Day 12

This has been a long day. Elijah woke up at 4am and could not breathe and boy did he panic but even after 2 breathing treatments he still couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to have to take him to the ER but after cold air, Vicks, and cupped hand pounding on his back he was finally able to rest. I a slept until 1pm and I am still so tired and weak. I know my family misses me. I know my friends miss me. More than anything I miss me. I am not always so sad but today I am. I feel physically emotionally and spiritually spent. Either my pain meds aren't working correctly or my pain is just more severe. I know my mood is attached to how I feel and I do my best to not let this get me down. But it seems today I just can't shake it. I still haven't heard back from Ochsner but I know the nurse is working hard to coordinate everything. I am going to start a Facebook fundraiser and as soon as I figure out the PayPal button I will put it on here too. If anyone wants to donate before then we have a donation account at Capital One bank, you can go to any branch and ask to donate to the Betsy A Hutson account. I truly appreciate all the prayers going up on my behalf and I know that many of you are deep in the middle of your own burden and so I pray that everyone who reads this will be overtaken by God's blessings. I know without a doubt God is going to heal me in His time and I have been praying specific Bible verses for healing and financial freedom. Our finances are a mess mostly because insurance agreed to pay to send me to the Mayo Clinic and then refused to pay it. Luckily I am now on private insurance and Medicare so that should not be an issue ever again. As of right now my hands are to weak to type anymore so I will catch you in the rerun.
Lots of Love
And Laughter,
Betsy

Day 11

I am excited that things are progressing so quickly but at the same time a bit on edge. I know God is with me  and He will provide for our expenses, but most of all I know He will heal me. I try not to let people see me when I am at my worst because it is hard for me to put someone in that position. It scares me so I can imagine how helpless my family or anyone who happens around at the time must feel. My pain seems to be ever increasing but I try not to take much pain meds because I know my surgery is coming quickly and I want the medication to work then. I have a private sadness in my heart that I have shared only with my husband and a very few close personal friends. I normally have so much to say and this evening I just feel so tired. I need to rest!

Lots of Love
And Laughter,
Betsy

Day 10

Today has given me a renewed hope, and though I am exhausted from the long journey, it was well worth it. We stayed at the hotel connected to Ochsner and though the rooms were small and pricey, they were freshly remolded and comfortable. It was very convenient but I know you are not reading this for my hotel stay. The visit with Dr. Richardson was amazing and as extremely busy as his nurse was she went above and beyond to set up all the appointments I need and my surgery in the same couple of days. My tentative date to return is February 18th. This is the first time ever, since any of my doctor visits, that everybody was in-sync and most attentive to my particular needs. Please pray for a lady named Mary in Port Gibson. We stopped at a convince store there and I could tell she was in distress so I asked. She has had a headache for over a month and she cannot get it to go away. She works 2 jobs and her doctor told her she had to quit one of her jobs so please pray for Gods blessing on her. I have spent the last 2 years with hurry up and wait and to have things happening so quickly is almost overwhelming. We have to raise the money to get there somehow, then get ready for my baby brothers wedding in Alabama, then get ready for Noah's graduation and college. We took Elijah and  he was so good. Noah and Hope stayed home to go to school but when we got home this house was immaculate. Things that have been so out of placed and disheveled for so long because I could not take care of it and things I did not even know needed to be done were done in just 2 days along with their schoolwork and everything else they had to do. I have the most amazing family! I know I am so immensely blessed and I hope my words can bless you! I am so happy to take you on this journey with me.

Lots of Love
And Laughter,
Betsy

Day 9

We are in New Orleans awaiting an appointment in the morning to see if they will be willing and able to help me here. It has been a long day and I am sure tomorrow will be much longer and I really hope it is worth it. I think I have fixed the comment issue and I want to thank everyone for following me on my journey. Of course Elijah and Clint are here with me. Hope and Noah had to stay and go to school. This town is crazy right now with everything they are doing to get ready for the Super Bowl. Well, I need to rest and you need to keep the faith of a child!
Lots of Love
And Laughter,
Betsy

Day 8

I tried so hard to get up and pack Elijah with all his gadgets and I haven't even started my own packing and I am so weak and worn out all I want to do is cry. Simple, simple things, things that I always take care of are so far out of my reach. All I have to do is ride and I can't even pack. I feel I am just giving up but the truth is I am just give out. If anybody has. Any words of encouragement that would be so great right now. Please share with me your faith because mine is weary.

