Getting Answers… And a Prayer Request
If you missed yesterday’s post about my health you can read it here: “Having the Old Mom Back” A Health Update
I wanted to share a little about Xanna’s health & a prayer request. Xanna will be 17 next week. 😊
About 2 years ago, she was diagnosed with POTS. She deals with a lot of fatigue & headaches, dizziness, etc. Basically, with POTS, when you stand up too quickly, the blood doesn’t travel to your heart quickly enough. (That’s a very basic description, feel free to google it if you want to know more). After seeing many Doctors and specialists & having a lot of tests run, there is no treatment other than to stay hydrated & increase your salt intake. It is something she may or may not grow out of.
As I was researching POTS, I discovered that it is often triggered by Lyme. Looking back at Xanna’s life, I can see all the way back to about age 5 or 6, she started dealing with chronic headaches. Then stomach issues started, heartburn, she had her gallbladder removed at age 10, on & on. It makes sense that she likely got a tick bite that we didn’t know about all the way back then.
Fast forward to the present, we took her in to see the functional medicine Dr that I’ve been seeing, she had a bunch of labs run & sure enough, she has a tick-borne illness.
She has a different one than I have – Bartonella – and likely also has the Babesia that I have. (The test was indeterminate, which is common when there are multiple issues going on. It is most likely positive & we can retest in a few months after some treatment has been done.)
Since Babesia is blood-borne, the Dr thinks it’s likely that I passed it on to her & all the kids through pregnancy. Therefore, we will be taking all the rest of the kids in to get tested.
It is overwhelming to think about. It’s overwhelming dealing with my own illnesses, and now it’s very overwhelming dealing with Lexa’s also. But, we’ll get through it. One step at a time. I’m grateful that the Dr is willing to work with us & see all 7 together instead of separate appointments since they don’t have any ongoing health issues.
Lexa also tested high for Selenium & had a lot of labs show chronic inflammation, which again is normal when dealing with what she has.
Unfortunately she has a TON of food sensitivities so she has started on a hugely restrictive diet. While this is hard on anyone, I think it is especially hard to be so young & have such limitations.
Please pray for Xanna. Pray for her to be diligent in following the treatment & diet so that her body will heal. Pray for her emotions. I am praying that as her body detoxes of all the foods that are causing inflammation she will start to feel better & emotionally also. I know it makes such a HUGE difference for me & makes it easier to follow the plan.
Sadly, we have very different allergies, so it’s not simple to prepare food for us, but I have been preparing very basic meats that we both can eat & then tailoring the sides. For example, last night Lizzy made bacon-wrapped chicken with a spice rub & french fries for most of the family. Lexa & I ate sweet potatoes & chicken that had been marinated in lemon, onion & paprika.
The Dr said it’s important to eat foods on the allergy list on a 4-day rotation so that your body doesn’t start to reject foods on your “safe” list. This is really hard since she has so few safe foods. But, we are trying. We covet your prayers. She really misses gluten & dairy the most! (And sadly, the egg & dairy allergies are permanent, not temporary.)
We covet your prayers as we are walking down this new journey. Now is an especially hard time, I feel, for anyone to be dealing with health issues. Being so isolated can sure mess with emotions! ❤