Strength in the Challenges

When one of our little ones is adopted from Qinghai, it's a great blessing to receive cheerful updates from their adoptive parents! Lulu's mother, Gina, sends us regular updates, and as I read each letter I share in the joy that Lulu brings to the world, with talents and gifts all her own.

She's had her fair share of struggles and now Lulu is in the midst of another one. While she has an incredible family to love and support her, I'm inviting you to please pray with us for her healing.

Lulu is now 15 years old. She recently began experiencing severe pain in her legs which quickly spread through her body into her arms. The pain was so debilitating that she had to miss school. Doctors struggled to find a cause. Eventually she was diagnosed with amplified musculoskeletal pain syndrome (AMPS). Lulu's body was reacting to unresolved pain in her legs, based on her history of physical pain. A combination of iron deficiency, decreased oxygen, and increased acids in her blood caused her nerves to misfire and constrict her blood vessels. This caused an abnormal reflex in her neurovascular nerves which manifested in extreme pain.

Photo taken right before she
began to suffer from extreme pain

She had to miss school and the sport in which she excels: cross country running.

The doctors said that to improve, Lulu would have to work extremely hard by taking additional supplements, changing her diet, and undergoing physical and talk therapy. It's a challenge to be so disciplined, even as an adult. Thankfully Lulu has been getting top grades, and her school has provided a home tutor so that she doesn't fall behind.

Lulu admitted to me that it's been tough, and at times she wanted to give up. She said the following quote has inspired her to go on: 'Every day we face at least one challenge. We think it's to destroy us. Instead it helps us realize that we are getting stronger every day.'

That quote may inspire her, but she inspires me! Please continue to pray with me for full healing, both emotionally and physically, so that she'll be back to gladly running a different kind of race!