Long overdue update regarding surgery

Kerissa • December 6, 2017

“Instead of a river, God often gives us a brook which may be running today and dried up tomorrow.  Why?  To teach us not to rest in our blessings, but in the blesser Himself.” -AW Pink

Hey friends,

I’m so sorry that I haven’t blogged since October!! November was a pretty busy month with Thanksgiving and other things going on, and I was waiting and waiting to hear “the plan” from my surgeon..

Well, I finally heard confirmation from my surgeon, and the big news is, my major bladder/abdominal surgery has been postponed!  I wrote in my previous blog post that my surgery date was scheduled for December 13th.  Long story short, at the beginning of November, my surgeon told me how she wants my prealbumin level to be above 20 so that I heal well after such a big surgery.  It was hanging around 18-20, so my GI dr. added an additional 10 more grams of IV protein to my daily TPN (I now receive 54 grams total of IV protein per day).  A few days after that change was made to my TPN, I had my regular weekly blood draw, and we found out that my prealbumin level dropped down to 15 (which is pretty low as the “normal” range goes up to 32).  We were all confused, so my GI dr. said he might need to look into things if my level continues to stay low.  The following week, I had the level drawn again, and it didn’t move a budge! My GI dr. told us several reasons that cause prealbumin to drop….namely, inflammation, infection, malnutrition, kidney issues, etc.  But none of those things seemed to be going on..

Well, at the end of that week, I started feeling a little “off” with a low grade fever.  Then, more and more things started going on like no appetite, weight loss, nystagmus, more fevers, and I almost threw up during the middle of the night this past weekend.

And still, my prealbumin continues to remain low.  Something seems to be brewing, and we’re not sure what….whether it’s a “mito crash” or the start of a central line blood infection.  So my surgeon agrees that we shouldn’t have the surgery right now because I need to be as healthiest as possible and this prealbumin level NEEDS to go up!  She does want to see me again for a follow-up to discuss the new plan going forward..

In the middle of November, I had my 6th sleep study to adjust the levels for my new adaptive servo ventilator for my bad central sleep apnea.  Right now, I’m using a loaner machine, waiting to get my own new device as soon as insurance approves it..

I still need to get used to this ventilator….it’s weird….if I hold my breath, the machine “breathes” for me! :O

On top of all that has happened lately, I also had to make an unexpected trip to the ER last week because my jejunostomy feeding tube accidentally got pulled out completely! :’(  And it was so extremely painful to try and insert back in..  I was upset that this happened a second time, and I just hate to think that this may happen a third time….even though I try to prevent these things from occurring by using a feeding tube clip on my shirt.

But, I’m continuing to take it one day at a time, knowing that God gives His unending grace to me for each hard day..  He is so faithful and patient and kind to me.

If I don’t blog again until after Christmas, I hope all of you have a very special Christmas with your families!!

 

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

The end of an era ❤️

By Kerissa Lee • July 16, 2026
Dear friends, I shared in my last post how excited I was that my j-tube was going to be switched back to the low-profile version at an appointment on June 23rd. Well, that sadly didn’t happen because my surgeon wasn’t comfortable with how much pain, swelling, and bleeding I was still experiencing. It’s a long story and hard to understand unless you’re very familiar with j-tubes, but basically, she said switching wouldn’t be a good idea, and we could try again in a few months. Unfortunately, things have only gotten worse, and no matter how many times I adjust this j-tube, the balloon for some reason keeps getting lodged into my abdominal muscle—it causes horrible pain, and not even my pain medication helps! I almost went to the ED the other day…that’s how bad the pain has been. 🥺 After thinking and praying about it a lot, I finally decided to ask my surgeon if I could have my j-tube completely removed since she still can’t find the cause of why the balloon keeps getting stuck. It’s been nearly 12 years using one, so this is a big deal! I just feel like the tract is somehow failing since the surgery was so long ago. Unfortunately, it can’t be done until the last week of July since it’s a policy of the surgery clinic to not use the tube for 2 whole weeks before completely removing (don’t know the exact day of removal yet). I can’t believe it’s almost the end of an era! The Lord has been so faithful and given me strength to endure over a decade of having a constant tube sticking out of my abdomen. Some days were truly so rough—remember I had that huge abdominal abscess back in 2023 and had to have bedside abdominal surgery and drains placed in the ED? I couldn’t have done this without God’s help. 🥹 You might be wondering, “What happens if I get worse again or have more mitochondrial flares?” Thankfully, I still have my port, so if I was hospitalized many times again, I would be given IV medications and infusions. And, if I did possibly need a tube again, I could have a g-tube placed in my stomach which is a much smaller surgery than a j-tube placed in the small intestine. We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it! In other news, I’ve been continuing to do so very well mitochondrial-wise, and God has been gracious and merciful! I feel undeserving of this huge gift of health when so many others I know are struggling (please keep praying for my uncle who’s been in the ICU since March)!! 😢😔 Aside from all these tube issues, life lately has been so full, but in the best way. I was able to study and complete the training to receive my Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED certification! I’ve been applying to different nanny jobs and even had my first interview last week! It would simply be amazing if it would work out to have a part-time nanny job for 1-2 days per week when I don’t babysit my foster nephew. Speaking of my sweet foster nephew, he recently turned 1!! He had a “One-in-the-Sun” 1st birthday party which was super cute and special! It’s been so neat to see God’s hand on his life from birth til now.. Considering he was in the hospital for a whole month after he was born, he’s truly come soo far, and life is very sweet with him in it! 🥹💙 On top of all that, I was finally able to take the DMV driver’s test, and guess what?! I PASSED!!! 🥰 So so happy and thankful I was able to complete this simple rite-of-passage that many people half my age often take for granted. I constantly think how huge of a gift it is to simply be physically well enough to drive around town. 🥹 After reading this, you might think I'm all healed! And while I am feeling so much better than before, I just wanted to share that I still do experience mitochondrial symptoms every day: spasticity (it often wakes me up during the night because my back muscles tighten/spasm a lot), central vertigo, minipolymyoclonus which causes muscle jerking and tremors in my hands, chronic pain, insomnia, and many other things. But, I'm so thankful to God for different medications I'm on to help these ongoing issues. There are good days and bad days, but I just look back and see how much worse I used to be! I don't know how long this stable period will last, but I continually thank and praise God for it! 🥹