Support and Prayer for Priscilla Volker
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Thank you for your financial and prayer support for Priscilla Volker during this extremely difficult time. We are raising money to provide the necessary treatments to get her back on her feet and feeling normal again.
In the summer of 2019, Priscilla started to experience intense abdominal pain and was prescribed an antibiotic called Ciprofloxacin to combat a recent diagnosis of diverticulitis. Although there were known side-effects, she had no idea that those few small pills would send her world into a tailspin for the last 13 months.
Although the excruciating stomach pain was starting to abate, she noticed feeling very weak, not able to have the stamina to make it through a normal day without exhaustion. Then the nausea hit. Waves of discomfort assailed her for hours at a time where she was incapacitated until it passed. As these symptoms grew, the doctor's apparent understanding of what was going on diminished.
Soon Priscilla was completely bed bound, too weak to get out of bed and too nauseous to be able to focus on anything. The frustration only grew for she and her husband Geoff. After countless blood tests, ER visits, exams and MRIs, no doctor could discover the root of her issues, let alone find a solution. Although continuing to trust that God had a plan in this pain, the discouragement that a treatment that could be found to relieve her suffering was becoming overwhelming.
Finally, in late fall of that year, by God's grace, a doctor was discovered that had some experience with what was going on. He understood that it was the Ciprofloxacin that had poisoned her body and done significant damage, and had worked with a few patients before to help them recover. Through experimenting with different alternative medical treatments, my Mom was finally finding some relief from the debilitating effects of the poisoning. After about a month of treatment, she was slowly getting rid of the nausea and most of the exhaustion.
Life was slowly looking like it would get back to normal, finally! She was still getting episodes of the nauseousness and weakness but they were just starting to become manageable in their frequency.
Priscilla has suffered from back pain off and on for many years. In the last 6 months, in addition to all the other ailments she's been fighting, her back pain began to reach a new level of intensity. This is because one of the things that Ciprofloxacin poisoning attacks is your tendons(Cipro has a black box warning for tendon damage). To combat this, the only relief that could be found was in high levels of Ibuprofen and a steroid shot. In an already weakened state, her back muscles were being targeted and now the anti-inflammatory drugs were feeding the poison.
This July, the nauseousness, weakness and stomach pain returned with a vengeance. They went back to the previous doctor that was able to relieve the symptoms before, but the very same treatments seemed to have very minimal effect. Priscilla was back to her bed bound state with no way to escape the pain and extreme discomfort. Numerous alternative opinions have been sought out in the medical community, but all tests have come back negative in regard to a specific issue that can be targeted. They simply do not know why she is feeling the way she does. The hopelessness of finding relief has also returned.
Two weeks ago, we found a doctor in Los Angeles that not only specializes in these issues, but has suffered himself with them. There appears to be a great track record of patients that have made incredible strides towards their recovery and Priscilla will be traveling there to start treatments on Sept 14th for 2 weeks. This treatment as you can see is expensive, and is not covered by medicare due to its more naturalistic method.
We so appreciate any monetary contribution you can make, but even more important are your prayers for Priscilla and her family during this very challenging time. Calls are very difficult for her to take right now, but cards and texts are appreciated. Thank you! May God bless you richly!
In the summer of 2019, Priscilla started to experience intense abdominal pain and was prescribed an antibiotic called Ciprofloxacin to combat a recent diagnosis of diverticulitis. Although there were known side-effects, she had no idea that those few small pills would send her world into a tailspin for the last 13 months.
Although the excruciating stomach pain was starting to abate, she noticed feeling very weak, not able to have the stamina to make it through a normal day without exhaustion. Then the nausea hit. Waves of discomfort assailed her for hours at a time where she was incapacitated until it passed. As these symptoms grew, the doctor's apparent understanding of what was going on diminished.
Soon Priscilla was completely bed bound, too weak to get out of bed and too nauseous to be able to focus on anything. The frustration only grew for she and her husband Geoff. After countless blood tests, ER visits, exams and MRIs, no doctor could discover the root of her issues, let alone find a solution. Although continuing to trust that God had a plan in this pain, the discouragement that a treatment that could be found to relieve her suffering was becoming overwhelming.
Finally, in late fall of that year, by God's grace, a doctor was discovered that had some experience with what was going on. He understood that it was the Ciprofloxacin that had poisoned her body and done significant damage, and had worked with a few patients before to help them recover. Through experimenting with different alternative medical treatments, my Mom was finally finding some relief from the debilitating effects of the poisoning. After about a month of treatment, she was slowly getting rid of the nausea and most of the exhaustion.
Life was slowly looking like it would get back to normal, finally! She was still getting episodes of the nauseousness and weakness but they were just starting to become manageable in their frequency.
Priscilla has suffered from back pain off and on for many years. In the last 6 months, in addition to all the other ailments she's been fighting, her back pain began to reach a new level of intensity. This is because one of the things that Ciprofloxacin poisoning attacks is your tendons(Cipro has a black box warning for tendon damage). To combat this, the only relief that could be found was in high levels of Ibuprofen and a steroid shot. In an already weakened state, her back muscles were being targeted and now the anti-inflammatory drugs were feeding the poison.
This July, the nauseousness, weakness and stomach pain returned with a vengeance. They went back to the previous doctor that was able to relieve the symptoms before, but the very same treatments seemed to have very minimal effect. Priscilla was back to her bed bound state with no way to escape the pain and extreme discomfort. Numerous alternative opinions have been sought out in the medical community, but all tests have come back negative in regard to a specific issue that can be targeted. They simply do not know why she is feeling the way she does. The hopelessness of finding relief has also returned.
Two weeks ago, we found a doctor in Los Angeles that not only specializes in these issues, but has suffered himself with them. There appears to be a great track record of patients that have made incredible strides towards their recovery and Priscilla will be traveling there to start treatments on Sept 14th for 2 weeks. This treatment as you can see is expensive, and is not covered by medicare due to its more naturalistic method.
We so appreciate any monetary contribution you can make, but even more important are your prayers for Priscilla and her family during this very challenging time. Calls are very difficult for her to take right now, but cards and texts are appreciated. Thank you! May God bless you richly!
Fundraising team (2)
Zach Volker
Organizer
Mesa, AZ
GEOFFREY VOLKER
Beneficiary
Samantha Hagan
Team member