Pain and Potassium Problems.

Kerissa • February 23, 2017

“I choose to believe that God is good even though He doesn’t heal me. That when life goes wrong and I suffer, He is with me. To join with the prophet to sing “He deals wondrously with us!” even when the wonderful life I expected doesn’t turn out the way I’d hoped.” |

He Speaks in the Silence

Hello everyone,

First off, for those who aren’t on Facebook, I just want to share with you some good news!! Last week, I had a repeat venous duplex scan to check up on the DVT (blood clot) that formed in my subclavian and axillary veins. Well, guess what?! The clot is completely gone!! Isn’t that amazing?? All the glory goes to God! Thank you all for praying for me during these last few weeks. I’m blessed to have an army of prayer warriors by my side!

Last Thursday, I had a post-op surgery appointment. Unfortunately, my jejunostomy feeding tube that was replaced while I was in the O.R. for my port surgery a few weeks ago was not the correct size. That is, they got the diameter correct but not length. *sigh* So at this post-op appointment, the surgery resident replaced the feeding tube, and I had to be completely awake for it without any numbing medication. :'( The procedure was extremely painful because my skin around the stoma (hole) was all raw and inflamed from the tube being the wrong size. It was an 11 on a pain scale of 1-10. Seriously! The tube is about a foot long, and I couldn’t breath because I could feel the doctor push the tube in inch by inch. I’ve experienced a lot of painful procedures, but I think this tops it all. I don’t know how I’ll bear another tube change in 9 or so months….I dread the thought of it!! But I will try not to worry about the future.. I am reminded that God’s grace is sufficient. It is enough. For today….for the future.

Since November, I’ve had a lingering cough that I just can’t seem to kick. If I have a lot of doctor appointments and I need to wake up “early,” my cough worsens when I’m tired and I have to use my inhaler more often. Well in December, the cough was especially bad, and I started experiencing terrible upper right back pain then. It hurt to breathe even! And my physical therapists weren’t sure what was going on. The pain was way worse than a muscle strain. But the CT scan I had for that blood clot showed what was wrong. It turns out that I fractured a rib….just from coughing! Wasn’t expecting that! I’m glad for answers, though. Based on the images, my rib is still healing.. My physical therapist said my bone mineral density is weak because of all my conditions..

We’re not sure what’s going on now, but I haven’t been feeling well. I get a very achy back that comes and goes, and it worsens to the point that I need one of my strong pain medications. My blood potassium level has also been lower than my normal, so I told my nephrologist. I believe she’s going to add more potassium to my daily IV magnesium infusion bags to see if that helps. On top of that, I’ve had a severe, pounding headache the last few days with nausea, and we don’t know if this is all related with the back pain and potassium issues..

Or is the headache from my anemia, the nausea from all the pain, and the achy back from the low potassium? Or, is my body just now having a rough time recovering from all that’s happened the last several weeks (DVT, port surgery, San Diego trip, feeding tube replacement, broken rib, cough, etc.) and I’m going through a “mito crash”? I almost had to go to the ER yesterday…I felt so horrible, and I still do this evening. But I am seeing my PCP (my main PCP is on maternity leave) in evening clinic tomorrow, and I pray he can help.. Trying my hardest to avoid the ER!

Continuing to take it one day at a time. I recently read something really encouraging in Joni Eareckson Tada’s newest devotional A Spectacle of Glory—“I may walk in pain, but I also walk in grace.” So very true, and I remind myself of this often. She also writes, “For all the many times [the apostle Paul] was distressed by his weakness, he had the supporting grace of Christ…..grace always, always meets us at our point of pain!”

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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