Greetings from Mexico,
To view Jessica on Fox TV, Click on Link Below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW_vstm0bS8
Yesterday was an eventful day for Jessica. In discussions with Dr. Cantu, it was decided that in order to try to alleviate the pain that was intolerable in the right leg, from the knee to the foot, he would perform a Bier Block procedure. It is done to temporarily block some pain in an affected limb by injecting three different type of anesthetics to the area, under sedation. Afterwards, you generally feel a tingly, numbing sensation but hopefully the constant shooting burning pain is lessened. This procedure can last anywhere from a few days, to a week, or maybe even a month. Please pray that it works for Jessica and that it gives her some relief from the unbearable pain. Also, the last antibiotic was stopped yesterday after being on antibiotics for 14 days due to multiple infections. Thanks be to God and thanks to all of you for your prayers.
Special Request!!!:
Jessica and I share this month as our birthday month. On January 10th I will be a "young" 51 (haha) and on January 15th, my sweet Jessica will be turning 22 !!!
My birthday wish this year is what it has been for these past four years since she became ill - and that is for my daughter to be well again -free of pain and sickness ! Free of RSD and Lyme !
This year, because of Jessica's incredible "journey" and this "blog", and all of you, our dear family and friends, I have a second wish or "request":
On her birthday - Friday, January 15th - I would love for her to get the most comments and well-wishes on the blog that day! So, if you all can get the word out to all the blog followers for me, it would be so appreciated and may God bless you all!
Love always,
Jessica's Mom*
"Thanks be to God...who....manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place".
(2 Corinthians 2:14)
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Jessica's Journey to Getting Her Life Back
By Sarah Gina (Jessica's Mom)
As we begin this journey toward renewed health we would like to express our sincere heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick and all the work he has done and continues to do in order to bring patients like my daughter Jessica back to a more meaningful life and restored from this devastating illness. Also, special thanks to Dr. Fernando Cantu and his team of doctors in Mexico for taking on a difficult case like my daughters, Words cannot express the renewed sense of hope that we have that one day, our Jessica, can regain her life that has been taken away from her – God Bless you all!
Jessica’s Story
Once an A+ student who loved school, was involved in many extracurricular activities, played varsity tennis, lacrosse and gymnastics and enjoyed spending time with her family and friends, our daughter Jessica has spent the last 3 years incapacitated, paralyzed, unable to sit or walk and eat. She spends her days confined to a hospital bed, wearing sunglasses and noise-canceling headphones, due to severe light and sound sensitivity.
Jessica and her sisters, 2 mos. before becoming illThe pain she feels is indescribable and all attempted treatments have not even come close to relieving her suffering.
She has seen many doctors, undergone numerous painful tests and procedures, has been prescribed various medications, and has been hospitalized frequently including being intubated and on a ventilator. She is severely debilitated and currently is only 92 pounds. This is certainly no life for a 21 year old young woman!
Jessica is suffering from neurologic Lyme disease and Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), a severely debilitating and painful neuromuscular disorder. She suffers daily with constant sharp, stabbing, tingling and burning pain; throughout her body; severe headaches; paralysis; intense muscle spasms; gastroparesis; seizures; twisting of her limbs (dystonia); sensitivity to any touch (allodynia); extreme sensitivity to lights and sounds; excessive sweating; swelling; fevers; softening of bones; decreased hair growth; redness and discoloration of the limbs; and painful skin ulcers. The pain is constant and unrelenting, but despite her suffering, her faith in God remains and she still has hope for her future.
Jessica's painful skin lesionsJessica's journey began in 1999, when she was only 11 years old. She became very ill with Mono and was bed bound for 3 months. She subsequently developed RSD (stage 1) of the lower right leg. She received early intervention and returned to playing sports and enjoying her life.
Jessica, age 15, at summer campFour years later, in 2003, while away at a sleep-away camp, she developed a rash behind her right knee, coincidentally in the same leg that previously had RSD!
