March will be two years since I was diagnosed with a 33% deficit in my balance system that will forever leave me prone to vertigo (chronic dizziness). In March it will be a year since I was finally diagnosed with chronic sinus disease. I say finally because that was the moment I knew that there wasn't a hope that I would have a last sinus infection. I would deal with this for the rest of my life. It made the dealing with the infections a lot easier. I realized that I had to stop living in fear of the next infection and start learning how to deal with them one at a time.
My diagnosis of sinus disease came with a CT Scan that showed a spot of sinus disease in my right ethmoid sinus, right between my eyes. The spot wasn't very big, the doctor said and we were just going to watch it to make sure it didn't get any bigger. I had another sinus infection in June 2009, right before I went on a trip to Washington state. While we were on the trip I was taking antibiotics for that infection. The cool wet climate was great on my sinuses and I came home feeling better than I had in years!
Now, I am dealing with a sinus infection that I have had since August and it just won't go away. My doctor prescribed medicine that I have taken successfully for years. Strangely, this medicine caused my legs to swell up to where I could barely walk. So, the medicine was changed. I was placed on this new medicine for 3 weeks. After 2 weeks I still had no relief. The doctor said that surgery was looking like my best option after a month on antibiotics. I told him that I couldn't afford surgery and that I would like to try some other antibiotics that were stronger. The doctor put me on 2 strong antibiotics for 4 weeks. I started Wednesday, the next day. To say that taking these antibiotics was an arduous task would be putting it lightly. They had to be taken every four hours and made me extremely nauseated. On the Sunday after starting the new meds, not even a week into taking them, I suddenly became very sick. I threw up for six hours. The doctor decided that I shouldn't take those meds anymore. He called me back a little later and said that my only options were surgery or IV antibiotics.
I started the IV antibiotics the following Saturday, after a week off of all meds. For the past two weeks I have had a peripheral line in one of my hands or arms. My hands and arms are full of tracks and I'm starting to look like a drug junky. Which I guess could be true as I am doing intravenous drugs, but its by doctor's orders - I swear! ;0) The IV has been pretty painful at times, but doable. The medicine is super easy to administer and I take half an hour while I'm sitting at work to do it. The meds have really helped me to feel better and I am almost back to normal. On Wednesday I called my doctor's office. While I was feeling a LOT better, I still have some infected drainage and knew that I needed at least a few more days. They called me back and said that the doctor wanted to do another 14 days of antibiotics.
Another 14 days meant that they would have to stick me another 4-5 times and I didn't have any more veins for them to use! So the doctor ordered a PICC line (Praise the Lord!!). A PICC line is basically an IV that goes in at your bicep and travels up your arm and across your chest and ends right above your heart. They can stay in for up to a year. The peripheral lines can only stay in for 3-5 days and I was having to have mine replaced every three. As it turned out, I was already scheduled to have a PICC line inserted today at 9am.
At 5pm yesterday I got the horrifying news. Putting in a PICC line would cost me $3400. This is the amount that I have left on my insurance deductible. So I had 15 hours to come up with the money. Of course, I would be told this after office hours. There was no way that I would be able to figure out other options or really do anything other than wonder how I was going to pull this off. I started texting people and imploring them to pray. I knew that I couldn't come up with $3400 in such a short amount of time, but I did know that God could do this!
Three hours later I met my friends Heather and Jalah for coffee, our normal after-bible-study Wednesday night tradition. Driving to meet them, I told God that I was going to trust in Him. I didn't know how He planned on providing, but I knew that He would. When they came into the coffee shop they handed me an envelope. Inside the envelope was a card with almost $1100 in it. The card simply said, "God provides" in Heather's beautiful handwriting. Some of the checks that were in there were from people that I have never met. Most of the money was in cash from people that I will never be able to thank enough. On top of that, I had other family members who had already put money in the mail for me. I was so overwhelmed with the generosity of each of the people that contributed. And I was well on my way to getting the PICC line. God had this all in His hands.
But wait! It gets even better!!
This morning I woke up knowing that I would have to figure out how to pay for the rest of the procedure. I called the hospital where my appointment was, I called my doctor's office, I called anyone that I thought could help. The hospital was willing to put me on a payment plan for the rest of the cost, but I wasn't sure that was even feasible. Money has been extremely tight, so I knew that I would have to think about that for a while. In the meantime, I finished getting ready for work. I was gathering my things to leave when my doctor's office called. They said that there was a company that would come to my home (or home office as the case may be) and put in the PICC line. And the price? Less than $1000!!!!!
Now, here I sit with a PICC line in my arm while the nurse and the x-ray tech try to determine if it is positioned correctly. While the procedure wasn't without pain, I still cannot believe how God worked this whole situation out! All of the prayers were heard.
In response to my text last night, Janna Seal responded with "I'm praying for your testimony." This is it. This is how God brought me from frustration and woe to rejoicing and wonder. He has provided through the amazing people in my life. He provided before I knew Him, He provided long before I was ever even a thought. He will continue to provide for me as I move in His will. He will continue to provide for me as He has already done.
The "God provides" card is now hanging on my front door. I don't want to forget what He has already done and what He will do.
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To those that contributed in any way -
Your prayers, financial contributions and encouraging words mean more to me than I can begin to describe. I am so thankful to have each of you in my life. Those that I don't know, clearly I need to meet you! We would be wonderful friends!! I'm certain of it! Thank you all for your willingness to let God use you and follow His prompting. I am blessed in so many ways by each of you and I wish that a hug and a "Thank you!" were enough, but they just aren't sufficient. While I cannot thank you enough, know that your reward is eternal. I love you all! Thank you!
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