Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Lyme Disease Medical Update

I have been bombarded with questions about how the doctor's appt in MO went, what did he say, etc. I don't want folks to think I'm dodging them, I simply am still trying to process it all!

In short summary let me say that it went amazingly well. God blessed the travel which I was dreading. We certainly had traveling graces! The appointment lasted a little over THREE HOURS! We covered things I'd never heard of (and I considered myself a fair student of Lyme Disease), things I would never have dreamed were connected, and some things I had no idea were going on in my body! The experience was mind blowing but so very encouraging at the same time!

The information came at me so fast, I barely had time to catch a tiny fraction of it. I was sent home with nearly an inch of instructions, explanations, prescriptions, etc. Its like earning a degree trying understand and process it all.

Yesterday, I finally got to pick up all of my new prescriptions (all but one). The cost came to over $1,100.00!!! This is about one month of medications in most cases! We haven't even gotten to the big question of if and or when he decides to put the port in and use those medicines. That will be $3,000.00 a month just for the meds! Fortunately a very small % have to have the port and those meds. We'll have to wait and see. One of the unusual things I had to get was an "EpiPen". It looks like one of those big oversized writing pens people use sometimes. I have two of them ($200.00!). Should I go into anaphelactic shock or my heart stop, Carrie gets to grab one of those and stab me in the outer thigh as hard as she can. Or she gets to not stab me. Guess that is her call! ;-) Its actually kind of cool but kind of scary at the same time. It is what it is I suppose.

The meds are crazy complicated, all over the map on when, how much, when not to. and on and on. It is going to be a real challenge to manage it all. Funny thing is, none of my test results have even come back on other issues. This batch of meds is only the beginning. I decided to get a head start last night and take just ONE PILL of the 11 new scrips I got last night. Wanted to judge what it was going to do to me. I woke up this morning unable to move feeling like my body was on fire! This dear friends is called a Herxheimer reaction. It is one of those things that happens when you attack the bacteria, they start dying off, and the effect on you body is murderous! This was with just one pill of one med! This is going to be fun! :-)

This morning I started the full initial regimen. Horse pills and lots of pills. Had to choke them down. Get to do this at least four times a day! I will introduce a new med every three to four days until I am on them all.

The good side of them all is the strong likelihood of a complete and total recovery! It is going to be a long, painful, sickening, and difficult trip but it is a trip I have to take to get my life back. There is so much more I have to tell, other health issues, other treatment avenues, diet changes (extreme!), and on and on. Just not enough time today.

Prayer Needs:

1. Ability to withstand the treatments. These treatments will almost kill me before they make me better. The side effects and suffering they cause is extreme. Please pray for endurance.

2. Financial. The medication costs are going to be astronomical. So many generous people both in our church, my Dad's church, and a few individuals have been so generous already, we just know God's provision can handle the rest. It is going to be expensive.

3. Healing. That is our ultimate hope. This treatment course has a strong likelihood to both treat the lyme, cure the lyme, cure the seizures and so much more. Ultimately this rests in the hands of the great physician and we all know He is able.

4. The Church. Please continue to pray for our church. They have demonstrated an amazing love and support for me and my family. They have stood by us through some terrible physical trials. Pray God rewards them for their faithfulness, blesses our church during some hard days ahead, and for His favor on our labors as we seek to make a difference in His kingdom.

5. My family. Please pray for my family as they endure yet another long round of treatment, illness, and difficult times. There aren't words to express how they have helped me, stood by me, and been there for me but I would be remiss if I did not ask God's strengthening hand be upon them.

6. For me. Patience, strength, endurance, faith, pain tolerance, and healing. Think that about sums it up.

Special thanks to all of you for your love, encouragement, prayers, and support. We could not have made it these last eight years without it. For the first time I can say, I can almost see the finish line. May the Lord grant us the grace to see it through to the end! Thank you, we love you, and may the Lord of all Lords richly bless you.

In His Service,

Micah

Jeremiah 29:11-13

"11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Urgent Prayer Request

Good Morning to all my Friends and Prayer Partners,

I will be traveling with a friend to Columbia, Missouri this morning. Tomorrow morning I will see a new doctor, Dr. Charles Crist. He is the specialist for Lyme Disease treatment in this part of the country. If all goes as we believe it will, he will send me home with a new avenue of treatment than what I have been on the last three years. I have been on oral antibiotics for almost three years but have seemed to reach the end of what these medications can achieve. Dr. Crist uses a more aggressive method than my previous physician.

When I get back home, I will be setup with a local physician who will coordinate my local care. I will have a port put in my chest above my heart that will allow the meds to be put in direct. The medications will carry severe side effects and will be extremely difficult to endure. The cost of the monthly meds alone will be $3,000.00 a month. This does not include my doctors fees, my local doctor, home health, etc. This could take several months to a year to eliminate the Lyme bacteria. There is the hope of a cure but it will be an expensive and difficult journey.

My beloved church family, my father's church, and Christian friends have been stepping up and helping us raise the money to offset these costs but it will be difficult to meet all the expenses as the treatment is ongoing. We are looking at tens of thousands of dollars. Without this treatment, I am left with no "earthly" cure for my disease. I have to admit that is a fearful prospect for me. My suffering and struggles with this disease are simply more than I can bare. My prayer to God is that I get my life back, so that I can be the pastor, husband, father, and man that God wants me to be.

Please pray with us:

1. Pray for safe travels for me and my friend Robert Haley who is taking me to Missouri.
2. Pray for my family who has had to endure so much during my nine year fight with this disease.
3. Pray for the doctors and their treatment plan that I will be able to endure the treatment's side effects.
4. Pray for the treatment that it will be able to fully eradicate the Lyme bacteria from my body.
5. Pray for the Great Physician to have His hands at work during this time, without His hands I know no treatment will ultimately be successful.
6. Pray that will will be able to meet the extreme financial burden this treatment will entail.
7. Pray for my church family that God will strengthen them and hold the church together while I endure what is coming. We are blessed with the sweetest sense of unity and love and I don't want a trial to change that.
8. Lastly, please pray for me. I must confess that it is difficult for me at times to stay upbeat, project faith, and be the spiritual leader God wants me to be. As always, my heart's desire is to simply hear my Lord say "Well done my good and faithful servant". I will need your prayers to live that out.

Thank you in advance for those prayers. We have a long and difficult journey ahead of us. Without your prayers, we will never be able to endure everything we have to face. We love and appreciate each of you. May the Lord richly bless each of you. Thanks!

***NOTE*** THERE WILL BE NO WEDNESDAY SERVICES TONIGHT, JUNE 1ST, 2011, WITH BOTH ROBERT AND I OUT OF TOWN.

In His Service,


Micah
--
Pastor Micah J. Mauldin
New Beginnings Baptist Church
Texarkana, USA

www.nbbctexarkana.blogspot.com