Prayer Request :: Parasites Please!

Dear friends, family, and faithful blog readers….

Please forgive me for my absence! SO MUCH has been happening lately and we have LOTS to catch you up on in the coming days! For now though – I wanted to post a quick blog to share a prayer request with you all (because you’ve all been so, so awesome to pray for us in the past!)

I’ve been putting off sharing this information because, well, it’s kind of a vulnerable thing to put health issues out there on the internet for the world to see! But we really need prayer – so I felt like it was time to share with you.

I’ve been sick for about 6 months now. My symptoms were initially random and infrequent (maybe once or twice a month) but for the past 3 months or so I’ve been very sick every night after I eat dinner. I’ll spare you the details but suffice it to say it’s quite miserable and I am SICK of being SICK!

We’ve been really confused by my symptoms for a long time, but because we didn’t have a doctor here in Michigan I hadn’t made an appointment. Those of you who know my family know that my little brother went through a very difficult two years dealing with ulcerative colitis, and ultimately had to have his colon removed at the age of 13. Needless to say I started to be very fearful that maybe I’d developed the same thing, or another serious illness, so I got an appointment with a PA for a gastroenterologist.

Before my appointment, Rusty and I had a sudden epiphany. PARASITES! I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it before!? When I was in India in 2008 I drank tap water from the slums for three days (by mistake) and got violently ill. Then, later that year I drank the water in South Africa because we were told it was safe by our contacts. Halfway through that trip they told us to stop drinking it because a dead body had been found in the water supply! UGH!

So, we got out the computer and started googling. Sure enough my symptoms matched perfectly for parasites! We shared all this with our doctor, and she agreed to order a parasite test.

The first test I had came back negative. We were surprised, and confused as we felt sure it was parasites causing my trouble. Thankfully we were able to find out that the test done was NOT the correct test. It only tested me for parasites in the US, not for foreign parasites. So, my doctor ordered another test for “foreign travel”.

We are currently waiting on the results of test #2. If it comes back negative that means two very bad things: #1- I’ll have to have 5 expensive blood tests done (and I do NOT do well with needles!) and #2 – There is a possibility of a much more serious diagnosis.

I know that sounds insane, but hear me out. I really want to be diagnosed with parasites that I can take meds (or natural remedies) for and be rid of, rather than a more serious illness or issue. Also, I really really want to be DONE with all this testing and know what is wrong with me so we can start treating it! I really need to be healthy before our trip to Thailand in January. So would you please pray this test comes back positive for parasites, and that they are easy/inexpensive to get rid of?

And while you’re praying, can you also pray for PEACE? I have been so anxious and upset about all the possible diagnoses out there – so afraid that something more serious is wrong with me. Could you please pray that God will give me peace and comfort through this process?