Plot Twist

Friends,

This is going to be short because my body is not in a good place, but I'm posting because this week I need lots of prayer.

So remember the specialist in Washington I've been waiting to see? His name is Dr. N. and he is brilliant and loaded with impressive degrees. He specializes in helping people with mysterious chronic illness, especially patients with lyme disease. For months now I've had friends and readers of my blog (hi, guys!) email me urging me to get tested for lyme. The idea has crossed my mind several times over the years but each time I've taken steps to investigate lyme with a competent doctor, I've seen significant improvement in my health before seeing the doctor or getting tested so I've held off. Being chronically ill is expensive and I have to be strategic about the doctors I see and tests I run. But at this point in the game, lyme disease makes absolute perfect sense, so I'm investigating this option.

The difficulty with lyme disease is it's hard to diagnose. There are blood tests but they often show false negatives. People who have been sick with lyme for a long time don't always produce the antibodies that show up on those tests. Sometimes, the sicker you are with lyme, the more likely you are to get a false negative. So I need someone really smart who can help me figure out what's wreaking so much havoc in my body. Enter: Dr. N.

The last five months have been some of the hardest of my life. Most days, I'm begging God for mercy from the time I get up to the time I get to bed. When I'm not praying, I'm comforting myself. "Just a a little bit longer and you get to see Dr. N., Sarah. Hang in there." Dr. N. has been my best human hope for diagnosing my ailments and alleviating my symptoms.

But then, a few days ago, the town crier ran onto the dramatic stage that is my life and shouted, "PLOT TWIST!"

Dr. N. is going out of town for half the summer and I will not get to see him on the 15th after all. He leaves the day before my scheduled appointment. I am so, so disappointed and discouraged. I'll be able to see him the end of summer, but that's disappointing for a couple reasons. First, I'd planned on using the summer to get treatment so I can return to southern California in the fall. I love my life down here and want to keep it. If I don't get treated this summer, I can't imagine how I'll be able to come back in August. Second, my body, heart and mind are so weary of enduring so much physical suffering. I long for relief.

So now I'm back to the drawing board, scrambling to find a doctor near my folks' house. I've found a few, but none of them can see me before late July. I've gotten on their cancellation lists in case there's an opening in the next several weeks. I've also moved my flight up from next Tuesday to this Sunday so I'm in Washington all next week in case Dr. N. has a cancellation.

Will you pray for me as I look for a doctor? Please pray that I can get into see a doctor who will be a good fit for my needs in the next couple of weeks, and please pray that I can rest in God's goodness, power, and provision in the meantime. And, as I fly on Sunday, please pray for a turbulence-free flight and a calm nervous system.

This was longer than I thought! A Friday miracle! Thanks for your notes of encouragement, prayers and help on this journey, my friends. You help mitigate the difficulty of all this.

Cheering for ya, Skillets,

Sarah




© by scj