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! :)