Only 19 more days to go!

Kerissa • May 27, 2014

Can you believe we leave for San Diego in less than 3 weeks!?!  Wow!

I’m sorry it’s been so long since I updated.  Haven’t been feeling great and am dealing with really bad hay fever on top of everything else (and the funny thing is, I’m rarely outside!).  May 16th I had a nasojejunal feeding tube inserted.  The jejunum is part of the small intestine, and the small intestine alone is about 20 feet long!  Talk about amazing!  My GI dr. had difficulty placing the tube past my stomach, and it took 3 tries + forceps.  I also had a rough time in the PACU (post-anesthesia care unit)—my temperature dropped to 94 degrees, and I experienced heart/lung issues which required IV heart medication and a breathing treatment.  With mito, nothing is simple..

On top of all that, the bottom of the feeding tube got kinked that night, and I couldn’t even start feeds.  I had to go back into the hospital two days later and get that fixed.  It’s now working great!  It’s actually fun to set up the feeding pump every day and use a syringe to flush the tube before/after feeds.  Each night, I receive up to about 1000 extra calories (my GI dr. gave me a diagnosis of Protein Calorie Malnutrition).

I’m slowly getting used to the tube down my throat but am still experiencing painful “charlie horses” in my tongue which aren’t fun at all.  But I only need to have this NJ tube for 5 more weeks!  Counting down the days!

Thank you so much, Auntie Karen and Kelsey, for putting together this beautiful “scrapbook” full of cards and notes!  What a treasure this will be throughout the years!  I am so blessed to have you in my life.  And thank you to everyone for sending words of encouragement through this book!  It means a lot to me.  I’m thankful to the Lord for all the support He’s placed around me!

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. 🙁 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. 😢 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. ❤️

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