Just a note to those of you who follow my blog. I am switching to a different location. You can now follow me at  lifewithsmiles.wordpress.com

Happy February!

   As God continues to write the story of my life I continue to be amazed at His never ending source of grace and strength. I reflect, there were and still are some painful lessons and I find myself resisting, wanting to run, feeling like it is more than I can handle. EVERY time God is there waiting to comfort me, wanting to take my hand and help me through, but I needed to reach out, accept His hand and embrace the lesson He wants to teach me. Oh the JOY that can replace the pain when we take the focus off our ourselves and instead focus on the eternal plan and purpose God has.

  I thank God for another successful doctor visit today. He was very pleased by the good report and that my body is doing well with the decrease in medication. I still take two pills before I go to bed but he said today that I may come off that as well. That means that in a week or two I should be MEDICATION FREE. We serve ONE AWESOME GOD!!!!

  It is rather humbling when you here a doctor tell you that you are living proof that miracles do still happen!!! I am a privileged girl! Thank you SO much for praying

 

Today I am thankful for a relaxing Saturday after a busy week at school. I can hardly believe the first quarter is already complete and report cards are finished! :)

As I reflect back to a year ago, it feels strangely odd to imagine that I really could not have handled the work and stress of the job I so enjoy! Was that really ME? MY life? Then I am overwhelmed by the goodness of God in the ways He has worked my life. It's been a GREAT reminder of really how far I've come. It can be easy to live life in the here and now, to find all the negative things in life, but I've been challenged and blessed by "reminiscing" the past and counting my blessings.

I am VERY H*a*P*p*Y to have a great report on the medication decrease. I now have myself down to a half pill in the morning and afternoon and two pills in the evening. (at my highest dosage I was up to 2 1/2 three times a day). I am amazed how much better I can function. My brain just works so much better and FASTER without that medication interfering! :)

I am excited to see what God has for my future. My prayer and desire is to trust His Almighty plan not only in the good, but also to recognize HIS goodness in each trial. *Lets us pray for each other*

Well well more good news from my little corner of the world.

I had a very good visit with my doctor in Philly last Monday (Sept. 24). He was very pleased. He said my batteries seem very stable. We are now knocking artane down at a fairly high "speed". The idea is to "shift" the work to the batteries. I am VERY excited about that. For now my next appointment is in January but there is a possibility that I may need to go back before then to turn the batteries higher due to lowering the medication. Time will tell. I continue to feel positive differences here and there since I'm coming off medication and that makes me *hApPy*.

School has been going wonderful! I LOVE my job. God has been SO very good to me. I feel BLESSED beyond measure. Why God chose to heal me yet allows some of my friends to continue to suffer, I don't know but it is my prayer that God will continue to use my life for His honor and glory.

How can it really be August and almost September? Where did the summer go?!!! The exciting side is... "back to school days" and that makes me HAPPY!!! Guess why? ;) Yup! You guessed right!!! I AM "back to school"!!!! Not as a student of course but as a teacher-aide/secretary. That also means I have a job!!! I am so happy and excited to see the way God provided for me!!! I was at school everyday last week. Monday-Wednesday helping to set up ect. School started on Thursday. I plan to be there Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday for right now. I am just LOVING it. I feel very blessed to have been in and out of shcool enough the last few years to know the bulk of whats happening, my brain doesn't have to try to process so many new things at once. :)

I really did thoroughly enjoy my busy summer making lots of good memories, hanging out with friends, connecting with family and just kinda doing things at my own leisure. Looking back I am glad I didn't have a job. However I am looking forward to getting back into a more scheduled and somewhat slower-paced life.

On my last post I mentioned the fact that I was coming off baclofen. I feel blessed how easy it was. I am now completely off and doing just fine! My next goal is now to come off R-tain. I don't expect to come off quite as quickly as baclofen simply because it's higher dose and a stronger medication. I would appreciate your prayers. I don't exactly know why but it seems the side affects are hitting me pretty hard recently. I feel just great in the morning, but shortly after the 12 o'clock dose I can expect to feel extremely tired and just "out of it". It slows my brain down per say. I may feel that way for about an hour, then i will "snap back" again. The 2nd dose usually comes around 4 o'clock. Some days I don't feel that one as much. I take the third dose before I go to bed so that one is usually ok. It has been very frustrating and I find it easy to become a bit discouraged and down. That is where the whole school/job thing comes into play. I find it helpfull to have something to fight for. I feel needed and fulfilled at school and it gives me something other than myself and my struggles to think about.

