Ailments

[Anna Mae]

As I have mentioned in a few previous threads, I have been plagued with a host of physical problems:

-I have had postural hypotension for over a year. If I move too quickly I black out. That is highly annoying.

-Abnormal feet that have been causing me much pain all school year. I am not allowed to run or jump, doctor's orders. I used to be an active person, so having to nearly helplessly watch my body deteriorate has been frustrating. My parents have already spent a fair bit of money on special shoes for me, and have to buy more this summer.

-For the past month my stomach has been very squemish. Usually it can take about anything, but recently just touching it can make me feel sick.

-All school year my hands and arms have kept me in constant pain. It started in the thumb of my right hand but slowly spread. Sometimes the pain is so bad that I am not physically capable of continuing what I was doing. The doctors are not sure what is wrong. Uncertainty is not exactly the most fun thing to hear from a doctor.

These problems were affecting more than just my body. They interfered with my sleep patterns, thus hindering clear thinking. They have also encroached upon my social life, heart, and mind in numerous ways that would take so long to explain that no one would read this. What is more, I do not feel that I have become a better person for this. Many people talk of experiences like this causing them to grow. I am not seeing that in myself.

I am praying that maybe over the summer God will heal me. I am not exactly enjoying this. Thank you for taking the time to read this and pray for me.

[ninjaduckofdoom]

I'll pray!

[Tenshi no Ai]

Wow :/ That's ALOT and no kidding it's frustrating :/ I'll be praying!

[Rogie]

I'll be praying for you, Anna Mae. Keep us updated on your condition.

[Anna Mae]

I had a doctor's appointment for my feet yesterday. He said that I have a pes cavus deformity as well as planter faciitis. As I understand it, the pes cavus are the muscles from your toes to your heal. My arches are abnormally shaped, which is a large part of the problem. In fact, my right arch has fallen, leaving my feet uneven. Planter facia are the things covering the pes cavus. 'Itis' means inflamed. So, we had to order some special (expensive!) shoes and orthodics. Theoretically, these should allow me to be active again.

Things are not looking great for my hands. My mom is afraid that I will use them as an excuse to not do any chores this summer. I feel a bit stuck. I would really like to give my hands a chance to heal, but I do not want to be manipulating her. You understand my dilema.

[Jingo Jaden]

Man, that's just horrible. I pray you will recover, you deserve to be able physicaly more than me.

Bless you.

[Starfire1]

praying for you! i know what it is to be ill and the doctors unsure of the cause. it was terrifying but whenever i felt like crying i'd pray and the Lord got me through it and has healed me. i'm believing in God that he will heal you and bless your doctor with wisdom to treat you.

[Anna Mae]

At least my stomach is more or less better...

We ordered some copper bracelets with magnets in them that will allegedly help my hands. Just using a mouse hurts. I cannot even simply sit and read a book because holding the book hurts my hands. I feel bad; my parents have had to spend so much money on me, and I do not seem to be getting better.

[uc pseudonym]

You don't need to feel bad. Parents are willing to do many things so that their children can be happy or healthy. And even with the things they've bought, it still isn't as much as what they would have to pay if you needed braces or frequently rode your bicycle off cliffs.

Of course, you know I'm praying for you.

[Anna Mae]

I feel that I am not making much progress. My hands have been hurting again in ways that they hadn't for a while. My feet also have been unexpectedly particularly painful recently. I am helping with the music for my congregation's Vacation Bible School, and by the end of the evening my feet are aching quite a lot. Pray that I make it through VBS!

[Anna Mae]

Well, VBS is over. If anything, though, I feel as if I am getting worse. In the next week the amount of things that I will be doing with my hands and feet will be temporarily increasing exponentially. A friend pastor from Brazil is visiting my congregation (flying in this evening- prayer for that would be good), and my mom is very excited. She really wanted to make a special gift for the pastor (they really connected when we were in Brazil), but sadly felt that she would not have time because of cleaning and cooking related to the pastor's visit. I offered to do all of the cooking and cleaning for the entire time that the pastor is visiting. Stupid of me, yes, but I love my mom. I am glad to see how happy this is making her. Please pray.

[Ryupower]

will do!

[Anna Mae]

The pastor flew back home yesterday afternoon. I was talking with my mom about the week and was extremely happy to hear that she felt very loved by my actions. That makes the sacrifice worth it because she has such a hard time hearing that I love her. Now that that is over I hope that I can let my hands and feet heal. She isn't happy about the fact that I should not be doing things like weeding or picking up sticks. However, things are looking good for my feet. I got the special shoes and orthotics yesterday. As soon as I got home I ran around the block; the first time I had run since the beginning of the school year! I sincerely hope that these shoes will make the difference. I really appreciate all of your prayers!

[Anna Mae]

Now my legs have begun really hurting me because of the running. I pray that this does not continue.

[Anna Mae]

My legs are no longer hurting me, but now my left tonsil is swollen about twice its normal size.

[Syreth]

Wow, you're just not having much luck in the health department, huh. I'm sorry to hear you've been having so much trouble. I'll pray for ya. Hope your tonsil gets better.

[Anna Mae]

I really do appreciate everyone's prayers. I sincerely apologize if this thread just becomes me pointlessly rambling and whining about my problems. Please tell me if it does.

My tonsil is at least feeling more or less better. My legs are worse again, though. Moving hurts, and I am quite stiff. Nevertheless, I am very happy to be able to be active again.

I played my flute again the other day and was disappointed at how my playing had regressed. My hands still hurt. My mom does not want to go to the doctor again because the next step would be expensive neurological tests involving electrodes and acupuncture... Not fun.

