“Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” – Matthew 26:41

I’d like to start off with a prayer request, if you’ll indulge me. These past few months have been a tad traumatic for our family. There have been numerous blessings along the way, not the least of which is a team of simply amazing doctors who care. That alone is a priceless gift. I’ll be writing more posts about our journey, I’m sure. But today I simply want to get to the meat of the issue.

What I’m about to say does not affect my IH at all. These are 2 separate issues. I still have IH and it is being controlled beautifully at the moment by my shunt. However, it is NOT what has been causing the other strange issues I’ve dealt with through the years. I do not have a strange presentation of IH. I have two separate and distinctive diseases going on at the same time. What can I say, I’m an over-achiever.

I have a differential diagnosis. It’s just a fancy way of saying, “We’re as certain as we can be, and we’ll let you know if anything changes in the meantime.” My diagnosis is Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS). I do not know a ton about it, as i refuse to research the internet and wig myself out any more than I already am. I know a couple of basics about it, which I’ll share here.

PLS is a form of Upper Motor Neuron Disease and is degenerative. There is no cure. It is related to ALS, Lou Gehrig’s Disease, but while that one is muscle wasting and fatal, PLS is not either of those things. I am a little younger than usually seen, but it is not unheard of for someone my age to get this. It is not strange to go for years without diagnosis, either, as there is no definitive test for this, so it is diagnosed mostly by ruling other things out and by witnessing progression.

As you can imagine, this has been rather devastating for my family. We are doing out best to process it slowly and together. We are super aware of God in the center of it all. But it’s still hard. Please pray for us as we process and adjust. <3 Thank you.

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OK!!

Now on to the fun part!! I certainly do NOT believe that this new diagnosis has come to light in the same time frame as my books being published by some strange accident. No, in fact I truly believe this to be a perfect design of the Father’s plan. Having these book launches to focus on and the positive feedback from readers has many times kept me going these past few months.

But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. – Jude 19-21

I want to do a giveaway here, now that both companion books are published and available!! If you do read one or both, I would greatly appreciate Amazon reviews for them!

The book combination is:

One book contains 30 devotionals for the chronically ill, and the other contains 12 devotionals for those who love us. Each devotional is followed by thought questions.

I will be giving away two sets of books, so you have two chances to win! Just follow the instructions in the form below to enter. This giveaway will last a week, so I hope you’ll enter more than once! Please help me spread the word!

“You’re Chronically Ill…” Books

If you would like to purchase either book, they can be found here:

“You’re Chronically Ill… So Now What?”
“Your Loved One is Ill… So Now What?”

Lord, I pray that You get these words You gave me into the hands and hearts of those You know need them most. May we always keep looking to You, keep pointing to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen…

 

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May God Bless You,

Shelly