Today is my little brother’s graduation. My pain is a 10!! I am going no matter what, but please pray that my pain gets better so I can watch him graduate instead of sitting in his apartment.
Thanks!!
Sorry!!
I’ve forgotten to copy my latest and greatest posts to my wordpress blog.
Read here: http://faithmovingmountains.blogspot.com/
All About TMS
This is what it is:
The magnet in the machine sends out pulses that tap on my head. The technician works on three different areas: two of the areas need to be suppressed and the other area needs to be activated. Depending on what the site needs, the pulses are either constant or fast and painful.
This is what it looks like:
This is what is feels like:
(woodpecker)
Each day after treatment, I go home with a severe headache and crawl into bed. My brain is essentially getting a work out. As a result, I am left exhausted. And, the pulses are so strong that my jaw chatters about as if I were freezing. Gauze helps this problem.
Again, everyday for 90 min for 4-6 weeks. I have been so blessed by drivers this week.
And by the Lord’s faithfulness.
All for Him
This week has been a busy one and a physically painful one.
* Monday, I was interviewed on a TV program sponsored by Cal State Dominguez Hills
with Neal, my illustrator, about Mika (see blog post below).
* Tuesday, I was at my neurologist's office all day and night for an MRI (the MRI was 3
hours alone). I also learned about the new treatment I will be receiving and what it entails;
driving down to Santa Monica for the next four to six weeks to have the connections in my
brain properly altered. This starts tomorrow. I am excited and also a little nervous. Please
be praying for no side effects and the removal of pain!!!
* Wednesday, my mom and I road-tripped up to San Jose to see my Lyme doc. I will be
having a biopsy of my tendons to see what is going on in there. It will be tricky making
the connections with a rheumatologist, surgeon, and the two labs that I need to send my
tissue samples to. Please by praying for smooth sailing.
* Thursday, mom and I drove home.
* Friday-Sunday, in bed with a lot of pain from all my travels. Unfortunately, this meant that
I had to skip a stellar costume party on Saturday and tonight, a fundraiser for Child Hope
(the org that sponsors the orphanage in Mika), with my family.
I sent out an email asking for help driving to my appointments in Santa Monica. I am so
blessed that I could call on friends. My first week of rides is covered!
And for my last bit of news...
Me and three other students received this email from the Political Science Department
at Cal Lu;
It is our sincere pleasure to inform you that you have been nominated for Departmental
Distinction from the Political Science department based on your impressive academic
achievements and leadership. In the next few weeks, you should be receiving an
invitation to the Honors Banquet where you will be recognized for your outstanding work
as in the field of Political Science and the department. Please let us know if you do not
receive an invitation by the end of March. Congratulations on your well deserved
distinction! We are looking forward to celebrating your accomplishments at the Honors
Banquet in April.
How sweet the Lord is!
Right now I feel like I am barely surviving.
I am trying to live my life for Jesus and I pray for healing along the way.
MIKA
Well, for those of you who do not know, I wrote and published a children’s book!!
The book is about a Haitian orphan named Mika who lives a life of destitute poverty. My goal in writing this story was to educate today’s youth on orphanhood and poverty, all the while highlighting God’s love and mercy.
You may be wondering how this came about. Let me tell you… Last June (during my long stint or bed rest), I was approached by an artist from my church (Reality), who wanted to enlist my help in a project he was working on. The artist, Neal, told me he wanted to create a children’s book. He had this idea to focus on one country at a time and write a fictional story based on real life events of the children living in that country. With its recent devastation, Neal selected Haiti as the first country. He then asked if I wanted to write the story and he would illustrate my words! This feat seemed overwhelming. I had never done anything like it before. As I look back, I see this opportunity as a gracious gift from God.
I buckled down and began writing and writing and writing, I wrote many drafts from the confines of my bed. Writing Mika’s story allowed me to temporarily escape my world and enter in to another. I finally had a purpose and I felt useful for the first time in years. As I began finishing my last draft, Neal started the illustration process. He also created a publishing company called Little Ones of the Nations. Because he did not have the experience and because I had all the time in the world, I researched the printing, publication and marketing process.
We have a beautiful book and a website that is a work in progress. The book is available on Amazon and on our website.
http://littleonesofnations.com/
Hooray! I give all the glory to God!! Neal and I will be guests on a local LA tv program called “People who Make a Difference.” We film next Monday.
My face hurts
I thought I was going to have just two injections for the nerve block in my jaw, but the four teeny circle band aids tell me I was wrong. MY FACE HURTS!!
