Where Have I Been?! Let’s Get Caught Up

So, I have pretty much been non-existent for the last nine months. Yes, I said nine months. You guessed it…I’m pregnant, for those of you who didn’t know. My body doesn’t seem to like being pregnant too much, and every day was a battle. Everything I’ve dealt with during this pregnancy was the same as my first.

I spent almost four years trying to decide if was time for another baby. Ideally, we would have liked to have our children closer in age, but fear held me back. Yes, me…I let fear take over. I didn’t want to experience sickness everyday for months on end. I didn’t want bedrest, and I didn’t want any other complications. We finally decided it was time, and hoped it would be different.

I experienced severe hyperemesis until I was 28 weeks pregnant; ALL DAY, EVERYDAY SICKNESS. I began feeling depressed, because I felt like people just didn’t “get it”. “Oh, just drink some peppermint tea. Chew on ginger. Eat frequently.” Do this, do that.

If you’ve never had severe hyperemesis, I’d never wish it upon anyone. After some testing, we believe that I have a genetic mutation that causes the body to not properly absorb vitamin b. This may have played a role in my sickness. I had weekly vitamin b injections…and I STILL cannot stick myself. I’m a baby And I’ve always struggled with low blood sugar, so the sickness didn’t help that cycle.

Do you struggle with hypoglycemia? If so, you know how that feels. You live in a brain fog. You can’t think straight, retain anything that anyone says to you, constant migraines, and chronic fatigue. Every week, I had migraines for at least three days straight, and stayed in bed with ice packs on every inch of my head and neck.

I was SO relieved when that was over. But then we hit another bump in the road. A few days after Christmas, my husband had a health scare. This man is NEVER sick, never. In eight years together, he’s only had a cold two or three times. So a few days after Christmas, when he woke up out of a dead sleep with severe chest pain on the left side, I was concerned. I’ve only seen him cry once, so to see him on the verge of tears, I knew it was something we should not play around with.

So on December 29th, we went to the Emergency Room. We thought for sure we were dealing with a heart or clot issue. Nope. Labs revealed that he had elevated liver enzymes and monocyte count. A CT scan showed that he had inflammation of the lungs and enlarged lymph nodes. The ER doctor explained to us that with any bacteria or virus, the lymph nodes rarely exceed 1cm in size, and said it was imperative that we see a specialist as soon as possible. The threw out the word lymphoma.

“Hold the phone. What did you just say?!”Any time you hear the word “cancer”, your heart drops into your stomach. I felt my throat closing up and my heart pounding. Just breathe.

We followed up with a pulmonologist a few weeks later, and said we were dealing with a few possibilities; histoplasmosis (a fungal infection of the lungs, spread by bird and bat droppings), sarcadoisis (auto-immune disease that manifests in the lungs), or lymphoma. The doctors were very alarmed, because his lymph nodes in his chest and upper abdomen were 3cm in size (the largest). The doctor gave us the option of a biopsy. I explained that I would be so shocked if it were cancer, as Dan seems to have the immune system of superman.

He was such a great doctor, and listened intently. So, he allowed us to proceed by trying to rule out the histoplasmosis. Well, by the time they tested for it, it was three weeks after the ER visit, and the test came back negative. All of his labs to check for clues as to whether it could be sarcodoisis, were also indicators for lymphoma. So, we still didn’t have answers. The doctor told us if it was cancer, not much would change in a few weeks, so he scheduled a follow up CT scan.

Well…rewind to our initial ER visit. As soon as we came home, we decided we needed to kick up our already healthy lifestyle, to something a little more hardcore. We’ve always done sugar cleanses, but in order for my husband’s body to function more optimally, we had to nourish it more. We don’t eat processed foods or refined sugars, but the sugar had to go.

Bye, bye grains and sugar. Hello raw foods!

Our biggest struggle with eating 80% raw, and avoiding grains, is going out to eat when we get busy. The only way we could stay on track is if I meal planned. Uuuuughhhh. Not what I wanted to do, but it had to be done. And PREP was key. We juiced. We drank turmeric and ginger. I also put him on a supplement plan to optimize the function of all of his body systems, especially the lymphatic system and digestive system. We are talking 35+ capsules of various supplements per day!

The lymphatic system does not have a pump, like the blood. The lymphatic system is a network of tissues and organs that help rid the body of toxins, waste and other unwanted materials. The primary function of the lymphatic system is to transport lymph, a fluid containing infection-fighting white blood cells, throughout the body. The only way to encourage lymphatic flow is to…well, MOVE. So off to the gym we went, two days per week.

Okay, now fast forward to his follow up CT scan. We were incredibly anxious the weeks leading up to the scan, and the five days it took to hear the results. The radiology report showed that his lymph nodes ranged from 1.3cm – 1.6cm in size! PRAISE GOD!! They shrunk!! And now, three months later, my husband has lost over 40 pounds and feeling better than ever.

Words can’t even begin to explain the relief we felt. All of the emotions that flooded us for over a month were calmed. Our God is greater. But this experienced motivated us. And is keeping us motivated. Our body is a temple. We only have ONE body, one life to live. God designed our body so intricately, so detailed…with thousands of chemical reactions that happen on a daily basis. When we are lacking in ONE thing, the proper reactions won’t happen. It’s time to take care of ourselves now, not later.

I’d love to share the emotions we felt, and more about our what motivates us to live a healthy lifestyle. I’d love to share our prayers, our moments of worship, and things that affirmed us in the season. But that’s a entire post in itself

So for now, I hope you all feel like you know where we’ve been, and the road we continue to be on. Continue praying for my husband, as this road is not yet over. But we trust in a God that is bigger than us!