At the time, the camps nurse & doctor told her that it was “duck rash” – a rash from swimming in the lake with duck feces. However, Jessica was able to obtain photos from camp from another camper which shows the classic “bulls-eye” rash from Lyme disease! It wasn’t until much later and only after developing symptoms and becoming very ill, was the diagnosis of Lyme disease and Babesiosis (another tick-borne infection) made.
Most people (and doctors!) have no idea how serious Lyme disease can become and no clue how to properly diagnose it. Unfortunately, if she would have been promptly diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease, the RSD would not have been triggered and she would not be suffering.
July 2003, Jessica's Lyme disease rashDuring these past three years and with the pain becoming more intense and unbearable she has been seeing Dr. Finkelstein for pain management. He has even made house calls to spare her the pain of coming by ambulance to his office. Jessica has been treated with multiple pain medications, at the highest possible doses, as well as an implanted dilaudid pain pump, which delivers potent medication straight into her spine. Many doctors have told us that with the amount of medications Jessica was taking would be enough to “kill a horse”—yet they had little to no effect on her. If it wasn’t for Dr. Finkelstein trying to alleviate her constant, severe, unrelenting pain, I don’t know how she would have managed. He is very special to us as well.
Recently Jessica was transported by air ambulance to Tampa, Florida to see Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, a world renowned RSD expert. Dr. Kirkpatrick told us that Jessica is one of the most debilitated patients he has ever seen.
Jessica getting into the air-ambulance to go see Dr. KirkpatrickUpon his testing and because Jessica's condition is so severe, Dr. Kirkpatrick is recommending the only treatment available that can possibly help relieve her suffering, and afford her some semblance of a “normal” life - the Ketamine Coma Procedure - a clinical trial that is being conducted in Monterrey, Mexico.
During this procedure Jessica will be put into a coma , with the hope that her nerves, brain and spinal cord will “reset” -so that her nervous system sends the correct signals to her brain.
Yes, this is a radical, scary treatment, however, for Jessica, "scary" is thinking that she could spend the rest of her life in this condition, unable to walk, eat, or take care of herself. Since all reasonable treatments have failed to help her, we feel we must try everything possible to help Jessica regain her life.
We understand that due to Jessica’s fragile condition, there is a high risk associated with this procedure. We are also aware that other patients with severe RSD like Jessica's have had success.
Jessica’s goal is to one day become a doctor. Our hope is that with this study she can have that chance. As her Mom, I know that she will be a great doctor because when a patient presents in her office and says “Doctor, I am in pain and words cannot express how bad it is” – my daughter –Dr. Jessica– will be able to say - :I know how you feel, I’ve been there too. So, take a seat and let me tell you a story”….
We are so thankful and feel so blessed to have been led to Dr. Kirkpatrick.
God is good and with his help guiding Dr. Cantu and Dr. Kirkpatrick, our hope is for Jessica to be able to return to us whole again and pain-free!
10 comments:
Praying the block works and the pain is gone FOREVER!!
BD Wish....We can do that!!! Happy Almost BD Ladies!!!!
Love from 30 degree Florida burrrrrr!
Since the first time Jessica became ill with Mono I felt so lost. We had thought of each other as sisters, and sisters are supposed to have all the answers. But I could not tell you why she wasn't feeling well.
I wish for this birthday the same as I have wished for years-the hands of healing. Gina, I wish that you could just place your hands upon each part of Jessica's body, saying "praise the Lord" and she would be healed. I wish that Roger could do his Reyke(always drove David nuts)that would relieve her pain.
Remember Girls have birthday months and boys have birthdays. Jessica hoping each day that your gift is a bit less pain and some improvement in getting closer to being healed.
Cold and snowy in saratoga(but unlike Fla we expect it)
Linda
Your wish will be passed on!! Happy almost Birthday girls!
Julie(sunny. but cold Florida!!)
