Recap: In September, Brooke was paralyzed from the waist down, not able to move her legs at all, and not able to even wiggle her toes. After 1 month in the hospital, the best theory we were given is that it was caused by a medication she was taking. Now, in late November, she is using a walker for short distances. She can even take a few steps without a walker. We are praising the Lord for this progress! 

Now, I should make some qualifications. When Brooke stands up, she is not able to stand flat-footed. She “walks” using the sides of her feet. When she puts pressure on her toes or the balls of her feet, she experiences severe nerve pain that shoots up her legs to the rest of her body. This is the main thing keeping Brooke from walking. Nevertheless, we are grateful for the progress she’s made up to this point!

Her lower back pain continues to be a struggle. Her SI joints feel like they are on fire, and the pain radiates down the backs of her legs. We have tried all sorts of pain medications and treatments. After steroid injections failed to provide relief, one pain doctor told us, “your case is too complicated, so I am referring you to another pain specialist.” The reality might be that she will have life-long SI joint pain.

We are continuing to pursue testing and treatment for Neurological Lyme Disease. She has received this as a clinical diagnosis. This explains her nerve and joint pain. We have already started a heavy treatment of antibiotics to address this, and we are hoping to see results within the next year. Brooke also has very high mold toxicity in her body, which we will begin addressing soon.

Some have suggested that we should go to a research hospital (Mayo Clinic, a university hospital, etc.) We have considered this, and we’ve even called around. But the cost is just too high. And Brooke was seen for a few weeks by a very qualified team of half a dozen neurologists while at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, and the best they gave us was, “We’ve ruled out many rare diseases. It was probably a medication that caused your paralysis. So for now, take pain meds and go to physical therapy to see if you make progress.” 

So, we are going to treat her Lyme and mold toxicity with MDs that work in integrative/functional medicine before pursuing a research hospital. 

Please continue to pray for our hearts to fear and trust the Lord, and for Brooke’s continued progress. There are still many unknowns, but this is right where the Lord wants us. He knows our needs (Matt 6:32). He has compassion on those who fear Him (Ps 103:13). The genuineness of faith proven in trials is more valuable than gold (1 Pet 1:7). Knowing Christ surpasses everything else we might consider gain (Phil 3:8). 

Hello all,

Thank you for the funds you have given to the Camacho family! It is because of your generous donations that the Camachos have been able to purchase several things to help Brooke during her health trial. We wanted to give you some details for you to know where some of the funds have gone and spread the word regarding the fundraiser.

Over the past couple of months, they have spent $14,000 on medical-related expenses (electric wheelchair, treatments, doctors’ fees, ramps, grab bars, medications, specific testing (labs)). They have probably spent another couple thousand on costs indirectly related to Brooke’s health decline.

Most of this amount was a one-time expense, but they do anticipate a recurring amount of $2,500-$3,000 per month in doctor appointments, treatments, medications, and possibly further testing. After a few months (once they have a clearer direction), this will likely reduce to $1,000-$2,000. That is $16,500-$27,000 over the next year.

For example, in just the past few weeks they have spent $500 in doctor appointments, $690 on medications, and $2,030 on lab testing.

Now many of you may be asking, what about health insurance?

They are pursuing a non-traditional route through an integrationist doctor in treating lyme disease and mold toxicity. For this reason, their insurance does not cover those expenses. They have one of the best doctors in the field overseeing Brooke's care. 

In light of this, I am asking for your help reach the fundraiser goal of $50,000. 

We are grateful for whatever you may be able to give (and thankful for those that have already given). Even if you are not able to give, please consider sharing this fundraiser with others and praying for their family during this time. 

In Christ,

Meg Smith 

After a month in the hospital and rehab, Brooke is finally home! She brings a unique joy and gratitude to the home. Her faith is incredible to witness. 

Her mobility has not improved since the last update. She is getting around using a wheelchair or mobility scooter. She can use a walker to go short distances, but she gets tired after a few minutes of using a walker. We are starting in-home physical therapy today, so we are hopeful that this will help.

We still don’t really know if/when she will be able to regain full function again.

The best theory given to us at the hospital is that Brooke was paralyzed by a medication she was taking. But there is no obvious/standard path forward to treat these side effect or counteract the medication.

After consulting with a doctor of functional medicine, we believe that Brooke has Neurological Lyme disease, and we are working with a couple doctors to treat this. Please pray that this route would prove fruitful. 

Our home life looks very different. Whereas Brooke was previously known to be the active and busy wife and mom in the home, her abilities are now severely limited. 

