Referral to Hematology.

Kerissa • April 14, 2015

Hi everyone,

Your prayers would be appreciated!  The past two weeks, I’ve been feeling worse than usual…very sleepy especially.  To be honest, I just feel plain crappy, and whenever that happens, the CRPS always ramps up—the nerve pain has been really bad lately.  I’m still pale and short of breath as well.

We found out that my white blood cell count has been dropping (it did go up a little bit this week, but it’s still not my normal), so my primary care physician is referring me to OHSU hematology.  We’re not sure if this is mitochondrial disease-related or if something new is happening.  She wanted the soonest appointment available, so it’s scheduled for next Tuesday the 21st.  I see God’s goodness in this—the hematologist I’ll be seeing is another Top Doctor.  He’s nationally renown, and even my GI dr. has heard of him.  I’m just so blessed to have a knowledgeable and caring medical team for my complex case!  And it makes this rough journey a little easier, knowing that I’m in good hands.

I had another follow-up with my GI specialist this afternoon.  Unfortunately, I still haven’t noticed any extra energy with the IV iron infusions, so he is ordering a bunch of different labs to see if I’m deficient on certain minerals while on TPN.  He’s also ordering a carnitine panel.

I tried tube feeds last week at 10 mls per hour, but after receiving just 16 mls, I felt sick to my stomach and got super distended.  So I have to decrease to a rate of 5 mls—-that’s one teaspoon per hour..!  That’s not enough to live on, so I still have to receive TPN and lipids.

I will be sure to update next week after the hematology and sleep medicine appointments.  The Lord is my hope and strength!

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