I’ve had someone tell me lately that my actions “do not match what is seen on Facebook”. This of course initially stung, because I live in a way that is extremely open and honest and I’ve never been told anything even close to this from dear friends to brand new acquaintances.  After a few minutes of being initially upset; I quickly remembered what I would be sitting here telling my kiddos or my husband if they were in the same situation, and now I’m more than excited to address this one head first!

This post is more for my kids than anyone else…  I believe fiercely that it is beyond important for our children to see us practice what we preach to them in our own lives.  

-There are a few quick and obvious points to throw out first and I’m reminded of the simple truths that I remind Hayden, Lucy, and Grey about; I always tell my kiddos that people are going to judge you, they are going to criticize you, they will gossip about you, call you names, and speak harshly about you both behind your back and to your face.
-I remind them that the only ONE whom we seek any applause from and the ONLY one who knows our hearts and can judge us is God. He can see the root of our ♥️, He knows our motives and He will always be here for us , He will NEVER ever let us down and He offers forgiveness when we mess up.
-I also remind my three kiddos that as long as they’ve done their best… that their daddy and I are proud of them.
-We caution them to be moldable to receive correction and apologize when wrong. That we repent from our wrong actions and turn the other way so we don’t repeat the same wrong again.
-Often times I finish off our chats with a reminder that it is good to stand up for themselves, to know when to fight for truth and what is right and when it is best to let the “bully” have the last word and just to walk away.

It’s for these three tonight… make sure you have a voice that is steady and speaks truth even when it’s not the “fun” thing to do!

You know how easy it is to preach these things and stand up for others and then turn around and not practice these things in your own life? Man… the weight of people’s words has a marked impact on lives. You can bring LIFE to people or bring DEATH just by the power of words…

(Proverbs 18:21: The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.)

I’m so thankful for these experiences that remind me to let the haters hate… to continue keeping my eyes solely on Jesus and to run this race as strong as possible.
(Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.)

Remembering tonight that:
-Others opinions do NOT matter.
-Unhappy people try to make people unhappy.
-I am accountable for my own actions.

-Bullying happens even in adult-ville
-MOST of all… remember the things we teach our kiddos👍🏼.
-Live IT Out!

XO, Dani

After I dried my eyes for the last time of what seemed like a million… here is the post from my 11 year old beautiful on the inside and out, oldest daughter and true blessing of a friend… my Lucy Faith.

Please read and PLEASE share her post however you possibly can… we need awareness… we need funding… we need acknowledgement of this disease… we need better testing and treatment options… we need insurance coverage… we need Washington D.C. to hear us… we need the CDC to have opened eyes… we need the AMA to act on the fastest growing vector born disease in the world… PLEASE READ, SHARE AND PRAY!

From Lucy:

“Hi!  My name is Lucy, and most of you may already know, but my mom had lyme’s disease, something caused by a tiny little tick. She also has some co-infections called Babesia, Bartonella, and many more.

This disease is horrible, everything about it. My mom had lyme for about 26 years and doctors could never diagnose her. Twice they told her that she had months left to live and apparently they were wrong, because…um… hello; to this day I have my mom! We had always known she had lots of heath issues… but we never knew what any of them were from. I spent lots of my time until I was about five year ago old up at OHSU and so many other doctors with my mom and brother. I’ve seen a lot of horrible things.
When we finally found out what my mom had, it brought in a lot of stress. I could see it in my moms eyes and it was written all over my daddy’s face… I cannot lie; I was scared.

One memory that really scared my heart was my moms first terrible pain episode.  I remember we were all sitting on the couch and my mom had her headache that she had had for months at the time. All of the sudden she started to hunch over in pain, moan, shake, and do this uncontrollable jerking motion and then my daddy told us to go upstairs.  This was scary, what was going on? Is she ok??? All this going through mind while I was upstairs with my frightened little sister who was almost half asleep and trying to comfort my crying brother. I did not cry, but I was so horrified nothing would come out of me.  All of the sudden, and I will never forget the feeling… this blanket of peace came over me and it felt like God came and hugged me and then all His angels came and hugged me too! I felt so strong, like God said: “You can do this! You can be with your mom!  And you can live like this!  I put you here to take care of her!” So, I went down the stairs to where my dad was trying to take care of my mom as best as he could. But it was hard, none of us knew how to. For all we knew she was going to die… I sat next to my mom and I gave her a hug, and she told me, ‘’ Keep you’re eyes on Jesus and remember you’re life is in his hands.’’ Those words have stuck with me forever.
After a while, those nightly episodes became more regular. We knew how to take care of her, and what to expect. But watching my mom suffer like this was so terrible. Soon her body could not take the pain so she would pass out… but she would not breathe so we had to wake her up which can very hard… sometimes we would have to move her around, push on her chest or even slap her cheeks. It can be scary. I would pray and pray for no more of those episodes to happen but they just kept coming… This verse really related to what I was feeling.

