Back to the Very Beginning

Hey there!

Well, I suppose if you are reading this, that must means you are aware of the medical issues I've been having for the past while and are interested in receiving updates on how I'm doing . Before I begin, however, I would like to make a disclaimer: Writing this blog brings me very much out of my comfort zone, for I have never been one to enjoy the spotlight. Nevertheless, I feel very strongly that I need to do this, so please bare with me.

I in no way want to pretend that my illness is something to mourn over. I am incredibly fortunate to be sick with what I have, knowing it could be so much more debilitating and when I know of so many others who are suffering with conditions far worse than mine. My heart reaches out to all those who are experiencing health troubles, no matter the severity. Regardless of this, my soul is so full of gratitude to all of of you who have been so loving and supportive through this trial. Sam and I have felt the influence of all the kind thoughts and prayers that so many of you have given on our behalf - both our new friends here in Provo and and old ones back home in the Couve. Your love and support means the world to us. So thank you. This blog is for you - to update all ya'll on how I am doing and to give me the opportunity to express how great my God is and praise His name for how much he has blessed my life. It is the strength I receive from God and from all of you that allows me to press forward with hope, despite this bleak situation. 

For those of who who have not yet been brought up to speed, I'll spend this first post giving an overview of the whole situation. Forgive me for the length, but much has happened these past eight months.

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Allow me to rewind back to June 7th, 2014 - the best day of my life! This is the day that Sam and I were married for time and all eternity. The two of us continued the celebration by cruising to Mexico for our honeymoon. Everything was absolutely perfect -  I couldn't be happier. But on June 14th, the day after we returned home, I began feeling pretty sick. I felt extremely fatigued and had this muscle tremor/spam in my left arm and leg. Sam theorized that it was due to an electrolyte imbalance from dehydration and that replenishing my body with loads of water and Gatorade would fix everything. When 24 hours passed and my symptoms were worsening, we figured it was time to get a doctor to check out what was wrong. 

Although I wasn't showing any of the usual symptoms, test results came back positive for a UTI. My doctor's just figured that my tremors were simply a crazy reaction to that. After a few weeks of antibiotics, my symptoms completely went away and I was totally fine. Unfortunately, I was symptom free for only about a week and a half before I became ill all over again. 

By this time, my doctor was beginning to worry that this was something more serious. I was referred to a neurologist where I underwent a brain MRI and an EEG to test for brain tumors, epilepsy, and MS. We were extremely grateful to find that the tests came back negative for all of these, but still rather frustrated that we still did not have a diagnosis. After running several other tests, my neurologist deemed that there was no more he could do to help and recommended that we go back to the drawing board with my primary care doctor. 

Shortly after this time, after many rounds of testing getting us nowhere, my doctor decided to test me for Mono, which came back positive. We were absolutely thrilled to have a diagnosis! My doctor said that it should take me a maximum of six months to recover. Despite the difficulty of feeling so fatigued and tired all the time, we pressed forward with hope that within the next few months, this should all be over. 

Well, we waited. As time passed, the extreme fatigued caused by my mono began to fade, yet my tremors steadily began to worsen to the point where, on occasion, my entire body would convulse, resulting in episodes my doctors have labeled as "pseudo seizures". These seizures would happen several times a week. I also began to regularly experience extreme lightheadedness and vertigo. Between this and my spasaming leg, it became incredibly difficult to stay on my feet. Either because my leg would give out or because of the dizziness, I would fall flat to the ground multiple times every day. My symptoms have been so bad that we've had to visit the ER a couple of times. With all of these intensified symptoms and the lack of any diagnosis from my doctors, I had to quit my job and take the semester off a school. Anyone knows me well knows how important those two things are to me, so this decision was very difficult. Nevertheless, my health is most important and currently needs my full attention, so it needed to happen. 

After further consolations with my primary care physician, we reached a dead end. She had no other ideas as to what could be the problem. With this resolution, Sam and I sought out to find another doctor who would be able to help us. Both of our parents have been incredibly supportive and had been researching possibilities of what might be wrong with me. Through a test my mother-in-law arranged for me to take, we found out that I am  intolerant to gluten (hence why my pinterest newsfeed has been flooding with GF recipes for the past six weeks). This change in my diet seemed to help with my symptoms at least a little bit, but the main source of the problem had yet to be discovered. 

At the beginning of January, we began seeing Dr. Victoria Sucher - a Natureopathic Doctor. To be honest, I was a little weary to visit her, considering the negative connotation and wacky stories I had heard, but after seven months with no answers, I was willing to try anything. However, Dr. Sucher exceeded all of our expectations. She was the first doctor we've visited who really took the time get the whole story and to thoroughly analyze all of my symptoms. Sam and I are both incredible grateful to my mom for doing so much research and finding out about her. We're a big fan of Dr. Sucher.

This post is long enough, so I'll save the details of her diagnosis and treatment for a later day. In brief, I am diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus and although she is not yet positive, there is about a 75% chance that I have Lyme Disease as well. So that's where I am right now. I still often feel fatigue and vertigo, causing me to collapse over on the floor multiple times every day. Since seeing Dr. Sucher, my tremors have lessened in severity - I've only had one seizure in the past month (which is a massive improvement), but they still happen All in all, I still am very sick. But I know that some day it is all going to over and that I will rise out of this a better woman because of this. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). 

Again, I want to thank you for all the love and support given on my behalf. I understand that it can be awkward trying to talk with me about my illness. I want you all to know that it's not rude or intrusive of you to ask me how I'm really doing. I am completely comfortable talking about everything (it is my life, after all!). So if you have every felt stuck in an awkward situation where you want help, but you're not sure how, this is an invitation for you to ask your questions away - it really doesn't bother me.  Just knowing there are so many loved ones out there who care helps so much. I hope this blog can help keep all ya'll up to date and maybe make talking and interacting with me a bit easier to understand. 

Till next time!

- Makenna Whitworth