 I am currently coming off a fourth a pill each week and hoping my body will cope with that. I  look forward to farther consulting with  my doctor during my visit the end of September.

 It is with a grateful heart that I can TRULY say that my Father really DOES know what I can handle and has been giving me many reminders in various ways that He cares about me and really just wants all my trust. I am trying to learn that even when it may be the hardest thing to do, I simply must TRUST. The peace and happiness I feel when I do just that is reallly indescribable and yet I so often find myself resisting. *"Let us pray for each other not faint by the way in this sad world of sorrow and care for that home is so bright and its almost in sight and I trust in my heart you'll go there."*

I want to close with a phrase that recently popped out at me. *It is My power that will protect you! Stand firm, with Me beside you fear will fly out the window!!!* Such an encouraging and true promise! :)

 I sit here contemplating, realizing it's been far too long since the last update. This is not one of those things that I really enjoy therefore, I find it quite easy to push off. I know it's a very lame excuse. The up side of it is... I really do have a busy life and I am well enough (most of the time) to thoroughly enjoy it. :)

Remember when I had seen my new doctor in April he turned the batteries down a bit. I was afraid of a set-back, would my body try to conform to some of its earlier positions since the batteries weren't quite as persistent. Turns out it did quite the opposite... with less tension my muscles were able to be more free and I started seeing progress as in I didn't feel so tight. 

I had an appointment with my doctor July 25. He was happy with the way the adjustment in April helped my voice. He noticed a little more of the C shape in my side. I hadn't noticed it myself so we decided that as long as it doesn't bother me we are going to hold off with any adjustments for the time being.

HAPPY NEWS IS: HE DECIDED TO TRY TAKING ME OFF BACLOFEN!!!! Instead of 2 pills three time a day I am now down to half a pill a day. Next Tuesday I will come COMPLETELY off. It has gone so well for me and I am certain I feel better already. His guess was that since surgery my body probably doesn't even use it that much. Why be on it and deal with the bad side affects if I don't need it!! :):):) That's a no-brainer.

The 3rd full week in may (21-23) (almost exactly a year after surgery) I enjoyed three jam-packed days of fun at Camp Andrews. We youth girls wanted to do some of their fun ropes courses so they came up with this cool plan that if we come do some work for them, they will give us a price cut for the courses. It was an awesome experience for me and of course piles of fun! :)

June 28 we had an enjoyable day at The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania with the fellow ministry      families (minus one) from church. The 16 mile bike trip that most of us took proved to be a highlight.

July 2-6 our church had our vacation bible school. My sister and I taught the kindergarden 2 class. There were approximatly 17 children. We did split them up and have our own classrooms. It made for a busy but fun week.

OK, so that ended on Friday night. We had a rather full weekend and to top it off the youth group left for a work week at the Allegany Boys Camp in Maryland. Such a helter skelter as we raced around to pack and prepare for that. We met at church around 9:00 Monday morning. So thankful to be able to share such great memories with my awesome youth group. As you can guess, it was late to bed and early to rise. I felt good about how well I held up!!!! Some of the work included staining a house (outside), cleaning, doing some library work, and helping in the kitchen for the girls. The guys did some roof work and I'm not sure what else. The first day I did some staining, but because my shoulders/neck were a bits sore that evening, I opted for the easier jobs the rest of the week.

                                                                                    

We (as in my 16 year old brother and 19 year old sister) arrived home from the youth trip around 6:00 Friday evening and decided to join the rest of the family at a Beiler reunion in Cherry Tree . It takes about 2 and a half hours to drive so we scurried around and manged to surprise most of the family when we arrived around 10:30. Other than mom and dad no one expected us till the next morning. I find great joy in surprising people like that. :)   

On Wednesday (June 13) I had an appointment with my nutritionist. I decided to the 3 hour drive (round trip) by myself. It was fun and the BEST visit ever. Her report was great!!! No Lyme, No ecoli, No epsteinbar... No need for more appointments with her for right now. makes for much *H*a*P*p*I*n*E*s*S in my heart.

So... like I said, my life has been crazy. I don't know what all God has in store for me but I do            know that whatever it is, I can trust His plan. I would really like to get a job or two in the near future but there again God knows what I as His daughter can handle. My job is to be patient and allow Him to work His plan. Easier said than done. 