Psalm 22:1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from helping me and from the words I am groaning?

I felt so unanswered and I never knew what was going to happen. I have never really had bad dreams, but with everything going on it definitely  caused some… I was dreaming about things like mom dying and my bed being full of ticks. I never wanted to leave my mom because I never knew what was going to happen.

Soon we could start to tell when she was going to have a bad pain episode, she would get a really bad headache, her neck would tighten up and then she would get terrible abdominal pain and that was just the start of many long painful nights. Usually she was on the couch the whole time, one time it was such terrible pain that she ended up on the floor, groaning. It is the worst thing to see, and no one should have to see that. Usually she could not control herself, the pain took over her body. Her fingers and eyes started to twitching and it drove her crazy she would say “Make it all stop!”, and then she would pass out. Me, my dad, and my brother would be running back and forth from the kitchen and pretty soon we had everything out that we needed to care for her. Sometimes we would try to prevent it from happening by giving her what she needed right when the pain would start, but even doing all we could to prevent it was not working at all…it was so terrible!!!! Sometimes after an episode we all got to eat ice cream! So in a way we also found joy after it was over and we celebrated making it through!!

I remember my moms last episode of the summer. It was on August 4 of 2016. I think that is a day my entire family will remember. It was the day before we flew out to the hospital in Germany! Even after Germany and the lyme being dead, the fight is still not over… Some people may think so, but it really is not. We are still going through a lot, detoxing, and killing co-infections because of all the snow in Bend it was extremely cold. The cold along with new medicines my mom was taking to kill the Babesia disease started my moms insane pain again on Christmas Eve. This continued for eight nights in a row,  so we knew what we had to do. We up and left all our things, our family, our ranch and animals, all our Christmas presents and our own rooms and we booked one way tickets and flew to Hawaii in 48 hours. Since being in Hawaii, mom has had no bad episodes! But lots of pain… so even in the warmth we are still working hard to keep fighting, and we will keep going!

Exodus 14:14 ‘’The Lord will fight for you and you shall hold you’re peace.’’

It has been hard at times to stay strong and hold my peace, but through it all God has fought and provided for my family! I’m so thankful for the family I have!

Thank you to everyone who has supported and prayed for us! We really do appreciate it all so much!

Sincerely,
Lucy Faith Pratt ”

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to hear my daughters heart…  it is so hard for me to read these honest words and know the depth of her pains.  I choose to be thankful for her strength, her reliance on God and her help in my times of need!  Lucy, is an incredible blessing  truly my right arm more times than not!  “I love you Munch💚!”

XO,

Sincerely, Dani

This month is Lyme Disease Awareness month and I wanted to do share a few guest posts from the ones I love most.  My goal in sharing these posts from family members is to help people see just how serious this disease is.  I want everyone to realize how far it’s devastating effects go. I desperately want the World at large to see how this is nothing to brush off… this disease destroys peoples lives, their health, relationships, families, it claims self confidence, attacks joy and happiness, and claims the lives of wayyyyy too many people to count each year.

For us personally, it has recently robbed us of being able to live on our ranch in Bend and we are having to rent it out.  It has taken our family away from family, friends, church, and community that we’ve known and loved our entire lives, it has cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and more tear and pain filled nights for all five of us than I can possibly count.

We are beyond thankful that we homeschool and own our own business so that getting to warmth and lessening side effects could be an immediate reality for us… but we are in NO way at all in PARADISE.  It is warm here and we do love the ocean and sand.  But, I would ask you all to realize that my kiddos unwrapped Christmas gifts on Christmas morning, played with their new gifts for a few short days and then in an emergent state… we up and left everything they played with, all their animals, their grandparents, cousins, youthgroup, awana club, airsoft club, 4-H clubs, their space, land, playset, basketball hoop, etc…  we flew here with suitcases of clothing, toiletries, two suitcases of medicines, prescriptions, a vitamix and a pressure cooker.  We have been tossed between 4 homes, apartments, studios, and townhomes. We have not had a place to call home for more than six weeks at a time, and our rent is horrendous.  Our stress level with finances and trying to find our next rental starting June 15th are at an all time high and all that Cory ever has time to do is WORK (which we are beyond thankful for… but I cannot remember a time that we could leave the cell phone at home and have some precious family time!)!

