single pain and sorrow. In the Bible, I’ve always thought it’s so neat that Jesus still had his scars after he rose from the dead—he had a new body, and yet, his scars were still visible. ❤️ Our scars are a sign of grace in our lives Oh Father, how You brought us through When deep were the wounds And dark was the night The promise of Your love, You proved Now every battle still to come Let this be our song It is well (it is well) With my soul (with my soul) It is well, it is well with my soul