It continues to be pretty rough!

I’ve had some good moments here and there – where I’ve been able to get out of the house for a few minutes or even a couple of hours – I got to spend a little time with our newest little grandson last Friday, oh what a joy!

But most days I’m in bed, sometimes sleeping all day, sometimes not being able to sleep for days at a time. Always praying that tomorrow will be a shift into a less severe period of time.

MCAS flare up causing super itchy rashes, inflammation, headaches, & digestive issues. Fortunately throat tightening hasn’t been too bad this go around – there are times when everything I eat causes such tightness it can be scary.

Cervical instability is making it hard to sit or stand for any length of time – and impossible to sleep some nights. I’ve also been experiencing more of what I think is shoulder instability – it’s been diagnosed as “thoracic outlet syndrome” and minor dislocation but I really think it’s loose ligaments causing instability.

Laying motionless in bed the other night, I had a massive pain mid thoracic (back and front). Of course I initially thought heart attack but didn’t have any other symptoms like high heart rate or radiating pain. The pain kept me immobile most of the next day and continues to be an irritant, not horrific but just annoying enough to make it hard to function.

Fatigue is incredibly challenging every day. I have motivation & desire to “do” – and a long to-do list. But I just can’t. On the days I can get out of bed, I’m super limited in how much I can be upright.

These are the top issues right now – there are others that increase and decrease in severity (girl issues, joint stiffness, my knees and hips lock up, my feet feel like the bones break when I first put weight on them, nausea that wakes me up at times, I get “tippy” feeling like the walls aren’t upright and I feel like I’m tilting, and one often major challenges is weakness in my hands which makes it hard to do simple things like open a plastic baggie or container and cut produce. I drop objects sometimes if I use just one hand to carry things (like cups or jars).

All of those are small things that sometimes become big things. And then they fade to small things again, but they’re always there.

The best time of year for me usually starts April (ish) and lasts into the summer. We have some sunshine on the horizon, I’m hoping that will start a period of time I can move and function a little more.

But I’m also doing some more intense treatments which can either trigger issues or calm them, so I don’t know what to expect in the coming months.

Prayers for Our Family:

In addition to all that I have going on, our family has several additional health challenges we are facing.

David has a torn supraspinatus (one of the 4 rotator cuff tendons) and is going to be having surgery in a couple weeks. He has been dealing with the pain and decreased function for almost 6 months. Even with his pain and limitations, he still functions like a machine and has been getting things done before his right arm is completely out of commission for a month.

Jill is seeing a couple of new doctors – she has severe anemia that hasn’t responded to treatment (on top of all the other issues) and today she sees a hematologist to hopefully get some answers on how to proceed. She’s also been seeing a naturopath who specializes in DNA and has given us some great insights. We talk with her tomorrow about her recent OAT (organic acid test) results, which have been very enlightening and include the potential cause for the untreatable anemia. I have high hopes for answers for her this week, but new paths are always a little scary.

Your prayers for us over the coming month is greatly appreciated.