My Pink Chair

I finally got my own wheelchair! I have been able to use a friend's for a while, but it was time to get my own. I was strangely excited to get it! I have come a long way from October, when I would not even say the word wheelchair, to now, when I was actually excited to get my own! I guess it helps that it is PINK! I must say, it is pretty cool, or at least as cool as a wheelchair can get! I wanted all of you to see it so I have attached the pictures below. What you can't see in the pictures, is that the wheels actually light up when they roll!

Love,
Mackenzie

Home from Charleston

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat. Psalm 19:1-6

This picture was taken on Monday evening on Seabrook Island near Charleston. Is it not testimony to the truth contained in Psalm 19? Every single day since God spoke the sun into existence and created morning and evening, the sun has risen and set on schedule. Even the heavens declare His faithfulness!

Our trip to Charleston was more evidence! I told you we were staying in the home of a friend; it proved to be more of a sanctuary than a home. Mackenzie rested well there, and it was a blessing to spend time outdoors in God’s beautiful creation together.

You know, we went to Charleston because of Mackenzie’s medical appointments on Tuesday, but it seems that Monday God had some appointments scheduled for us too.

First, we had lunch with a new friend of ours who has the same medical conditions as Mackenzie. That, in and of itself, was an encouragement to Mackenzie, but more than having a sympathetic ear over the medical issues, Mackenzie was blessed (as were Debbie and I) by the spiritual strength God has given this friend through her struggles. She truly radiates Jesus’ love and peace.

We headed back to Seabrook and decided to stop in the shops nearby. Mackenzie, Debbie, and I enjoyed just walking in and out of the stores, not having to hurry. We came across an art gallery; in the doorway was the most beautiful yellow lab I have ever seen. He is known as Ben, Charleston’s famous gallery dog! Of course, we were drawn inside, and ended up having a wonderful conversation with the owner of the gallery, the artist’s husband. We were encouraged by their journey of faith and the ways God is using his wife’s talent to bring glory to the Creator!

We ambled around the shops a little longer, and Mackenzie spotted a Marble Slab. Of course we went inside, and as we walked to get in line, a baby caught Debbie’s eye. She spoke to the little boy and we made our way to the counter. There was a problem though—not only was there a baby at that table, there was a three year old little girl. We overheard her say sweetly to her parents, “She did not speak to me.” Isn’t that pitiful? Needless to say, we walked back to their table. It did not take long for us to find out that this family was in Charleston to visit MUSC also. The father, Clay, has cancer and has been undergoing treatment there. The little girl, Teagan, chimed in at one point and said, “But God is always with us!” Amen!

I wonder if we miss appointments like these at home because we are too busy?

Well, we were in Charleston for medical appointments. Mackenzie had the MRAs first and then the ophthalmology appointment. The radiologist has not read the imaging studies yet, but the ophthalmology exam was completely normal. We are praising the Lord for this and the fact that we do not need a follow up appointment for two years.

I will update again after we receive the results of her MRAs . We are praying they are as normal as the eye exam.

Thank you all for carrying us before the Throne of Grace. We have been the recipients of much grace and mercy, and the amazing truth is that there is an inexhaustible supply of both!

May God bless you and your family,
Lisa & Mackenzie

Charleston . . . Here we come!

Just a quick update to let you know Mackenzie and I, along with our dear friend Debbie, will be headed to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston early next week.

Mackenzie has an appointment with the ophthalmologist for a baseline eye exam and is also scheduled to have the specialized radiological testing to rule out aneurysms. We expect these appointments to be uneventful, and could there be a nicer place to spend a couple of days? Another friend has even opened her home to us while we are there. God provides exactly what we need when we need it!

We will update when we return. We just ask you to pray for our safety as we travel and that any abnormalities would be revealed on these tests. As you know, Mackenzie has had many “normal” tests when we knew something just was not right.

Thank you for praying for our family!

Love,
Lisa & Mackenzie

Finger Splints!!!

I did not sleep well last night and didn't even fall asleep until 4:30. I was planning to go to school, but I didn't get up until 12! As I was getting ready, my mom came in my room and asked, "Do you want to go get your splints today?" I was so suprised and excited! I have been praying that we would get them by Friday, but I wasn't expecting to! God just blessed me, once again!

They actually help a lot! It amazes me how they stop my joints from hyperextending! I am switching them around to different fingers to do different tasks. It will take a while to get used to, but I love them!

In this picture, I put them on so you could see what they look like separately and combined together!

This is what they look like from the back!

Thank you for praying for my splints!

Love,

Mackenzie

New Appointments and Surgery

Hey! Sorry that it has been so long since I posted! It has been pretty crazy here! I have had several appointments since the last post.

We met with my ENT for the sleep study results, which came back abnormally normal! He told us that 94% of people who have a sleep study done have some form of apnea, and I didn't! The fact that it came back normal, made me abnormal... Of course!

Later that day, I had PT. I was doing really well and improving, so we kept going for longer than we should have. The next day was pretty bad! I haven't been in that much pain in a long time! To add to it, my heart rate was REALLY high, even for me! My resting heart rate stayed around 120 bpm and got up to 180 bpm! It went down over the next few days, and my pain leveled back out to my "normal" pain level. I went back to PT 2 days later, and we just took it easy.

Last Saturday, I went with my mom and 2 of our friends to find my prom dress. My heart rate was still pretty high so we took the chair. I didn't want to at first, but I was thankful that I did. We searched all over the mall and had no luck! On our way out I suggested we try one more store before we left. We were all praying that we would find something I loved, and that it was inexpensive! When we got to it, we saw some gorgeous dresses that were WAY too expensive, but we decided to keep looking around. As we walked farther down the wall, we saw that almost all of the dresses were 70% off! I probably tried on 10 different dresses in there that were all originally around $400! I finally found one that fit perfectly and was just what I was looking for! We were all so excited!!! God really blessed us! It was a wonderful day with some wonderful friends!

Tuesday I went to the Hand Center to try the Silver Ring Splints again... This time I was not going in there expecting them to fit, because I knew that my joints have become very swollen. And I was right! They didn't fit, but we resized them and she reordered them. I am hoping to get them in the next week or so! My fingers really need support!

I am still doing PT and my core muscles are getting stronger. We are noticing that my joints, especially my knees, tire out really quickly! My knees are continuing to get looser, which makes it more difficult and painful to walk. I am probably going to have to look into getting knee braces, just for the days when I do a lot, or when they are looser.

This week I have a cardiologist appointment. We will go over the results of the event heart monitor and catch him up on what has been going on since my last visit. We will let you know how that goes!

Here are some of the scans from NY. I labeled the abnormalities causing some of my symptoms. I hope they help you better understand what we are talking about!

We finally were able to schedule the appointments ordered by Dr. Francomano! It was a lot of back and forth with rewriting the order, but we have an appointment at MUSC on March 24! The people in the imaging department were so helpful and were even able to fit my appointments all in one day! I am very excited to go there and see the results of the scans and ophthalmologist appointment!

Surgery... I am still not sure what I think about it... I don't want to do it, but I know I have to! I just keep praying that this is the right thing to do, and God shows me just about everyday that I need to do this! I will continue to pray that my fears won't get in the way of me doing God's will! It is very difficult, but I am just trusting that He knows what He is doing and that there IS purpose to my suffering! I have already seen some purpose to it, and I know that there is more to come!

Thank you for all your support and prayers! My family and I can never thank you enough!

Love,
Mackenzie