Reflections on the year 2022

Kerissa • January 2, 2023

Hi, friends, I cannot believe another year is over. As we all say goodbye to 2022, I wanted to share some of this past year’s highs and lows.❤One of the biggest blessings is that I didn’t have one single hospitalization, ER visit, mito crash, or surgery in 2022 (my longest streak ever!)—all the glory and praise goes to the Lord, and I am truly grateful. So so thankful. 🥹🥹 His goodness and grace has been so evident this year. I thank God for this long break as hospital stays, ER visits, and the like are such heavy burdens. After working really hard every week with my physical therapist, another “high” is that I don’t have to use my wheelchair when going places sometimes—for example, I can now walk/shop in a grocery store (like Whole Foods) which makes me soo happy!☺

Some of the lows this year…. I previously posted how I have an eye disorder called Chronic Progressive External Ophthalmoplegia (in other words, eye muscle paralysis) associated with my mitochondrial disease. For many years, I slowly lost the ability for my eyeballs to look different directions, but my eyes were always able to look to the right. Well, I suddenly lost that ability which made me really sad.Having this eye disease puts things in perspective and makes me so thankful that I still have eyesight and can move my neck/head to look around! Another low is that I got diagnosed with chronic intractable migraine with status migrainosus. According to my headache neurologist in Seattle, he noted these daily, severe migraines are due to “mitochondrial disease progression.” They are very disabling, but I’m currently trialing a combination of medications and supplements.

I could keep going on about all the good and bad things that happened in 2022, but it’s much too long to write about!Each month, I saw and continue to see how God is faithful in the happy AND the hard. It’s easy to trust Him during the fun times…when things are going the way we want it to. But I was reminded this past year that I can also trust Him in the rough/hard times—He has a purpose for my pain. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Maybe you’re thinking, “How do we trust that His promises will come true?” Well, Randy Alcorn sums it up perfectly: “There is always much we can’t understand in life, but the better you know Jesus, the more you realize that He is trustworthy even when things don’t seem to make sense.” What a timely reminder that we all need: His character proves that He is faithful and trustworthy. And that’s what I’m clinging to as we start 2023. I don’t particularly like New Year’s Day because it’s always a little scary for me since I don’t know what’s around the corner or what new trials will come my way… But the Lord does, and I’m so thankful He knows what I can’t see. So, happy new year, friends. In 2023, may we all keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith!❤

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