We have many servants from our church who are giving their time and energy to serve us in the home on a daily basis (homeschooling, babysitting, house cleaning, meals, etc.), and we are grateful for the Lord’s provision. Please praise the Lord for His kindness to us through the members of Saving Grace Bible Church. 

The kids are adapting to life with mommy in a wheelchair. But this is hard. Please pray for the kids. 

In order to be available for Brooke and to be with her at various doctor’s appointments, I am working less than usual. But I am hoping this will all be a temporary season. As time goes on, please pray for the Lord to provide for our needs. Please pray for my own wisdom as I lead the family, make decisions, and seek to provide.

Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Brooke’s Progress:

What a week it has been. Because of Hurricane Milton, Brooke was transferred to another rehab location for a couple days. Thankfully, I was able to stay with her. She wasn’t able to do much rehab for these couple days, but she is back at the original rehab hospital now. 

In the past few days, Brooke has made great progress in her mobility. She is now able to use a walker to walk short distances at a slow pace. This is huge! This is significant progress from a couple weeks ago when she could not move her legs at all. For now, she will mainly use a wheelchair to get around, and a walker to travel short distances. 

We don’t have a specific date when she will be discharged from rehab back home, but we are expecting that it will be within the next week. 

As we think about returning home, many modifications will need to be made, e.g. ramps, grab bars in the shower and bathroom, etc. Other purchases are also on the horizon: a mobility scooter, hand rails, a shower chair, etc. 

We will be working with an occupational therapist to understand what life will look like at home. We have a contractor friend who will help make these home modifications. 

As I mentioned in the last update, we are already working with an integrative MD. He has a treatment plan that he is confident about. Once out of rehab, we will be able to pursue this treatment plan more aggressively. These medical expenses will quickly add up, but we are very optimistic about this path. 

Reflections:

Once again, thank you for your prayers. In one sense, it feels like we are headed toward the end, because Brooke will probably be home soon. In another sense, this is just the beginning, because home life will not be the same as it was before. 

But the Lord is sanctifying us! 

Our spiritual instincts are being sharpened. Our helplessness is causing us to depend on the Scriptures. Our battle against self-pity and unbelief is teaching us how to worship Christ despite how we feel. 

One of the main areas that we have been challenged is in how we answer the question, What is good for us? 

We think we know, but we don’t. 

I think Tim Challies answers this question well: 

“God’s goodness means that everything God is and everything God does is worthy of approval, for he himself is the very standard of goodness. Those things that are good are those things that God deems good, that God deems fitting, that God deems appropriate. For something to be good is for it to meet the approval of God, and for something to meet the approval of God is for it to be good. If that’s the case, then who am I to declare evil what God has declared good? Who am I to condemn what God has approved? It falls to me to align my own understanding of goodness with God’s, to rely on God’s understanding of good to inform my own. Ultimately it’s to agree that if God did it, it must be good, and if it is good, it must be worthy of approval. To say, “Thy will be done,” is to say, “Thy goodness be shown.” It’s to seek out evidence of God’s goodness even in the hardest of his providences. It’s to worship him, even with a broken heart.”

In my previous updates, I (Nick) realized that I did not give any background to what has been going on. I decided to include that in this update, as well as give an update on her progress in rehab. 

Background:

Earlier this year, Brooke was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. In short, her immune system has been attacking her lower back and spine, causing inflamation and chronic pain. The treatment for this is to take a medication that effectively supresses the immune system, which is suppose to reduce inflamation and pain. She started taking that medication this past summer. 

So, how did we get to the point where Brooke became unable to walk? 

Since taking the medication, Brooke’s pain has only gotten worse, and her mobility has decresed over time. In Sept. 18, she was still walking around, although with her (usual) significant pain. On Sept. 19, her lower back pain was shooting down her legs, causing them to become numb and so weak that she could not walk. She was paralyzed and in excruciating pain.

So, how did this happen? 

The neurologists don’t really know. They have ruled out many things like Guillan Barre Syndrome and Cauda Equina Syndrome. The best theory we have is that her neurological symptoms (loss of function in the legs, debilitating pain in lower back and legs, whole-body numbness, vision problems, etc.) are severe side effects of the medication she was taking. In other words, the medicine that was suppose to help with her chronic pain actually made her pain worse and caused paralysis. 

One doctor even suggested the following: Was there an underlying, dormant disease already in her system (like Neurologic Lyme disease) that was allowed spread because of the immune-supressing medication? This is something else we are exploring. 