Let me know how the bier block worked out. I remain hopeful that he is on to something and any break would be a good thing. I have had those as well as Bertylium blocks which require moving the blood from the leg first. (It is most uncomfortable) Sometimes it is with creative thoughts that the breaks come and I pray that God will use this to bring relief to Jessica.
Hang in there Jessica. Off the antibiotics now is a wonderful thing. Hopefully you will be feeling more normal as the days go on and your system has the chance to recover.
Thanks for your comments on my carepage, it means a lot to me.
Today is physio and after having done too much yesterday, I cannot say I am looking forward to it. ha-ha! Clearly my own fault. :)
Our birthday month is in February so will keep you posted on those as they happen. For now, that will be my guided prayers for this month, that you Sarah get your birthday wish, that you Jessica get so many message it will take you months to read them all! God has given you many online friends from around the world, may you find comfort in knowing that, just as I do.
God be with you!
Fern
Hi my name is Diana and I am 23. i got lyme when i was 19..i was misdiagnosed with MS for 3 years. ive been on antibiotics for one year. and here i am bedridden and cant use my right hand. i can really relate to jessica. after about 8 months of iv drugs i realized i might be sick forever because of such SLOW progress. So, i looked elsewhere. i found this program that actually gets your immune system to kill all the bugs EVERYWHERE..not just where the drugs go...and lets face it, the drugs really do suck.
I've been doing the program for 8 weeks and i've seen much improvement. i still cant walk or use my hand, but they are progressing. my big problem is severe tremors. there are no drugs needed..which was great for me because i cant swallow good. just a phone. anyway, i know that jessica is so sick of being sick and i believe doing the class will give her the life she lost back. its no life.
the website is lymefree.com
if you have any questions my email is dianabustr@aol.com
i really hope you do it.
Hey Almost Birthday Girls! Although I have not written in a bit, I check your blog everyday and am always so anxious to hear of Jessica's progress and updates! We literally jumped for joy here when we read about her eyesight being restored -- hoooooooray! We are the friends from afar that think of you both more than you can ever imagine. We are also the friends that think the world of your family (can I add that Michelle is absolutely, positively a treasure! -- how blessed we are that Genevieve has found a forever friend that is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside!). Keep up the healing, dearest Jessica . . . we look forward to meeting you soon!
With my love -- Renee Klatt
Hi Jessica,
I'm part the pray chain that is working with God for you. I lived in Monterrey for 4 years, very close to the hospital you are in. I know the hospital well and I also believe with all my heart that the doctors at the hospital are truly a gift from God. You WILL get better.
I'll keep you in my prayers and for Jan 15th - I wish you a rainbow of happiness and much love on your birthday.
Caring for you ...
Patti (from Canada)
Much has happened in the New Year for the Stevens Family!
I had not seen any updates for this year because I had bookmarked your webpage and it kept taking me to Dec. 31, 2009. Oops!
Lots of good news! The doctors are back, Jessica's fever is gone, she off antibiotics. God is good!
We will pray that your sweet Jessica gets much relief from the block. We will also pray for your dear husband. Crohn's is not an easy thing to live with.
And you are right about God's timing being perfect (and our wanting God's timing to be our timing)! His ways are not our ways.
May God bless your faith and heal your whole family!
With love & prayers,
The Turners
My love, my hugs, and my birthday wishes are on their way to both of you. Even though it is the two of you who will be celebrating birthdays, it is all of us (outside of room 845) who have recieved the presents. The two of you have continually taught us faith, perserverance, and the incredible value of patience. How I wish that everyone who has read this blog or has prayed for Jessica, could stand hand in hand together. I beleive the circumference of that circle would be larger than any of us could ever imagine. Because of Jessica, we are a collective group of individuals who (along with Sarah Gina) will never give up on the healing grace that God will be delivering. Love you guys. Nita
Love to you both. Stuck in NYC on IV. Blessings to you both. You both r in my thoughts and prayers everyday.
M Mah
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