P.S. I started this last Monday already so I hope you can make a little sense out of all the dates and happenings...

High Fives to yet another successful doctor visit!!!

I could never ask for a kinder, more caring, SMART doctor. He took time with us. Instead of feeling like "just another patient", I sensed his caring heart. He KNOWS what he is doing. Not only does he adjust and do programming, he can also adjust medication levels! :) We were delighted to find that he has a lot of direct contact with my surgeon and he and my former programmer used to converse back and forth frequently as well.

He did make an adjustment. Rather than turning me up though, he actually turned me down a little. I had been having problems with my speech. My throat felt tight and I had a hard time pronouncing my words. My speech sounded slurred. He noticed my right side was up a bit higher than my left so he turned it down till they were the same. It was amazing how fast we noticed a difference!!! I admit to feeling a little unsure about it. I was scared I'd see a decline in other areas of my body. I had gone to be turned up, not down. However, I feel confident he knows what he is doing, he has my trust. So far I have been feeling fine.

He wants us to report back to him in several weeks as to how things are going (doesn't that sound like a caring doctor?). Our next appointment is the end of June. From what I understood I still have a lot of room for adjustments, which is encouraging and, given time he feels that I may very well be completely off all medications and such.

No words can describe the peace, the joy, the happiness, the awe and the amazement I feel in my heart when I realize ALL that our GREAT God has done in and through my life. At the same time
it's humbling, especially when I think of the way God has used my testimony, my story to touch so many lives. My prayer is that HE would receive ALL the glory and praise, believe me, it's NOTHING that I've done, but EVERYTHING that He has done.

I would like to close with a quote I read recently... So true...
*When trials come your way, God will draw you close to His heart. If life is always going smoothly, comfort is meaningless; but when you're in the midst of trouble, He comes alonside with tender love that overflows your trials and reaches out to others.* ~Pamela McQuade

I just LOVE the way God works!!! He NEVER ceases to amaze me!!! I feel so full and blessed this morning!

The past few weeks I have felt an increasing need/desire for an adjustment made with my battery. The problem... where to go, what to do. I kept praying about it. Last weekend I began having extreme pulling in my left side (mostly arm and hand, some leg as well). Sunday evening it was to the point that I could hardly type and writing and such was quite difficult. My throat also tightened up. Anyway... I came to a fast realization that something needs to be done and SOON. So dad got on the phone. He called the office where my first programmer practiced and told the nurse there the dilemma we were in. She gave us the number of another programmer. Thursday morning he called the programmer and after a brief talk he gave the report that the nurse would talk to the doctor and get back with us. She also told us that due to receiving quite a few of Doctor Jaggi's (former programmer)patients they were booked into June. However, with my urgent need in mind she would talk to the doctor and get back to us. Thursday afternoon she called, due to a cancellation they can take me APRIL 16!!!

I am amazed how relaxed my muscles are, but am SO happy to think that I am ACTUALLY going to see a programmer again! It's been nearly 8 months since I've been adjusted. Oh, yes, and according to a little online investigation, I am BLESSED with another experienced, kind-hearted doctor.

I'd like to leave you with this verse...
And we know that ALL things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. ~Romans 8:28

THANKS FOR PRAYING!!!!! I am indeed LYME FREE. Did you get that...?! I'm LYME FREE!!! :) Praising God for the miracle He sent my way! :)

I hope to be able to give a little more detailed version of my the life in the near future! Thanks in advance for your patience. :)

Please Pray...

Next Wednesday (March 21) I plan to see my nutritionist. My biggest request would be that I could test lyme free.:) I've been feeling some better the last few weeks and hope that means lyme has left. Also, pray for wisdom as we decide which supplements we should stay on and which ones would be okay to drop.

Thanks so much!!!

Thanks once again for praying.

Doctor visit proved to be partially successful in that I am in the process of coming completely off of R-Tain (my main medication). I will wait a little yet to do anything with the baclofen. I am so excited and hope my body will cooperate and adjust well to this change. :)

Programming... the reason for only partial success... He did not want to do any adjustments. He thought I looked good. I have another appointment in May. To be completely honest I was ok with that. I don't quite trust him, I just want Dr. Jaggi back. Please pray that I could trust God in all of this.