Please don’t stop praying for us, for healing, for wisdom, please pray for our kiddos hearts to be protected, pray that they would have things to do and not be too bored (this is a HUGE shock to them as we usually have 10 acres and endless activities to run around and do at home.), Please don’t just think that we are great now that we are in Hawaii… we want to expect the best and continue to pray for complete healing, but we NEED others to care and stick with us more than you may ever know!

We are and will continue to always seek the sunny side of things in this storm.  We have to continue to count our blessings when it feels like the days stuck in bed, and the immense pain filled days where kiddos cannot get outside because their mom is stuck in bed hurting so badly are endless.

Thank you to each of you for following along and praying for our family.

We love you.

We need you.

Tomorrow is a new day and I am praying for a fresh day with NO pain at all!!!  My oldest daughter Lucy has the first of the guest blog posts… and boy-oh-boy can that girlie write.  We are all in for a treat, and I cannot wait to read it tonight!

Stay tuned!

XO,

Sincerely, Dani

Psalm 46:1-3

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 

Proverbs 18:10

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe.

Nehemiah 8:10

Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

A HUGE thank you to the amazing Nashelle team for their constant support, love and encouragement!  We are beyond blessed by their time spent devoting this blog post to our family in this fight.  Here is the actual link to their blog:  http://nashelle.com/blog/nashelle-warrior-mothers-day-edition-danielle-pratt/

XO

Sincerely, Dani

It is almost Easter and we have been getting settled into our new “home” for now.  Thankful to have soooooo much more room to use, couches to sit on and a table to all eat dinner together again… it’s the little things sometimes, ya know?!

I had a doctors appt two days ago and we are having to switch up treatment plans and try new medications.  I abruptly went off my last two medications as the stomach pain, cramping in my stomach and back, head sweats, fevers, and more were more than I could handle.  They often got so bad that I would crumble to the ground or have to brace myself upright when the pain hit.  I will start new meds today and continue detoxing at the same time of course to flush out toxins released as any disease is killed.

I am now dealing with very, very, very low emotions.  I have not dealt with this in the past, but maybe once or twice and nothing even close to how I am feeling now.  Even though I know this is a very common side effect with Babesia… countless lives are actually lost to this disease due to depression leading to suicide each year; I am trying to remain optimistic and positive that these feelings will pass.  I continue to try to go directly to God’s promises and remember who He says I am, but in being honest with you… I am not doing well at all.

I also have severe neck pain.  Again, very common when on these meds. This pain is so much that it keeps me from sleeping.  Cory is continually rubbing this area and it helps temporarily, but I need it to go away and finally have some relief from it and the migraines that are plaguing me constantly.

Soooo… those are some prayers we have along with complete healing.  All three of our kiddos are struggling with some new symptoms, and some much increased symptoms and it’s so hard to watch how each day this disease destroys.

Prayers:

-Healing

-Energy

-No more pain

-Neurologic symptoms to be gone

-New protocol to work

-Direction of our Future

-Wisdom in treatment

Praises:

-More space in this new home

-Dr. Flattery is willing to try a new direction

-Grace from Jesus for all the ways I feel like I continue falling short in parenting and wife-ing!

Happy Easter to each of you and your sweet families… we are excited to celebrate our Savior being Risen this weekend and every day!

Matthew 28:6- He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.

Isaiah 25:8- He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces.

Job 19:25- “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth.”

I’ve been singing this over and over in my head lately:

“my body’s weak

my spirit’s strong in You

my flesh may fail

my God you never will!”

XO

Sincerely, Dani

Beauty and the Beast with one of my beauties!

Easter fun with Great Auntie!

Run…

Haydens invention…- beach chair on a pool float

Treasure hunting on a bike ride!

Lucy and Grey at their Awana Grand Prix!

