"In Sickness and in Health" When you get married and say your vows you never really think that those words will plague you anytime soon. You think that it will be many years down the road - not shortly after you celebrate your first wedding anniversary.

January 26, 2014 my husband woke up at 4am complaining of intense stomach pain. My husband never complains so I knew it must be serious. So I did what any  loving wife would do. I googled... I figured that he must have appendicitis and that we must get to the Hospital ASAP.

So we rushed to the hospital at 5:30 in the morning. When we got there they did all of the testing they could think of and also an xray to make sure that the appendix hadn't bursted - everything came back fine. So they figured that he had the flu and that with plenty of fluids he should be back on his feet in no time, but that if it persisted he should see his M.D. to make sure nothing else was going on.


Well a week went by and nothing had changed. In fact symptoms seemed to get worse. At first they all started in the stomach so Kaleb got tested for Celiac Disease, Crohn's Disease, Diverticulitus but nothing seemed to fit. All of his bloodwork came back negative... Apparently there was nothing wrong with Kaleb. Eventually our first doctor gave up. He insisted that Kaleb was just dehydrated. He reluctantly sent us to see an Internist.

Our Internist wasn't any better. He noticed some general darkness in an x-ray of Kaleb's lungs so he ordered a CT scan. When it came back that something was off in one of his lungs he passed us off to see a Lung Doctor. He refused to even make a guess as to what was wrong with Kaleb. 

While we waited to see the lung doctor we saw a different M.D. as per a favour of one of our friends. At first she seemed promising. She said she would look for the usual suspects (cows, horses, dogs, etc.) and the unusual ones (zebras, monkeys, etc.). Kaleb's main symptoms included (and still do) Fatigue, muscle and joint pain, light and sound sensitivity, memory loss, foggy brain, concentration issues, diarrhea, some stomach trouble, sleep troubles, and a few more minor things.

Unfortunately when all of her testing came back negative she simply handed us off to another specialist. We saw a Rheumatologist and she cleared Kaleb of anything in her field. All she could diagnose Kaleb with was Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

At 28 years of age my husband was given a diagnosis for which there is very little to do anything about. Apparently we were supposed to just wait and see if Kaleb would magically get better.


Through my job as a Chiropractor's Assistant we have been very open to alternative health care. So we have seen 3 different Naturopaths. The first one believed that the best fit for all of Kaleb's symptoms was Lyme Disease. The 2nd agreed and she began a treatment protocol for Kaleb. 3 Months into it Kaleb was taken off of Antibiotics becasue the Dr. was concerned that it wasn't working as effectively as it should.

We started to do a detox protocol and also treating for what looked like a continuous viral infection. We saw the Lung doctor and unsurprisingly Kaleb's lung issue has very little to do with all that he is feeling. Kaleb has what is called "Swyer-James McLeod Syndrome". It is a big fancy term to say that his lungs grew funny. Although this means that Kaleb is more prone to infection it doesn't solve any of the mystery that is Kaleb.

We saw a third Naturopath just a few months ago. He has figured out that Kaleb has severe food senisitivies to gluten, dairy, and eggs, as well as not optimal thyroid and adrenal function.

Although we have started to unravel part of the picture it has become evident that we still have a long way to go for Kaleb to become well. Although we are Canadian it seems like we are unable to get the help here that we deserve. We have decided to go down into the United States to find treatment.  

I feel strange asking for help, but I also know that seeking medical care in the States is very expensive. We want to be able to start a family, we want to be able to start our life. 3 years into marriage and we feel like we have just been spinning our wheels. We feel like going to the US is our best option at being able to do the things we set out to do when we first got married. It is humbling to realize that we need help and can't do this on our own. We are truly blessed by the people in our lives and what they have given to us thus far. I know it might seem like we are asking for a lot but we would be incredibly greatful to anyone who would be so kind as to help ease this financial burden. To those we know, and those we might not know, we Thank you in advance.

"If God so Loved us, we also ought to Love one Another" 1 John 4:11

Needless to say this has been a trying time for Kaleb and I, but we have trusted in God and kept our faith strong. This verse has been especially encouraging,

"The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit" Psalm 34:18

It is nice to know that we are never alone. Again I say thank you. I am incredibly greatful for all the wonderful people in our life. God Bless,

Stephanie