Hey all, I have a few major things that are going on in my life that I could really use prayer for. At the end of this last school year I became really sick and ended up being stuck at RUH (Royal University Hospital) for a few weeks. As some of you may have heard I am taking the summer off and doing nothing but trying to get my condition under control. This means that I will not be working at all and my summer will pretty much consist of seeing several doctors, resting/sleeping a lot and hanging out with friends. This also means that I will not be attending Bethany this coming fall because I will not have enough money to pay for school and I feel that it is best for me to take a school year off to work and get my life together. I am currently living in Saskatoon and I plan to stay here throughout the school year as well so I will be coming out to Bethany to visit.
I have gotten a new specialist at RUH because my old one was ignoring me and not really doing his job at all. My new specialist, Jenifer Jones, is amazing and she has ordered some very extensive testing that will take place throughout the rest of the summer. Please pray for wisdom for her as she reviews my case and looks through my charts (my medical chart is bigger than a phone book) for ideas on how to properly treat my illness and give me a better quality of life. She has already looked at some previous testing and told me that it looks like they may not have the proper diagnosis for my condition. If this is true my treatment protocols could change drastically. I am very happy with my new specialist so I guess that is a prayer and praise item.
I am also seeing a pain specialist now (Dr. Fern) and he deals primarily with methadone treatment. Methadone can be used to treat people with chronic pain issues like myself and it can also be used to help get people off of highly addictive medications and street drugs. Dr. Fern is slowly lowering the dose of my narcotic pain killers while he slowly raises the dose of the methadone. The goal here is that I will be able to get off of all of the high grade narcotics that the doctors have beein using to control my pain and we will be able to be on only the methadone for pain control. Unless God decides to heal me this methadone program will be a life long program for me. All of this change in my medications is hard to deal with and it would be great if you guys could pray that I can get through this and deal with the stress and anxiety of it all in a healthy way. This methadone program is very intense and because I am new to it I don't fully understand a lot of it and that scares me. Dr. Fern is also a very good doctor and he is very compassionate about the pain that I have experienced on a daily basis for the past ten years and continue to experience every day. This methadone program and Dr. Fern are a very good thing and will most likely give me a better quality of life but the beginning stages are difficult and at times very painful and stressful. I need to go to the pharmacy every day to pick up my methadone dose and have them watch me take it and then I need to sign for it for the next three months. This is because methadone is a highly controlled substance. For the past week I have been having quite severe pain that comes and goes and this will continue until Dr. Fern is able to find the right methadone dose for me. I could really use your prayer and support in this area. The methadone program is a good thing and it is beginning to work a little bit so that is a good thing. This is what I would call a praise and prayer item as well.
My other major prayer request is that I will be able to find a room mate to rent the two bedroom basement suite that I am living in. I will need a room mate that can move in at the end of August/beginning of September. If I am unable to find a room mate I will need to look for a one bedroom place that costs less and that can be very difficult to do in Saskatoon. The basement suite I am renting is not anything special but it is nice and in a nice part of town. It is only a few minute drive from 8th street and about a 15 minute drive from U of S. The whole suite is already furnished except for the bedroom that would belong to my room mate. The suite is located on Wiggins Ave South and rent between two people would cost $350 each. I would really like to stay here and not have to move because moving can be very stressful for me and getting used to a new place to live is difficult for me as well just because of some of the medications I am on. I have no gender preference as to who my room mate is because right now I just need to find someone. It would be great if you guys could pray that I will find a room mate and if you hear of anyone looking for a place to rent in Saskatoon please tell them to contact me.
So that was quite the long praise/prayer request but I guess I just had a lot to say today.
I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your summer.
Cheers.
