Expect the Unexpected

Well, God has already answered many of your prayers. After examining me and looking over my bloodwork, my GI doctor feels it would be best for me to wait on TPN. From his perspective, their practice would typically not put a patient presenting as I do in for TPN due to the high risk of infection (especially due to my low white blood cell count). My liver and kidneys are functioning normally, my electrolytes are fine, and my clinical symptoms (other than weight) are not requiring this intervention. I am still able to eat and use my GI tract, and the longer I am able to benefit from that, the better.

He has recommended that I travel to see a GI motility specialist who is based at Dartmouth and consequently put in a call to him, asking for him to see me as soon as possible. We are presently waiting to hear back from this doctor, and once we have an appointment, my dad and I will be traveling up there to see him.

In the meantime, if my health takes a turn for the worse, we can arrange for TPN to be done through a PICC line and managed through home nursing care. My primary care doctor has agreed that what I have outlined above is the best plan forward from here.

I'm sure this is a surprise for many of you. It most definitely was for both me and my family! As I reflect on the verse at the top of this blog, which has been so close to my my heart over the past few months, I find myself in wonder at God's wisdom and sovereignty. I am the "blind," and He is leading me in paths that I have not known. He has promised to turn my "darkness into light." I am at complete peace that God will be faithful to illumine the path ahead and that He will continue to open each door ahead of me.

Thank you for your prayers. God is definitely using them to sustain me. And I will continue to be in need of them in the days ahead as I aggressively pursue working with my nutritionist and other doctors to eat well, sleep, take supplements, and get into a good routine, all while pursuing the possibility of working with this specialist at Dartmouth.

I will keep you all updated as I can and look forward to sharing more of what God does in the days ahead. Thank you again. It is such a privilege to have friends like you.