Back to the Pain

Kerissa • August 26, 2012

This past Thursday, the CRPS pain came back in full force. :'(  My hand/arm is back to being cold, sensitive, swollen, discolored, and painful!!  Thursday and Friday, I guess you could say I really struggled with this turn of events.  I was a little frustrated.  I didn’t injure it, I was so careful not to overuse it, and still, the pain went back to what it was like before the block.  I didn’t understand.  But then, this weekend, God spoke to my heart and gave me peace that He is still in control in the midst of this flare-up.  I still have a lot of questions, but I realize once again that some of those might not be answered in this life.  All I can do is surrender this to Jesus and believe with my heart that He has a good purpose behind the pain.  He’s not finished with me yet.  And in the meantime, as I learned from a Philippians sermon at Solid Rock today, I just gotta “keep going” and forget what lies behind (all the pain, all the disappointments, all the frustration).  I want to “ press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14)

So now, I’m waiting for August to end so that I can tell my pain dr.  He’s on vacation, so I have to wait 9 more days!  I’m really praying he’ll at least consider the ketamine infusions.  I’ve heard so many good stories of its success!  Part of the reason he may not want to do them is because they’re inpatient, so it would be quite spendy.  But, we’re almost at our catastrophic insurance protection which means that once we reach that point, we won’t have to pay any more medical care for the rest of the year!  So if he suggests the ketamine infusions, I’ll be game to try it!

My pain meds that I’m taking right now aren’t enough for the pain, and I already had to double one of the doses after a flare-up in July.  And, I really don’t want to take anymore pills.  I’m going through the green-and-blue “candy” and the white-and-orange ones way too fast!

On Friday, when I arrived at the center for rehab, I actually didn’t have an official PT appointment.  After assessing my neck, spine, and arms, my therapist talked to one of my pain dr.’s colleagues and asked her to order two cervical spine x-rays.  I’ve been getting bad cervical spine pain, and he’s not sure if it’s CRPS pain or something else going on because, when I side-bend my neck to the left or right, I can’t lift my arms and it hurts.  So I had those x-rays done right away, and now I’m waiting once more for the results….  I should hear back this week.

Thanks for checking in!  I officially start volunteering in the NICU on Tuesday.  Really hoping the pain won’t get in the way!

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