Day 7

I am so ready to get to New Orleans but I don't want to get my hopes up too high because I have been let down so many times. I really need to get past this cycle I put food down and it never stays I stay weak and in pain. It is time to get past this even though I have had much worse weeks. My children want their mommy back, my husband wants his wife back, and I want my life back. People see me and say, you look so great, and I have a hard time responding to that because I sure as heck don't feel great. Normally I thank them and say by Gods will I am getting better every day. I hate this disease with a passion and I wonder if I will ever have a good relationship with food once I am healed. Now I don't eat because I know how bad it will make me feel or if I do eat, I eat whatever and however much I want because I know it is coming back up no matter what. I have pushed it down and taken meds and forced it to stay down but after a day or two it always comes back up and believe me it is so much worse then. Clint hopes to remodel our home and open our kitchen and finally have a second bathroom. With this disease and a family of 5, 1 tiny bathroom is quite a challenge, but if is the hand we were dealt and we have counted it all blessing. Not many people can say they have a house note of only $250.00. God provides our every need and always so much more. I still don't have a reservation for New Orleans which is weird because I normally Priceline check out the hotel rates directly and ask for patient discounts but I just don't have the energy. It is always okay to post comments on here if you have something you want to say and as always keep the faith of a child!
Lots of Love
And Laughter,
Betsy

Day 6

Trying very hard to keep my word and post everyday. Last night was a very long one. Elijah could not go to sleep and with my meds I could not stay awake which eventually ended in frustration which woke Hope up and she took him to her room. He automatically went to sleep but she was up another 2 hours then had to go to school this morning and this afternoon an intense weekend of D Now at church. I know she will be fine and so will Elijah but for now that is all I have. It's been a tough day but I managed to get Elijah's school done and did my most important job of holding down the couch to keep it from floating away. Finally have my new pain pills and I really hope they work because I am so weak and hurting really bad at this point. I admit I did not read my Bible today, my days ways go better when I read even just a morsel of Gods Word

Lots of Love
And Laughter,
Betsy

Day 5

I have had too much pain today so I won't write much. I got a call from my doctor and I have an appointment at Ochsner for a consult next Tuesday. I really am hopeful he can remove my pacer with all of its components. I also pray he will refer me to a neurology consultant and any other doctor I need to see. If I qualify for IVIG treatments after the first time they can do it in my home but a specialized nurse will have to be here with life support on hand because it is a very dangerous treatment. If if works it may not revive the organs that are already affected but it will keep my body from shutting down any additional organs which would lead to multi visceral transplant if nothing is done to stop it. I count it all blessings that you are taking this journey with me. I hope it truly blesses you in many ways. New Orleans here we come!

Lots of Love
And Laughter,
Betsy

Day 4

We went to the doctor this morning and finally got a referral to Ochsner. Now we just have to wait and hear when we get an appointment. The biggest thing I want to tell you about the doctor visit is indeed the sweetest. Clint drove me and we took Elijah. Elijah sat quietly while the doctor examined me and we talked then as he was walking out the door Elijah spoke up...his words? "Than you for taking care of my mommy." This child is something else. All my children are.Noah wrote recorded and sent me a special song but he doesn't want me to share it. In 2011 when I was in the hospital before TPN I knew how close to death I was, but I though I had it hidden from my children. When I got home Hope came to me and she told me she thought I was going to die. That broke my heart because even though I knew how sick I was, I didn't want them to know. Several nights Hope stayed with me in the hospital and we had a blast. For Mothers Day, Noah made me a painting and I hung it on my hospital wall and got to wake up to that every morning. While I was in the hospital I fought tooth and nail to get to the Mayo Clinic. Here I was fighting for my life and I had to fight to get the care I needed. Finally I got the authorization but for some reason they sent me to the Scottsdale, AZ clinic. While God gave us tickets to fly through a wonderful family, A beautiful 3 bedroom 3 bath townhouse with country club benefits including 2 beautiful pools and a putting green on our balcony, and the money we needed to rent a car and feed our family, it was the wrong Mayo Clinic. The physician didn't even run all the tests he said he would run and messed up my nose even worse with an NG tube that went down to my intestines. The conclusion was what I already knew, both my stomach and small intestines were essentially paralyzed and my insurance that approved the visit didn't pay for it. Did I mention we were in Arizona in the middle of July? Not such a great time to be there. Maybe if we went to Mayo in Minnesota we would have had different results, but we would not have met the people we met. One lady told me her job was to set up cookie stores for Mrs. Fields and she was retired and when I was ready I could call on her   to help with reviving my cookie business. We met many people, strangers would come up to us, to me and tell me things like their daughter specialized in cases like mine and he knew I was going to get well. Back to when I was in the hospital here, my nurses would spend a whole lot of time in my room telling me it is just so peaceful in here. I know that was the holy spirit with me. Sometimes in the ER, a Nun would walk past my room and turn around in their tracks and tell me they were just drawn to my room. God is with me and He will heal me, I hope many people will be blessed by this blog and stay with me the entire journey!