On a side note... with my sister off at CBS I am babysitting for her (an 18 month old ADORABLE boy). I'm hanging out with him at his house today and he is not too appreciative when I spend too much time on my computer. :)

I hope this finds everyone enjoying 2012. :) I sure have been. Dealing with my Lyme continues to be somewhat of a challenge, but I've decided to hang on to the good days and enjoy them and deal with the bad days as they come.

I would appreciate your prayers as I plan to go to Philly the end of this month, January 25 to be exact. :) I have an appointment with a neurologist from there in hopes of bringing my medication intake down. I was also going to meet with my programmer again, however we received a call the end of November that he had a stroke and is no longer able to do the programming. We were told the neurologist is doing the programming for right now. Dr Jaggi had been in practice for over 26 years and seemed to know just what to do. I admit to feeling rather apprehensive when I think about having someone else do it but God has a plan for this and I must choose to trust Him.

I had the privilege of substituting a few hours for the 2nd and 3rd grade teacher on Friday. It was fun being back in the classroom like that. :)

This blessed me when I read it this morning...
*"It's for you I created the universe," Say's God. I love you. There's only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you'll reach out and take it. Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too.*

Let Jesus be in your heart, eternity in your spirit, the world under your feet, the will of God in your actions. Let the love of God shine forth from you!! This my prayer.

As I reflect over the past year I must admit that it is one that I would rather not re-live. God is good though and He gave MUCH grace where it was needed. WHAT would I have done without HIM?! His hand came through so clearly in many events.

January: allowing me the privilege of a good day at a close friends wedding
February: meeting with a wonderful genetic doctor and a neurosurgeon
March: lots of appointments with a wonderful therapist who kept my muscles from getting so tight and painful
April: an appointment with a neurosurgeon in Philly
May: surgery
June: seeing positive changes, enjoying a good day at a close cousin's wedding and enjoying the privilege of a fun day in DC with my youth group
July: a family outing and youth fellowship meetings
August: a GREAT visit my "programmer" also a few fun days at a cabin with mom's family
September: seeing/feeling MANY wonderful results from surgery, enjoying fun activities with various friends, family, and my youth group, also having less pain
October: a good 2 1/2 weeks at home with my sister while the rest of the family went to Kenya (we were glad to have them back again though) :)
November: back to SCHOOL two days a week
December: thanking God for His healing hand in my life and trusting Him with His plans for my life

As I look around me I see many hurting people and realize the tremendous blessings I have. I pray God will give strength and direction to do my part in reaching out to them, showing them His love through my life.

May God bless you all this Christmas season with much peace, joy, and happiness! Let's not forget the reason for the season.

A short update on how things went today.
Thankfully the lyme is much better. It's still there but the supplements ARE fighting. Knowing it's helping to faithfully take the various drops and pills, makes it a little easier. The day I am completely off all medication, all pills, and all drops will be THE DAY!!! :) For know though I must focus on doing my best to cooperate and behave so healing can continue.
I want to add... I enjoyed my day at school last Thursday very much. It feels so good to be back!!! :)
Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!!

Let Jesus be in your heart, eternity in your spirit, the world under your feet, and the will of God in your actions. Let the love of God shine forth from you.
~ Catherine of Genoa

Well... I have some EXCITING news!!! :) I'm going back to school!!! Plans for now are Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00-3:00. I don't necessarily have a job description, just floating around doing odds and ends. We've been renovating our library system the last year and a half and I will most likely be working on that quite a bit!!! I can hardly believe it myself, but I'm thanking God for opening this door. Please pray that I would feel well and be able to enjoy my time there. :)

As for an update on how things are going health-wise. Things continue to improve. I've been having some pain in the right side of my neck and in the right shoulder area too. I feel it's because of the tension between the batteries and what my brain wants to tell them to do. This too shall pass! :)

Two weeks from today (November 14) I go to the nutritionist again. I would love to be able to come off some of the things she has me on and am hoping the Lyme will be gone too! :)

As for Philly... I have an appointment January 25 2012. We plan to meet with the neurologist as well in hopes of starting to come off the medication.

