Tag Archives: family

Pull Back the Covers

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Where has the time gone?  I cannot believe its been almost 10 months since I’ve posted here.  I think I have finally pulled my head out from under the covers.  So much has happened…where do I begin?

First, in March of 2020 the first negative Lyme’s test came into my life.  What does that mean?  Well, that likely 90% of the Lymes was gone!  Cheers to that!  We were hoping my body would clean up the remaining 10%.  If you caught that, I said “hoping”.  Back to that in a minute.  The additional negative test was that the anaplasmosis was gone too.  Prayers can be answered.

Of course COVID hit in March, and I’m pretty sure I just pulled the covers over my head because I feel like I haven’t been living my best life since then!  (Well…that’s my excuse….I’m sure I could come up with a better one if I had more time.)

With both the Lyme’s and the anaplasmosis gone, one would think I would be jumping for joy and feeling better.  However, I was feeling worse than when I started. How could that be?

Well, the additional lab tests showed my immune system was still going crazy in overdrive, that I had a parasite in my system, my pituitary gland was out of sync and two other blood tests to show off the charts inflammation in my body.  My doctor said he knew I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t feel good because the test results prove it!  Again, the same old question of “Now what?”

Back to the 10% Lymes remaining in my system. If my body isn’t able to clear out the last bit of Lymes, I could still have symptoms and with my body dealing with high inflammation, my immune system is going to work overtime all the time.  Hence, why I’m not feeling well.  In addition, my doctor said this could point to another tick borne illness called Babesia.  This is a parasite that affects the red blood cells.  Good news…I’ve been getting treated for Babesia…and I’m FEELING BETTER!  I still need to work through the inflammation and hormone issues, but a little relief is like a little bit of heaven. Amen!

What have I learned the last 10 months? Lyme’s has substantially changed my life. COVID has substantially changed everyone’s lives.  It’s how we react that will determine the outcome!  That’s why I decided to pull back the covers and take a peak into what’s ahead.  Its scary but I’m doing it with my head high and my heart filled with gratitude!  We can do this together! I promise.

 

 

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Thankful

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Today I was reminded about how thankful one has to be in the face of adversity.

While walking with a friend this morning, I was telling the story of what happened on Thursday with my youngest daughter, Brityn.  She went in for her weekly allergy shot and called me an hour later complaining about a stomach ache.  I didn’t think much of it because she eats many foods that causes her to get stomach aches.  About 30 minutes later when I arrive at my mom’s (she was with grandma), I walked in and she looked awful.  Flush in the checks, pale in the face, coughing, somewhat difficulty breathing, crying because of her stomach. She then pulled up her shirt and she had hives covering her entire torso.  Oh my goodness….she’s having a reaction!  I called the doctor and they immediately said to call 911 because we didn’t have her EpiPen handy. So I did and within about 20 minutes we were taking a ride in the ambulance and spent a couple hours in the ER.  Thankfully with Benadryl and quick medical attention, she was ok after a few hours and doing fabulously today!

It was scary and anxiety ridden and sad and the list goes on.  I remained calm but deep down I was dying inside as my baby girl was severely struggling….and I didn’t know what to do about it!  Even yesterday, I was still shaken by the whole experience.  However, the calmness that came over me when my friend said…”She’s ok, you’re ok…and despite the ordeal there is a lot to be thankful for.”

Yes, there is.  Lesson learned… Be thankful for the little things and hopefully the big things won’t seem quite so scary!

On a separate note, I’ll post more later about my latest diagnosis!  All good news as we finally think we’ve found the last piece of the puzzle!

Grateful Heart (and funeral info)

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THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to everyone for extending your prayers, kindness, love and support!  Every single phone call, email, text message, flowers, cards, notes, food, hugs and spiritual healing has truly held me together this week despite how broken I feel.

Please continue to share stories of my father as love and laughter is really the best medicine.  My heart is so very grateful and my family is very blessed to have such an amazing surrounding of friends and family to embrace us in this time of sorrow.  I wish I could hug every single one of you so you could feel how much gratitude is in my heart.

Please note the services for my father, Tommy Faaborg, will be held Saturday, June 17, 2017 at 11:00am at Danebod Lutheran Church in Tyler, MN.  There will be an hour prior to the service for friends and family to gather as well as a light luncheon following the service.

Please continue to hold us in your prayers as we prepare to say our final goodbyes and as we celebrate the wonderful life of my father!

A Good Fight

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It’s with a tremendously sad heart that I share my father passed away Saturday evening. For anyone who has followed my blog this past year, it’s been a roller coaster ride as my father was put into hospice a year ago on May 27, 2016 with stage 5 kidney failure.  He improved only to have a heart attack in June. We all thought we were going to lose him then, but again, he pulled through!  Now exactly one year later on May 27, 2017, we said goodbye.

We shared many stories over the last few days and the common theme was how stubborn of a man he was but also that he was absolutely the kindest and most tender hearted man most people knew! He, without a doubt, loved to farm, was a great friend and father, and would go out of his way for anyone! He taught me to be kind to others and generous with my time.

I am really, really sad today as I already miss my daily phone calls with him and the smile on his face and joy in his eyes when I went to visit him!  I’ll miss his words of encouragement and his I love you’s.  I am very grateful that he always put up a good fight (as I said before, he was stubborn) and I will forever cherish the extra year we were blessed with to build upon our special bond!

Dad…you will forever be in my heart!  I know you are my guardian angel now and I know you likely have already found a tractor and a farm! Now go farm!

I Love you Dad!

Limitations or Lessons

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Happy New Year – it’s been a while since I decided to show up here but I’m back, like it or not!   I love the idea of starting new in 2017 yet I wanted to remind everyone that every day is a new day to start fresh – who needs an entire year to go by to make a fresh start? Not me!

As I reflect on 2016 and greatly anticipate an amazing 2017, I wanted to reflect on some things I’ve learned while living with Lyme’s disease. It is a completely different beast than I ever would have imagined.   Living with Lyme’s has the fun of working with food restrictions and food allergies, numerous bouts of various medications, many physical limitations, along with mental and emotional challenges.

There are so many limitations Lyme’s can put on one person every day. However, are they really limitations or are they lessons? I’d like to think they are lessons. What I’ve learned living with Lyme’s is that it’s ok to slow down. It’s ok to enjoy the quiet moments of life. It’s ok to shut your eyes for 5 minutes and breathe in the fresh (cold) air while the sun warms your face. Its ok to snuggle on the couch with a loved one and just savor the moment of closeness. It’s ok to be late for a meeting sometimes. It’s ok to eat ice cream for breakfast and pancakes for dinner. It’s ok to skip hockey or basketball practice to head to Starbucks instead. It’s ok to sit in your car when you get home so you can finish belting out your favorite song. (Just did that myself yesterday). It’s ok!  I now know don’t have to win the race every day and some days I don’t even participate. And that’s ok. Why? Because limitations or not, I can wake up (God willing) and start fresh tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

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Christmas is a time when I feel so grateful for the many blessings in my life.

First, I am grateful for two beautiful daughters who’s smiles light up any room they walk into. Second, I am grateful for the ability and time to shop (thank goodness its done) for gifts to give my loved ones. Finally, I am grateful for a wonderful church service we attended last night. It brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart as it reminded me this holiday season is about giving gifts from the heart, about sharing time with loved ones and about devouring way too much warm, delicious food yet savoring every bite!

Today, please send me a note or just take a few moments to recall what you are thankful for and have been blessed with this holiday season.  And lastly, wishing you a very Merry Christmas from my family to yours!