I’m finally writing this and asking for prayers!  We’ve had a few rough weeks, kiddos have been very sick with UTIs, bronchitis, ear infections, and sinus infections. I’ve been in and out of urgent care with severe stomach pains, among other things.

Our kiddos are on the mend and I’m so thankful that this is coming to an end soon. However, I am super weak, and more fatigued than I’ve been in a really long time. My ferretin is still on the decline and I’ve been confined to bed more than I’d like😬

At urgent care, though both doctors were very kind…  they both had to look up what Babesia was. Then they returned to the room to tell me that though they believe in Lyme Disease and it’s co-infections, that they are not familiar with the diseases, how they manifest, how they are treated, etc…  once they see my lab work they are sooooo alarmed and want to run a gazillion tests, and start highly recommending that I find another doctor to treat me.  They could not have been more kind, but it is so quickly obvious that they don’t want to touch me with a ten foot pole😩

These experiences are exhausting and frequent. When I’m already this weak, dealing with this extra is so hard. Please pray for my meds to begin working and my ferretin to increase when enough of these bugs are killed off and not eating the ferretin!

🙏🏼Please pray for energy to walk and do things with the kids. Please pray that we feel well enough for our next move across the island this Saturday into a bigger space…  we’ve been in 450 square feet and we will go from one bedroom to three😵

Thank you for reading and sticking with our family in these rough times…  we are so hopeful for GOOD ahead soon!

XO

Sincerely, Dani

Hayden and Lucy are paddling with Lanikai and ❤it!

Grey is hoping to start hula soon…  she’s all dressed for the part!

Corys parents were here and we enjoyed some fun times with them…  here’s a pic from our last dinner we shared at our fave place!

We’re still here, but man Cory and I are weary!

Many people are asking what is next?  Where we are?  When we are coming back home?… all these answers are still hard for us to come up with.  We are trying to figure out what is next, we are still here in Hawaii, and we wish we knew when we’d be coming back home.

There are no simple answers right now.  What we do know is that the cold was the reason my extreme pain was set into having seizures.  We know that since coming to Hawaii I have not had one single seizure.  I am still experiencing lots of pain, migraines, major neurological symptoms, and I am barely getting any sleep.  However… given the seizures being gone, the fear of our nights turning into horrible pain and seizure episodes on the kiddos faces slowly fading, Cory realizing that does NOT have to be our normal over here, all make me feel like there is no reason to even complain about the other symptoms at all!

We need to find a short term solution to our property/home in Bend so that we can afford to rent a place over here (we thought prices in Bend were high!?  LOL).  So… if any of you know of someone who is needing a short term, furnished to the hilt, beautiful large home just minutes from town and yet so private and secluded… please send them our way ASAP!

I am continuing to take very strong antibiotics, antiparasitics, a gazillion pre and probiotics, detoxes in every way possible, and I am doing my darndest to stay very, very warm at all times.  (much easier over here than in Bend’s snow… but believe it or not, Hawaii does indeed have a winter season as well.  We have had many cooler days, gobs of rain and I literally snuggle under a heated blanket even here to keep the seizures away!)

We are weary of the constant battles we’ve been facing.  We won’t give up…  instead, we will rest our weary souls in Him!

Please pray for these things:

Complete healing in my body.

No more pain in my stomach

No more migraines

Sleep Sleep Sleep

Lucy has been sick with a bad cough for almost 3 weeks now

We need housing

We need our home in Bend to be rented out ASAP

Cory will be leaving us here to go home and pack up our personal items so the house can be rented out right away

Wisdom for health and housing decisions

And… a huge prayer request for our family who just lost my cousin to a snowmobile accident.  He left huge holes in the hearts of his wife Amy, his brother Jeff, his mom Candy, and all of us who loved him soooooo much!  Cole loved Jesus with his whole heart and is out of pain here on this earth now… but the sting left to those who loved him here is immense.

We are praising God for:

The ability to be here at all

No seizures since arriving

Less stress about how each night will end

and that His mercies are new each morning… His faithfulness is so GREAT!

We love you all and are soooo thankful for your continued love, support and prayers!

Keep on Living IT Out!

XO

Sincerely, Dani

Lucy is loving surfing and getting pretty good at it too!

Grey is still our happy little one! You’d think all three of them were born here as they just seem to fit right into everyday life!

Hayden is quite the surfer these days! He pretty much lives for the day after school and housework is done… he’s addicted and is so fun to watch!