God is good and I want to thank each one of you for caring and praying!!! :)

Well guess you could call the doctor appointment successful! He didn't adjust anything so I don't have to deal with that. I told him that I am having a problem with my throat. It feels a little thick and sometimes I have trouble pronouncing my words clearly. He didn't seem concerned and with feeling so well otherwise was afraid he'd mess something up if he adjusted anything.
His suggestion was to wait it out and in the meantime I should turn the battery packs off for 4 or 5 hours each (one at a time). The purpose of that would be to see if we can feel/notice a difference with my throat, that way he knows which side is causing the problem.
Wednesdya night I woke up a little after three and felt short of breath. I've had it before and usually if I sit up or reposition it goes away. This time it was different. I decided to turn the batteries off to see if that helps. I did the right one first and after a few minutes not feeling much better turned the left one off. That seemed to help. I turned the right one back on but thought I'd leave the left off till morning. Eventually I fell back to sleep and rested well. Thursday morning I turned it back on, and haven't had anymore such episodes! THANK YOU JESUS!!!
Friday my muscle therapist worked on it some and she said my throat was tight. I am hoping that having her work on it will loosen it. I guess my biggest fear is that if it gets too bad the only option is turning them down and after feeling so much better I'm not ready to do that. I'm thankfull God knows all things and has my best in mind. Thanks for caring and praying!!!

Thanks for your prayers. I called into the office this evening and was asking one of the nurses what she thinks about the appointment. She really encouraged me to keep it.

My appointment is at 9:30 Wednesday morning. Mom and I plan to go to Lancaster tomorrow evening since we only have a little over an hour from there rather than three from here.

Please pray that the programmer would know what adjustments could be most beneficial for me. Also, I would appreciate your prayers on behalf of the plans for the next few weeks that I would not feel too badly.

God bless each one with a wonderful week! :)

My apologies for keeping you all in such suspense. I was surprised to find that it's been nearly two months since my last update! :(

As I wrote in the last update, after seeing my programmer I was rather disappointed that I didn't see more positive results. It took a few weeks of patience and I began seeing and feeling wonderful changes. The pain resided to almost nothing. My neck seemed more stabilized and most days I am able to be up and around all day. I can actually live pretty good on eight hours of sleep, nine a few nights a week is nice.

As many of you know, I'm not one to just sit at home day after day with not much to do. Yes, I can find work if I look for it and do enjoy being able to help with cleaning, cooking, baking, laundry and such things here at home. However, I enjoy being around people and socializing too much to jut stick with that and find myself needing to "get out". I thank God for friends to plan fun things with that make my weeks go faster. Weekends are always a highlight because of different activities that fill them. At times it takes Monday to catch up on my sleep, but that's OK. I still like to get a muscle treatment every week and that continues to help keep my muscles limber. :)

I think I can say with the way the last few weeks have been going, a small part-time job would be nice. I have struggled some with the fact of not really being needed anywhere and have been praying that something suitable would come up. One evening last week I was feeling it pretty hard so I talked to the One who has my life planned and knows what I need. I cannot describe the sudden peace that came over me, and the realization that I am RIGHT where God want me for the time being. I still don't know all His plans for my life, but I do know that in His time He will lead me to just the job for me! :)

I'd like to ask special prayer for wisdom and guidance. Last week I thought my neck was pulling a little more, it's not real bad, just enough to be annoying. I've been debating whether to make an appointment or not. Today I called and there is an opening for next Wednesday, (October 5Th) at 9:30(never mind that it takes 3 hours to get there). I often feel more tired and wore out for up to a week after any adjustment, which could be a problem with some of the plans for the next few week, I really don't want to feel sick and out of it. However, I'm not sure about waiting for another month to go. I made the appointment for next Wednesday but did tell her the situation and that I may not take it. Please pray that I would make a wise decision with that.

I am going to close with something I read that encourages me and I hope it will do the same for you.
~The road ahead may not be easy, but it will be the greatest race you've ever attempted. And best of all the destination is certain. Throw yourself unreservedly into the work that God has called you to. Take hold of your future with both hands.

Had a good visit with the dr. yesterday. He seemed pleased with what he saw. He turned the voltage up again and wants me to wait a month before I see him again. As of now, I don't feel a whole lot of change and I am once again having more pain and pulling. :( I am really hoping that when the lyme leaves I will feel more difference. Sadly, I really can't say how long it's going to stay. I am getting a bit tired of all the waiting, but healing takes time and with God's help and your prayers, I will have the patience I need. :) A special thanks to those who have taken time to send me cards, txtd me, sent me emails ect... They are such an encouragement to me. It reminds me to do the same for those around me who are facing hard times as well. I am not in this battle alone and that thought makes it easier to keep fighting!!! :)

Philly on Wednesday!!! So glad to finally have an appointment!!! Hoping for the best. Please Pray for a good visit with adjustments that will help with the pain and pulling. Thank-you