I have been having trouble sleeping. Recently it has been taking me 3 to 4 hours to fall asleep. That's about 1/6 of my day that I am wasting on trying to fall asleep! I have tried going to bed later and earlier. Neither helps. I have tried relaxing music... all sorts of stuff. Then, of course, because I fall asleep later I wake up later. I am a morning person (so is the rest of my family), so waking up at ten in the morning is really weird for me (during the school year I get up at 5:30). I really hope that this does not continue.


I have been struggling with how much to tell people (this is pretty much referring to people in my youth group) about my pain. Yes, I know that bottling it all up inside isn't healthy, and that is not what I am doing. It is just that I am afraid of becoming one of those annoying people who dominates every conversation with griping about how bad their life is. I am really trying hard to find a godly balance.

[Anna Mae]

My sleeping problem, at least, seems to be improving. The rest of me is not.

[Angel37]

Wow! How frusterating! I'll be praying for you!! *huggles*

[Angel37]

btw, the poem in your signature was great. I forget who it's by but it's one of the many we studied in AP English Lit.

[Anna Mae]

That's cool. I wish that I got to study poems like that in my English class.

[Angel37]

No, you don't.....our huge poetry analysises that we always had to do over the weekend became dreaded and feared throughout all AP-dom. It was useful, i liked it, but the workload made you want to die....XD

[Anna Mae]

I am still in much need of prayer.

My tonsil continues to be out of wack.

My postural hypotension has, of course, not vanished.

My hands are not getting any better. We have another doctor's appointment scheduled this week. I really, really hope that I will be healed by the middle of August (when my school starts), as that is what I have been banking on all year.

My feet are improving, at least.

[ChristianKitsune]

Anna Mae,

Hey there... I know what you are going through must be hard! I shall pray for you, Alright?

but before I click the "Submit" button I want to offer you some words of encouragement. You probably know all that I will say but hey, sometimes it helps to hear it from others.

God will never leave you or Forsake you. In moments like these it can be difficcult and you might not see a reason why you are going through such a hard time. But God Promises that he has a reason for everything and he will not leave you behind. Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you," Declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper and not to harm you , plans to give you a hope and a future."

James 1:2-8 says: 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

Never lose your faith in God, Anna Mae. You sound really saddend by your health and that is perfectly understandable. Always persevere and never give up on God.

But Phillipians 4:4-7 is a favorite passage for me when times are rough. 4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

Finally, I finish this with this quote: "Focus on the Mountain Mover, not the Mountain." This quote is amazing. A few years back, my pastor's wife was diagonosed with Breast Cancer. The night she called our home, I felt the needed to sketch this out (it was badly sketched because I was only in 9th grade). I titled it "Focus on the mountain mover and not the Mountain, and I had a large hand moving a mountain so a person can pass by it."

A few months ago, I found out that my pastor's wife suddenly remembered this quote at about the same time that I drew this picture....

God is awesome, Anna Mae. He is doing something in your life that maybe you can't see right now.

Father, I pray for Anna Mae. I know that this time in her life is a MAJOR mountain. Father I pray that you will give her strength to either climb this mountain, or that you will remove it altogether.

I pray that she will no longer be discouraged and that this week she will hear some good news. You are an awesome God, Father. An amazing God and I thank you for all that you have done.

In your awesome name I pray, amen.

I will continue to pray, Anna Mae! If you ever need anything my pm box is open for pms!


God Bless!
Your Sis in Christ
ChristianRonin

[SP1]

Oh my, definitely be praying about this. I'll send a PM, too.

[Anna Mae]

Thank you, ChristianRonin, for writing that response.

The doctor appointment went... alright, I guess. She said that my tonsil is not anything serious, but will continue to periodically bother me, most likely for the rest of my life.

As for my hands, we have some nerve conduction tests scheduled for August 14. I am not looking forward to those. At least it sounds like I will not have to endure acupuncture.

[Anna Mae]

I just returned from my mission trip to clean up from Hurricane Katrina damage on Sunday. My body did not fare as well as I would have hoped. I could not find stuff to do that did not make my pain worse. My hands became extra sore, and by the middle of each day my feet were screaming. They are still extra tender.

However, I did have a good conversation with one of the youth sponsors about it. When I asked him about what attitude I should have when talking to others about my ailments, he had a new insight for me.

"How can my attitude invite others to worship?"

I found that to be helpful. Worship is the purpose of us humans. I had already considered how I might worship God with my attitude, but not that question.

Oh, and here is an interesting tidbit that I wanted to throw in. A certain resident of Biloxi, Mississippi (which was hit by the hurricane) that I talked to had an interesting point. He asked, "What is our purpose as Christians here in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina?" He answered his question by saying, "Exactly the same as it was before. To be a witness for Jesus Christ." I really liked that.

[Mave]

I wonder whether I dare to suggest:

Your situation most likely makes you sensitive and understanding to those who suffer physical ailments.

Your attitude will give strength and encouragement to those who are downtrodden by their health circumstances while inspire ppl like me to continue His Good Works no matter what happens. Eitherways, God's Purpose are made known through you. Praise Him!

I like that resident's answer as well. Thanks for the updates; I appreciate being able to keep track.

[Anna Mae]

Well, the much anticipated neurological test is tomorrow at 9:00. Please pray!

[Anna Mae]

The test was less painful than I had feared. It didn't hurt more than being snapped by a rubber band. The whole thing was over in 15 minutes. My hands still felt tingly for the rest of the day, though. We should be getting the results back any day now.