Few Weeks of Catching Up

Bonjour tout le monde!

Sorry for being so behind on posting and keeping everyone updated!

Last week the process of getting answers was finally kick started. Our insurance was able to approve the request for an MRI of my brain and on Friday morning I went in and got one. That night they called and said that out doctor wanted to meet with me on Monday to talk about the results. So, yesterday we headed down to his office. Preparing ourselves for the worst, mom and I were ready to finally hear what was going on.

My doctor read my MRI and told us a lot of fancy terms and words but ended up telling me that I have an autoimmune disease called demyelinating disease. The most common type of this disease is Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and that is what he most suspects it to be.

For those who don't know what it is, like I didn't, I will try to explain it! By using pictures.... haha

This is a nerve. There are numberless nerve cells in our brain that are constantly sending and receiving signals from the other nerve cells. When the nerves send the signals it goes along the axon which is protected by the myelin sheath - so they're riding along that protein layer of protection. In MS that myelin sheath is damaged, like this:

This damaging of the nerve cells is called demyelination. When the demyelination is occurring, the responses and signals from cell to cell is slower because it is being interrupted. This is what causes the pain.

If you would like to read more, have questions, or want to go into more depth of it you can feel free to ask me... or go to this great website (maybe so you can understand it a little better than I can explain it...haha) HERE that has a lot of information and it will tell you more about the effects of MS.

Even though this isn't what anyone wants to hear, mom, my doctor, and I all recognized it as such a blessing that I have this headache and was sent home for it because the only way to start treating MS before it gets unmanageable is to find it soon and start treating the symptoms right away and because I had the MRI done, we were able to catch it in it's early stages.

Another great blessing we are able to recognize is that I already have an appointment with an MS specialist this Thursday! He's the original neurologist that I began to see when I returned home and this was just supposed to be a follow up appointment but it turns out he's one of the most highly recognized MS specialists in the valley. He's going to be able to help us know the type that I have and start getting me on some treatment to help the pain and to slow the progression.

Even though this wasn't (isn't) something that I necessarily wanted to hear, I am so grateful that we were able to figure out what was wrong. This whole journey has been one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, trial I have ever had to go through. There's been a lot of frustration, tears, disappointment, and pain. But more so than those things I have seen and felt so much love, prayers and faith. I have been able to see so many blessings and feel the gift of service in my life more than ever before. It has been hard but I can never complain for what I am going through because the blessings way overpower the hardships.

Through these many weeks of struggling, I have always found my greatest source of comfort in the gospel and in the words of the prophets - both ancient and modern. I was listening to the talk Like a Broken Vessel by apostle Jeffery R. Holland and found so much comfort in this quotation:

"In striving for some peace and understanding in these difficult matters, it is crucial to remember that we are living—and chose to live—in a fallen world where for divine purposes our pursuit of godliness will be tested and tried again and again. Of greatest assurance in God’s plan is that a Savior was promised, a Redeemer, who through our faith in Him would lift us triumphantly over those tests and trials, even though the cost to do so would be unfathomable for both the Father who sent Him and the Son who came. It is only an appreciation of this divine love that will make our own lesser suffering first bearable, then understandable, and finally redemptive."

Finding faith in Christ and his atoning sacrifice for us and then being able to fully appreciate that sacrifice is what Elder Holland says will help us over these obstacle and not only that, but he will help us make them for our own good, making us stronger in working to become more like the Father and his son Jesus Christ.

I love this gospel and I love the truth that come from it. It has been such a spiritual rock to me and I know that throughout my life it will continue to be so.

Thank you everyone for you love and support and prayers these past months. I can not tell you how much strength I have drawn from knowing I have so many people around me who care for me and love me. I love you all and am grateful for the blessing that you are to my life.

Avec amour,

Courtney