Life in a Bubble

If you don't have time to read all of this, please skip down to the underlined paragraph, prayer requests are in bold!

Today I saw my rheumatologist. My last appointment with her was in October and I have been sick since the end of December. Needless to say, she was not happy with the reports she has been getting on me: the flu followed by a viral infection followed by another viral infection that I am still fighting off. Oh, plus the migraines, the blood clot and bursitis. The joys of chronic illness :-/

It has been a particularly bad winter for the general population as far as illnesses go and for the chronically ill such as myself it has been extra hard. That being said, there are a few precautions I need to take. First, I need to continue to avoid large crowds or places where there are people in close proximity. This means I can't go to the play I have tickets for tomorrow night and I can't go to church, among other things. Not going to church is the hardest. I haven't been in a service since the middle of December and it doesn't look like I will be going back any time soon. I miss it. Please pray that I will continue to get fed spiritually on my own and that my relationship with God will deepen during this time of isolation from community.

Second, I can finally leave the house again when I have the energy to do so - if I wear a mask and if I go places where there aren't too many people and if those people don't touch me. Really, no touching. No hugs, no handshakes, no fist bumps, nothing. I'm going to have to live in my own personal bubble for a couple more months until the risk of infection decreases. For a person such as myself with not much of a personal bubble this is going to be a challenge! I apologize in advance for being rude. Please pray that I will be able to find a nice way to tell people "Don't Touch Me!" :-)

I am still fighting off this infection and getting weaker each week I miss my methotrexate shot. I now have the difficult challenge of figuring out when I've been "really healthy" for a solid 2-3 weeks before I can start getting my shot again. I've only had it once since mid December and it caused me to get sick again. It's such a fine balance that must be found and I admit that I have a very difficult time figuring out when the virus has ended since the symptoms are very similar to how I feel when I'm not on my medication, but if I go back on my medication too soon I will get sicker. You see my problem. Please pray that I will have the wisdom I need to know when my medication will be helping me again instead of hurting me.

Last but certainly not least, I will be trying out the Paleo Diet for the next three months. In a nutshell I will be eating meat, veggies and fruit for the most part. No bread, no gluten and (GULP) no sugar. I talked it over with my doctor today and we're going to give it a shot. My parents have been doing this for a while now and they feel so much better. There are some things that the Paleo Diet allows (such as garlic) that I can't have because of the autoimmune disease, but for the most part it should be a good fit. I'll be starting next week and I would really appreciate your prayers as I go through sugar withdrawal. Seriously, this is going to be miserable!

Thanks friends! I pray you are all doing well. How else can I pray for you?