God is FOR us

Kerissa • June 19, 2013

Hey, everyone!

Just an update for you.  Thank you so much for your faithful prayers!  This journey just seems to be getting harder and harder, but I know I have all of you and the Lord on my side.

My left eye isn’t doing too good.  Lately, I’ve been noticing that it can’t look to the left well at all.  It feels paralyzed.  Either that, or my eye muscles got super weak over time..  My neuro-ophthalmologist is booked until the end of August, but she’s squeezing me in on July 2nd to see what’s going on.  So thankful that’s in 2 weeks and not 2 months!

I got my autonomic test results in the mail this past Friday, and the dr. who wrote the report said they’re abnormal.  I wrote in my last post that my neurologist said they’re “normal,” but I think what she meant is that I don’t have those autonomic diseases like Pure Autonomic Failure or Multiple System Atrophy.

But, on the other hand, I do have some other problems: during the tilt-table portion of the test, the dr. said my heart rate went all the way up to 175 bpm….!  That’s definitely not normal.  He also said I have orthostatic hypotension due to hypovolemia.

And, my Quantitative Sensory Function test was an abnormal study as well.  I have a large-fiber neuropathy which causes loss of joint position and vibration sense and sensory ataxia.

I recently read this verse from one of my favorite chapters in the Bible: “What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).  Then, at my little brother’s high school graduation (btw, GREAT job, Curtis!!  So proud of you!), we sang this worship song called “Our God.”  This is the chorus:

And if our God is for us  
Then who could ever stop us ? 
And if our God is with us
  Then what could stand against?
And then, on Sunday at church, we sang the same song once again!!  Coincidence?  I think not.  God has been speaking to my heart about this
continually.  God is FOR me, so nothing (not even huge, painful canker sores in my mouth, CRPS flare-ups, no sleep, loss of eye movement, muscle weakness, nystagmus, autonomic issues, fatigue, etc.) can EVER stop me!

P.S. I’ll get the whole mitochondrial genome sequencing results possibly by next week! I’m bracing myself…it’s probably going to be negative, so then I have to do further genetic testing and/or a muscle biopsy! :

P.P.S. I have my first cardiology appt. this Thursday!  I’m looking forward to seeing this dr. because Cincinnati Children’s recommended her and she specializes in POTS.

Have a great week, my friends!

October prayer request

By Kerissa Lee • October 19, 2025
Dear friends, At the beginning of October, I started taking a new medication for the autoimmune disease. I thought I was tolerating it just fine, but after several days passed, I began experiencing nausea, loss of appetite, weakness all over, and increased pain. šŸ™ It’s like I’m experiencing another “mito crash.” I found out that this specific lupus medication affects mitochondria. That is, it causes an overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This, in turn, causes cell damage and oxidative stress. I sure wish the rheumatologists would have known about this before prescribing. But I have to remember that Mitochondrial DNA Depletion Syndrome is rare, and they’re not “mito experts.” Anyways, the last time I felt like this was back in May.. I’m so grateful to God that I haven’t needed to be hospitalized from this, but at the same time, I’m also sad that this happened at all, especially because I had such a nice stretch of stable health. I’d really appreciate your prayers, that this muscle weakness can resolve soon, and that this increased pain all over will get back to my baseline. Every time I have a “mito crash,” it feels like I’m fighting the flu which always sucks. The pain has been hard to bear. And whenever I’m in the thick of it, it’s difficult to remember that this too will eventually pass. šŸ˜¢ Pray that I will endure and follow Jesus’ example like this passage from Hebrews 12:1-2– “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross...” Thank you all so much for praying for me. ā¤ļø

Thank you! (+ a prayer request)

By Kerissa Lee • October 4, 2025
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." James 1:2-3

Praises & Prayer Requests

By Kerissa Lee • September 3, 2025
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23