phone call with my neurologist :)

Kerissa • November 10, 2012

Praise God!!  My neurologist just called me this evening.  *sigh of relief*  There was some sort of mix-up or something with my medical records, so she wasn’t able to look everything over until today.  First, she told me that my EMG study was thorough enough so that I don’t have to have a second one done.  *another sigh of relief*  She wants me to get some more blood work done to check vitamin levels and something called lactic acid which can cause muscle disorders.  In addition to that, she said all my symptoms are extensive enough to the point that I should have MRIs done on my brain and spinal cord.  So she just put a call in to my pain dr. to speak with him about removing my spinal cord stimulator, but unfortunately he wasn’t in the office.  She’ll be out of town this Tuesday and will be gone for a week, but she hopes to speak with him on Monday…  Please pray that both my doctors will be able to be in touch that day.  It’s getting harder and harder to wait patiently because my headaches have been so bad..  Hopefully I will have another update soon on Monday!

Here’s a fun fact:  I was looking over my spinal tap report, and I read that the needle to draw my cerebrospinal fluid out was 3 1/2 inches long. haha  Good thing I didn’t see the length during the procedure!  The dr. also drew out 11 teaspoons of fluid which is about 4 tubes!!!

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