What a week!

Kara's blessing turned out to be quite a pain! Her rash didn't begin getting better until Thursday. It was very uncomfortable and itchy. Once it began getting better, it healed up quickly, though! YAY, God! By Thursday evening, she said, "Mom, I've got to go to school tomorrow." Boy, did I agree!

She went to school, then we hurried off to an event at a church out-of-town. We had a great time at New Hope in Cotati. It was An Elegant Affair: Chocolate by Candlelight. I think Kara regrets the amount of chocolate and dippers she ate that night. She was so exhausted from Friday, that on Saturday she missed her tennis match and just couldn't get it together for our Mother's Day luncheon at our own church. We are learning how to handle Kara's fatigue, unfortunately, the hard way.

Mother's Day itself was a great day for us as a family...and we were home early enough to get to bed early. 8-) See, we are learning.

Today Kara had a follow-up with our Family Practioner in regards to her Thyroid. Her Thyroxine (T4) is low, so she will begin taking a low dose of Levothyroxine to bring it back up to the normal range. We are hoping that this may help her fatigue, constipation, muscle aches/cramps, and personally...her forgetfulness! LOL She has seemed quite forgetful, so a mom can hope, right??

Kori also had an appointment today...for lower abdominal pain. Oh, grrrr! Remember, we had her tested, so I am confident she does not have Scleroderma. She has an ultrasound scheduled tomorrow morning. Please say a little prayer for her. They are looking at her gallbladder, among other possibilities, but very common possibilities.

God is in control. He loves us. He is our comfort. He is our provider. He is our healer. He is our Deliverer.

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." ~Psalm 28:7 NIV

Blessing in disguise...

Last night Kara showed me a rash she had noticed right after I dropped her off at school. Now, rashes and hives used to be our normal. I've got this down, however, having other variables in the mix at this point, almost everything is a doctor's appointment.

So, today we saw our Family Practitioner for the first time since February. He confirmed her rash is not contagious, but is an allergic reaction to...something. I love that! We have never been able to figure the rash thing out. We can put a man on the moon, but we cannot figure out what an allergic rash is caused by. Oh well, I won't lose sleep over this one.

The bonus is that while we were there, we talked about Kara's thyroid being low. He ordered a few more labs and said she probably needs a low dose of thyroid medication.

It was a blessing to have that taken care of so quickly. We don't have one more thing being drawn out in this journey.

Well, I must go so I can put cream on Kara and love on both of my girls. Thank you, again, for your prayers!!

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed. ~Proverbs 15:22 NIV

If you know me, you know that I like a plan. I made my husband get a Blackberry so we could be "on the same page" with our plans. I like to have a plan!

Today we saw Kara's Pediatric Rheumatologist...and we have a plan! We are not going to begin any "regular" treatment right now, but we are going to watch Kara over the next few months to gain a better understanding of how Kara's Scleroderma is developing. It could remain this way for a long time. We just don't know, so we watch...and pray. 8-)

The Rheumatologist has recommended that we follow-up with our Family Practitioner to see if we should add an Endocrinologist to our team. Kara's thyroid is a smidge low, and she is having symptoms that could be related to that, so we need to look into it a bit further. Our Family Practitioner may decide to treat it for now, to watch it or to send us off to the specialist.

We will also be seeing her Pediatric Pulmonologist, asthma/allergy specialist, to see if he wants to run some testing on her lungs. With all of these tests, scopes and labs, we are establishing a baseline on the internal organs that tend to be affected by Scleroderma. These are also areas that Kara has seen some activity that may or may not be associated with her case.

Things feel a little more routine now. I think the initial phase of the "unknown" has passed and now it's becoming less chaotic and we are adapting better. Kara is learning to understand her body better, although she is not quite versed on the medical jargon of her condition. She is just happy that she can play contact sports again! LOL

We are living out the title verse of this post, Proverbs 15:22. We have advisors and we have counsel!! Best of all, we know that the Lord has put this team in place for Kara. They are now a part of our lives for a reason. Our prayer is that we can be a blessing to them and show them His love through this journey!

Thank you for your continued prayers! Your words of encouragement are treasured by our family. You are treasured by our family!

Be joyful...HOW?

This past Sunday night and Monday morning, Kara had a rough time. She ate In n Out Burger for lunch on Sunday and it did not move through her well at all. She was in quite a bit of pain and discomfort until it all passed. We are now on day six of a "good" stretch. YAY, God!!

For me, it was the first time our "new normal" really hit me. It's tough when you realize that something that is beyond your control is dictating your life. I had plans on Monday...BIG plans! I had places to be, people to see, things to do. Yet, I was at home with my sweet Kara, unable to even get away for an hour.

At one point, I sent my hubby a text, asking if he supported me having her rest at the home of a close friend of ours. I knew she would be comfortable there, and that she'd be loved on and well taken care of...for a short time. I didn't expect my husband to say he'd "rather not." WHAT?! Did I not make it clear how important my plans were??

So, as I prayed through my frustration with my husband, God dealt with me. Oh, He does that, doesn't He? God made it very clear that Kara was MY priority and that He has allowed me the opportunity to minister to girls and women throughout hundreds of churches with the flexibility my family needs right now. He had the events covered and they would not suffer if I couldn't be there. He had perfectly capable people in place so that I could minister to my daughter at home during her time of need.

I wish I could say I handled this correction with grace and dignity. I received it, not well at first, but I let it soak in. Through tears of frustration, sadness, and the realization that my plans are no longer my own, but they are at the mercy of Scleroderma and whatever the Lord wants to do through it...I have a better understanding that..

I am a blessed wife,
I am a blessed mom
and
I am a blessed child of God.

I am not perfect. God is not done with me, yet...for that I am grateful! I am a work in progress, a masterpiece by the Master artist, and perfectly understood by the One who created me. For His goodness and mercy, I am grateful!

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18