As soon as I woke up from anesthesia (coma drug), I carefully slipped my hand out of the layers of blankets and raised it in the air. This classic gesture is oh-so-universal. A nurse came over to me. “Do you need something?” she asked. All I could say was, “dad.” “Oh, okay,” she said, “I’ll call him.” I don’t know why, but I just really wanted someone to hold my hand. I sang the chorus to the Beattles’ “Hand my Hand” over and over again in my mind and remembered a chapel I sat through at Westmont years ago when a guest speaker somehow worked the lyrics into his sermon…
Time had passed and my dad still wasn’t there. I couldn’t talk and I had ice on next to my face and on my forehead. I looked as if I had some “work” done.
A came to check on me again and I grabbed her hand. She stayed for a moment, but then left. Finally, the voice (of God) came on the speaker and said, “Brittany’s dad is here.” YEEEESSSSS. Someone to hold my hand. He came in, talked with my surgeon/neurologist and held my hand. As the anesthesia wore off, the pain started screaming at me. I am not one to take pain meds, but this occasion called for some heavy duty stuff. It didn’t do a whole lot of good. I went from a “10″ to a “9.”
I am now at home with ice, sore cheeks and a the strength of a worm. I can’t wait for all of this to be behind me one day. Come back and right every wrong, Jesus!
Today I had my first experience with frozen yogurt (remember, I am gluten, sugar, dairy free). LOVED IT. Now I know why there is a fro yo shop on every corner.
Please pray that this block goes to work quickly (and for a matter of fact the one I had done last week as well), that the injection sites calm down, that I will be able to sleep tonight, that I won’t need anymore pain meds.
I am doing us all a favor and not posting any pictures.
When there is a will there is a way…
I had two nerve blocks done on Wednesday for the pain in my hips. The injection site is no longer sore and I can now lay on my back.
I am so excited for these babies to start working (it can take up to 6 weeks). But first, I have to deal with the unending anesthesia that makes me loopy, tired, easily overstimulated and gives me blurry vision. After my procedure, my doc put me back on Ketamine (the coma drug). I have to be on it for two weeks. It’s really difficult to keep up with my school work because I can barely read. I have a paper due Tuesday! YIKES!! I am going to push through my weird drug reactions and write the paper anyway.
Now that the local areas of pain have been covered (I will have a jaw never block next week), I need to do something for my over all sensitivity. That would either be a 5 or 10 day Ketamine infusion or a brand new treatment called TMS. With the help of a highly specialized MRI machine, doctors can pinpoint the areas in my brain of hyper active pain and kill them with a magnet (TMS). To date, there are no contraindications, it is very expensive and is unfortunately not a permanent fix (it lasts 1-2 years). I was hoping to get started on TMS right away, but the MRI machine is being updated and won’t be available for another month. I keep reminding myself that I have waited years for a breakthrough, so what’s another month?
I hope all that made sense. My thoughts are poorly translated on to my keyboard.
Thank you for your prayers!!
Biting the Dust
My neurologist recently told me that I need to start conditioning. Even though I didn’t feel ready, I got in the pool. I pretty much stood in the water, barely moving, for a few minutes and then had to sit on a step. I got out and knew trouble was coming. The next day I couldn’t get out of bed and I was really bummed out that I had to miss class. That was Thursday. I have had some periods of relief since then, but for some reason, my hips feel like they are on fire. “This shouldn’t be happening!!” I silently scream at God.
I will be missing class again today. Tomorrow I am scheduled to have a few nerve blocks. I don’t have a 100% peace about the procedure, but something needs to be done. I am considering doing hyperbaric oxygen again, a 5-day ketamine coma, and this other new treatment which uses magnets to kill pain centers in the brain.
I don’t understand this, the cycle of pain, that is. I have a lot of “whys?” I look to my great pain/spiritual mentor, Joni Eareckson Tada. Philip Yancey’s Prayer has been a great comfort lately. I find myself shutting God out, instead of inviting Him in. Yancey, through the Spirit, has encouraged me to bare my raw emotions to God. I am a work in process. I used to joke that after years of dealing with this, I have learned all of God’s lessons. Nope. The silver lining is that I am learning now, at a young age. These truths, insights and wisdom that I have gained are of more worth than gold.
Please continue to pray for me. I am looking into USC’s pain center, along with researching RSD/CRPS (these are my pain “syndromes”), and the treatments I mentioned above. Pray for my heart; that the Lord increases my ability to trust Him and that I can allow myself to rest in Him.
STOKED
I am LOVING my class at CLU. What a blessing. I’ve been twice and have sat through the entire lecture. Afterward, my back hurts and I am exhausted, but I will eventually work up endurance.
Guess what?? I am a full time student. Besides my class, I am completing an internship with a publishing company (i’m writing a book), and I am taking an independent study course.
I will graduate THIS spring!!!!!!!!!!!! And then take 10 units over the summer. STOKED.
Brit
