Catching Up

It has been so crazy around the Pendergraft house lately. So I haven't had much time to make an entry. Around the end of September, Kylie came home from school with strep throat. However, we didn't realize it at the time. She never really complained about a sore throat and I didnt notice a fever. During the next week, I developed a really painful sore throat,but seeing as I had never had strep before, I didn't realize that's what it was. The following Sunday morning, I woke up with a few spots on my neck, and Aaron woke up with a sore throat. So I decided that the next morning, first thing, we were all 3 headed to the doctor to get tested. So there we were, Monday morning, Aaron, Kylie and myself, all on a paper-covered bed, saying "ahhh" while an oversized Q-tip violated our throats! (and I must say, Aaron was the biggest baby of us all! Anyone who knows him will not find that suprising) We all tested positive for strep and were prescribed antibiotics. I was told the rash would go away in about 4 days. Little did I know that this was going to turn into an absolute nightmare. For the next 4 weeks, the rash spread over every inch of my body and tortured me relentlessly. I was in and out of doctors offices, to which noone really had any answers. I finally was sent to a dermatologist that took one look at my arm and said it was guttate psoriasis that came as a result of an allergic reaction to strep throat. However, he didn't look at the rest of my body, so he didn't know how extensive it really was. He sent me home and put me on a steroid to clear it up and if in a week it was still there, then I would start a light therapy. In short, this particular doctor was extremely negligent and should have sent me directly to a more in-depth dermatologist (whose care I am currently under). My doctor said that I am way past UVB therapy and need immunity suppressant shots. After a week and a half, of getting tested to see if i was physically capable of taking them, I finally took my first shot this past Friday. I will take them twice a week until they decide that I am fine to stop. They are still skeptical that I may have to stay medicated for the rest of my life, but I am praying that they are wrong. I have tried to continue my normal life, because I realize people live with much worse ailments everyday, so I just need to keep going.It started as a few red spots, and by the time it was all said and done, it is from my scalp to the tops of my feet. At it's worst point, I would describe it as boil-like, raised sores that just seemed to mesh together to form one giant sore. They became raised up and just disgusting to say the least. They have started to subside and smooth back into my skin, so I'm praying this does not decide to make an encore appearance. I dont know why this happened to me but I know that I have learned alot about myself and alot about my God. It has made me love myself from the inside out and realize that beauty is something that comes from inside a person, not the exterior even more. I've also learned that, God cares about His children so much more than I could have ever imagined before. It's the most surreal feeling to be at your lowest point and to really feel the Lord come down and listen to your prayers. As if He scoops you up and sets you in His lap while you talk to Him and tell Him all your worries and fears. I know that someday, God will give me a platform so that I can share this and so many other stories of my life's ups and downs, to bring glory to His name.