Lots of Love
And Laughter,
Betsy

Day 3

I finally got in touch with Ocshner after months of back and fort between them, my insurance, and my personal physician. This is so frustrating because at first my doctor did not send them enough records, then I sent them too many records. I go to my PCP tomorrow and they told me to have him refer me, after all that, just have him refer me. I have to get my gastric pacer removed because it worked for 6 months but then my body quit responding to it but the doctor that implanted it will only remove the device and not the leads which could end up tangled around my intestines causing worse problems. I am also going to try to get a referral there for a neurologist to get to the bottom of my Autonomic Neuropathy. I was able to teach my Elijah some school today. On days I am too weak I have set up some really great online resources that he can go do himself. I hate the days I can do nothing for him because he feels so alone, I remember as a little girl feeling so alone even surrounded by people. Thank God Noah gets out of school at 11:30 and Elijah sleeps late so he is never alone long. Growing up I always felt like I was on the outside looking in. I didn't fit anywhere. A lot of that had to do with the fact that when I was 4 my 6 year old brother, Ethan was killed by a car when he and my sister, Laura were riding their bikes to the neighbors to go play. Until that point he was my whole world, I was his little princess and suddenly I was invisible. I know, Laura, who is 6 years older than me blamed herself for that accident for so long. I really hope she has realized it was not her fault, just Gods time for Ethan to come home. I still can't imagine being in her position or the position of Seth, my little brother, 11 months younger than me. He and Ethan shared a room and all of the sudden he had no roommate and he was so young. I know I was young but I remember so much about being with my Ethan. For a long time I was mad at Ethan because I begged him to stay and play house with me but he promised, "I'll be right back." but he never came back. My parents fell apart, how do you handle losing a child? That is why while I want to be healed, I would much rather me being sick instead of my children. When Hope was little she had really bad asthma and tummy trouble. She was hospitalized 6 times in a year and a half with pneumonia. I remember I was doing a Bible study, "Lord, is it Warfare?" and I heard an audible voice say, "If you quit this study, I will leave her alone." Then and there I knew I had to complete that study and he was going to leave her alone, period. God has always been the center of our marriage, our family, and our life. I guess I will go now and I will let you know how it goes at the Dr. tomorrow.

Lots of love
And Laughter,
Betsy

Day 2

Today has been a difficult one. My nausea and pain has kept me on the couch most of the day. I am also very weak, my dietitian called and said my vitamin D was low so that adds to my weakness. I loved having the kids home today, we curled up on the couch and watched movies. Don't get me wrong, I am still full of faith, I just have bad days and worse days, rarely any good ones lately. Everyday when my sweetie walks in the day gets better. I don't feel much like writing today, but I said I would try to write everyday so I am going to close with thanks for reading and keep the faith with me, I feel when people are praying for me. I know that sounds strange but it's true.

Day 1

Journey with me as I grow and see my healing come to pass. God wants to use me and I am ready for whatever He has in store for me. If you are reading this I pray you are ready what He has in store for you. Long before I got to the point I am now, spending most of my time laying on the couch in pain, hungry and weak; I had my own line of cookies, Heaven's to Betsy's Gourmet Cookies, and on every cookie or tub of cookie dough we sold was a verse God gave me, Matthew 4:4, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." Little did I know in just a few short years I would be living on no bread, no food. I have met strangers who have given me hope in the strangest circumstances. I have so many people praying for me and I hope they all follow this blog. One lady took a prayer for me to the wailing wall in Jerusalem. My baby brother Micah and his fiance as they prepare for their upcoming wedding are fasting for 21 days and praying for my healing. Before I go any farther I want to introduce you to myself and my family. I am Betsy, a wife, mother, and I have done many things in my short life, but none more important than my family. My amazing husband, Clint, is my joy when I want to despair, the my love of more than a lifetime, my best friend. He is always talking about me, everywhere he goes and making many ladies jealous that this wonderful man is taken and still so in love. Everywhere we go together he tells me I am the most beautiful woman in the room. Even when I am in my sweats, unwashed hair in a ponytail, and no makeup, knowing I am so pale he still sees me as the most beautiful person there and says, "Isn't it amazing how beautiful you are like this, imagine if you are all made up like these people, you would really blow them out of the water." or, " You are so blessed not to have to wear makeup and still be so beautiful." Anyway, you get the point. Our family has so much fun, just being together. Our oldest son, Noah is 18 and set to graduate at the top of his class this year. He intends to go into Bio-medical Engineering and Nano Technology to find a cure for me. He also plans to continue mission work. He is brilliant and and diversely talented between art, music, and so many other facets. Our daughter, Hope is 15 and brilliant and amazing in her own way. Since I have been sick she has been a constant for our youngest, Elijah. She cooks and cleans because she knows I cannot. She doesn't ask for praise, she just does it. Last year she canceled her own birthday party because she knew I could not handle it. Then there is Elijah. He just turned 7 and is the reason for this blog. When he was born he and I were as close as a mother and child could be. He completed our family and I cannot look at him without smiling. I call him stinkerlicious because he has his daddy's way of being a stinker but he is so funny. He loves music and has already written his first book that he intends to make into a movie and tv series. He is so smart it is scary. When he was 3 he described the rain cycle to me and got it correct. Since then he has explained so many things to me that are exactly right that can only be explained as innate wisdom. Recently he described being in my tummy and got that dead on too, he says he remembers it and I have to believe him because there is no other way he could know what he does. If you are still with me, I will try not to make my other entries so long. But I hope you will follow me in this exciting new journey. I will try to write every day and update you on my status as I go. How many days until I am healed? Only God can answer that, but He will, you wait and see!