DONE! (And a reply from NIH)

I finished the semester on Thursday!  It's a big deal for me, because there were many times when I didn't think I was going to be able to make it through this one.  School by itself is enough.  School and a mysterious illness is pretty ridiculous.  But, God provided and took care of me in some pretty incredible ways... and left me wondering why I ever worry.  None of the things that I worried about happened, and even when bad, discouraging things happened, God was still right there, still in control.  I really can't explain how happy and thankful I was when I walked out of my last final!

We heard back from the National Institute of Health the same day that I came home.  They didn't accept me into their undiagnosed diseases program.  I was really bummed and anxious about it at first, despite the fact that I had walked out of my final a few hours earlier thinking about how silly worrying is.  I have an appointment with my primary care physician in a couple of weeks, so we'll go from there.  I'm thankful that I heard back the day I came home instead of waiting all summer to hear back.  Now, we can start heading in other directions.

My fever's making me feel really sick now, so I'll try to write more within the next few days!  And hopefully, my stuff will unpack itself... :)

p.s. IT'S SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!

Update

Want to hear (read?) a funny story?

Last week, I called the NIH because I hadn't been notified that they had received my records, which my doctors had sent a few weeks ago.  After playing phone tag for awhile, I was finally able to contact them and talk to a real human being.  She told me that they actually don't send out a letter to notify people that they've received their records, but that if I didn't hear anything in 8 weeks, I should give them a call.  The first letter that they sent me said they did, so it was all very confusing.  Then, my parents called me the next day and said I had gotten a letter from the NIH saying that they had received my records.

I thought it was funny.  The not-so-funny part of the story is that the letter also said they didn't have everything from Cleveland Clinic that they'd like... and... the 6-10 week wait doesn't start until they have everything.  Sigh.

On a happier note, my 22nd birthday was last Tuesday, so my parents came out on the weekend again to celebrate a few days early with my brother, sister-in-law, and me!  It was really good to be able to get off of campus for a little bit and be with my family.  The past few weeks have been rough because school is really wiping me out.  My bladder is still really good at keeping me up at night.  I started the medicine for overactive bladder over 8 weeks ago, so I'm starting to think that's not the culprit... it's frustrating.  Each day is really hard, and sometimes I start to get discouraged because I start to feel "stuck" in this.  Then, I remember that I serve a God who has more than enough power and love to get anybody "unstuck" anytime He wants.  That's a really, really comforting thought for me when I start to get down.  There has never been a time when God didn't have all of this under control.  And you know how people always say that God won't give you anything that you're not strong enough to get through?  Yeah, I don't think that's true... otherwise we'd never need to ask God to give us strength.

"Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

                                             -Isaiah 40:28-31

Quick update!

School + being sick = not much time to blog... but here is a very, very quick update:

I am no longer "normal people" sick on top of my not-so-normal "issues," so that's very nice!  I was home for the weekend to play in the alumni jazz band which was fun!  I also had a doctors appointment back home yesterday to make sure my PCP is on the same page so that he can send my records to Maryland.  We'll hear if I'm accepted into the Undiagnosed Diseases Program in 6-8 weeks.  I tried not to expect much at the doctors appointment because we were really just there to make sure he was sending my records, but it was still stressful.  I hadn't seem him since summer because I had been to so many other doctors since then!  The only thing new that happened was that he put me on medicine for overactive bladder because apparently it's not normal to pee every 10 minutes when I'm trying to go to sleep... and then wake up for more trips to the bathroom.  We won't know if overactive bladder is the culprit until we're able to see if the medicine helps, and that's supposed to take at least 2 weeks... so... we'll see.  It's really the least of my medical issues right now, but it could mean more sleep in the near future, and that'd be very cool.

I have a lot I want to write about, but I need to go to sleep!  Hopefully I'll be able to write more soon!