Reflections on this past year 2016

2016 was a hard year.  The hardest yet.  But as I think back on these last 12 months, I can’t help but see the Lord’s hand through all of it.  There were so many changes and times of discouragement, but Jesus Christ in His unfailing love went before me every single day and gave me courage to push through.

This year alone, I had:

6 hospital stays

4 ER visits

2 ambulance rides

95  doctor appointments (I had 51 last year)

5 weeks of IV iron infusions

41  physical therapy appointments (I had 21 last year)

51 home health nurse visits and 51 central line dressing site changes

2 trips to Seattle in February and June to see my pain dr. at the University of Washington

1 trip to San Diego in February to see my mitochondrial disease specialist

Sepsis (my blood grew coagulase-negative Staphylococcus Capitis) in March

1 central line removal procedure

2 CT scans (head and chest)

1 heart echocardiogram, 1 venous duplex study, and 1 kidney/bladder ultrasound

3 MRIs (spine, hip, and brain)

2 pulmonary function tests

1 feeding tube replacement

2 feeding tube infections which required “incision and drainage” both times

1 central line replacement surgery

7 IV and oral antibiotics given throughout the year for the different infections (Cephalexin, Cipro, Vancomycin, Cefazolin, Ceftriaxone, Augmentin, and Amoxicillin)

1 muscle biopsy which caused a very large hematoma that lasted more than 5 weeks

1 hip surgery (labral tear repair)

4 urinary catheterizations in the hospital

2 ultrasound-guided hip steroid injections

1 hearing test

1 metabolic cart test

6 chest and hip x-rays

2 bilateral lumbar sympathetic nerve blocks and 1 femoral nerve block

Countless blood draws for blood cultures and labs at home each week and with each hospital stay

The picture above reminds me of this past year.  There were numerous days when life seemed so blurry and hard to understand………but if I looked at it all in light of eternity, everything came into focus.  I have learned that putting Christ first in life makes things more clear.

I hope 2017 is easier with fewer appointments and hospital stays and surgeries and tests……..  But even if it isn’t, I know this for sure—the Lord is faithful and always gives me hope and strength to face the unimaginable, the constant pain, the challenges, the health battles, and much more.

Love, Kerissa