We are not certain if it was in fact the immune-suppressing medication that caused the paralysis. In any case, we have many unanswered questions. 

• If it was the medication, does her body just need time to rid itself of the medication, or is the paralysis permanent? 
• Exactly how much function will her body regain?  
• If full mobility is possible, how long will it take? 

No one really knows the answers to these questions. 

At the hospital, she was given the standard treatment for people with these symptoms: high-dose steroids and immunoglobulin infusions. 

At this point, the path given to us by traditional medicine is: (1) take pain medication, (2) go to physical therapy, and (3) see if the steroids and immunoglobulin infusions begin to take effect. 

In the meantime, we are still searching for another path. We are currently exploring integrative medicine (MDs who use both traditional and non-traditional approaches). We have already had a consultation with one integrative doctor, and we will begin pursuing this route more aggressively once Brooke is out of rehab. This doctor really believes he can help, and he has a great track record treating close friends of ours. But this treatment path will not be covered by insurance. 

Rehab Progress:

After 4 days at an in-patient, acute rehab facility, Brooke has made modest progress. She is able to lift her legs straight up off the bed, which she was not able to do last week. Using her arms, she can lift herself from sitting to standing on the parallel bars. Although she cannot stand on her feet unassisted, she was able to move one foot forward today while holding herself up on the parallel bars. 

I have asked, “How long will she be in rehab?” and the answer is “It depends on what insurance will approve.” I am hoping that they will allow her to stay longer if she continues to show signs of progress. 

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Your financial support will go toward the various financial burdens we are anticipating in this next season of life. 

Prayer Requests:

• Brooke’s pain continues to be difficult to manage. Please pray that we would find the right pain management plan. 
• Please pray for our hearts to persevere. It is so easy for sorrow to cross over into self-pity and unbelief. 
• Please continue pray for wisdom. There are so many decisions to make all the time. 

2 Corinthians 1:8–9

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even to live. 

Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not have confidence in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.

Brooke and I can't thank you enough of the financial support you have given us, the prayers being offered up on our behalf, and the countless ways our church is providing for our everyday needs. 

Brooke’s procedure went well the other day. They were able to conclude that all the blood vessels in her spine, neck, and brain are normal. This is good and bad news. It’s good because everything is normal and we eliminated another possibility. It’s bad because we still have no answers. We have had every MRI, blood test, X-ray, etc., and there are simply no answers. The doctors are perplexed. They have nothing else to offer. 

Today, they transferred Brooke to an in-patient acute physical therapy rehab center. It is a very nice facility. We will be here for a week or two, depending on how she does.

She is still unable to walk. Right now, we hope to manage her pain and get her moving around as much as possible. We are already looking into consultations with other doctors and alternative forms of treatment. Your gifts will help with medical expenses that insurance will not cover. 

There are many decisions, questions, and burdens we face every day. It is easy to become overwhelmed with what the future may hold.

But I am reminded of Christ’s command in Matthew 6:34: “So do not worry about tomorrow.” He continues by giving a reason why we ought not to worry about what the future holds: “For tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” 

Each day has divinely-appointed trouble. To bring tomorrow’s trouble into today is foolish and faithless, which is why it causes us to become overwhelmed. We are learning to take things one day (one hour!) at a time, trusting the Lord’s providence and provision to meet the day’s needs. 

Here are some specific ways you can pray for us:

Brooke: 

* Endurance in the midst of suffering. (James 1:4)

* That she would find her relief ultimately in Christ and not grow weary from the trial.

* Pain management

The kids: 

* That they would feel loved and cared for while I am tending to Brooke and working.

* For the Lord to use this to draw their hearts to Him.

* For them to see the beauty of the local church in serving our family.

Me: 

* Wisdom in decision-making (James 1:5)

* Grace to meet me in my weakness (2 Cor 12:9–10) 

After a week at the hospital, they have done multiple MRIs, a lumbar puncture, blood tests, etc., and we don’t have any answers as to what's causing this. The neurologists don’t know what’s going on (yet), since all of her tests are coming back “normal.” They have transferred her to another hospital to do more tests. We are having a difficult time managing her pain. She is still unable to move the lower half of her body, and her upper half is just very weak. The numbness is spreading throughout her body, up to her face and head.

She has a procedure in the morning (on 9/27) requiring general anesthesia, and it will hopefully bring some clarity. If not, we are back to square one. Thank you for your prayers! 

Psalm 57:1 

Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me,

For my soul takes refuge in You;

And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge

Until destruction passes by.