Hi, this is Rhesa and it’s been a long time since we have been able to slow down in ministry and just write but Robert asked me to share a little about what is going on in his health right now so this is the rest of the story. If you know me I am a pediatric nurse for 20 years now focusing in Critical care transport and most recently finished my Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner masters so my perspective will be more about the medical side of things. So be warned in reading this. In the medical field we have a deep respect for each other because we work on the other side and know the hoops we have to jump through, and protocols we have to follow but it also makes us the best advocate for family and the eyes and ears for our doctors. For example when I told the endocrinologist my husband was the wrong color her eyes snapped up and she wants to hear what I have to say. We may be accused of “leading the witness” but where Robert was saying I was feeling anxious we want broken down into the symptoms like, my heart was racing, I was sweating, I had the feeling I needed to run (he never runs for anything not even tacos) and my blood pressure was this and my oxygen was this. 

Well I remember it all started in the summer July to be exact. He had a day where he felt terrible, he was pale and sweating so I took his blood sugar and it was elevated. We went through what he had eaten and the only thing different was the veggie straws that are really high in carbs so we stopped eating those. There were no other episodes so we went on with regular life. He hates going to the doctor so I scheduled our yearly check ups together with a new NP in August since our last NP had moved on. We got labs drawn as usual and his came back with borderline high A1C and hypothyroidism. He was put on both thyroid and diabetic meds end of October. He went off to Portland by plane in September and that is when I got a text from him in the air that something was terribly wrong. Isn’t technology wonderful yet I felt helpless in that moment except to start praying.  In medicine we make a list of differential diagnosis (all the things it could be) and usually the most critical is at the top and we start ruling it out. When an adult is flying and has a medical emergency we worry most of oxygen, clots, heart and sugar.

Well I told my kids to pack a backpack for three days and we got in the car and started driving to California where Robert got off the plane as an Emergency. The pro packers that my kids are from all these years as MKs we were out the door in 20 minutes. I was texting the nurse on board and she felt like it was low blood sugar that had caused everything. The new medications were his only change that would cause something so acute so our doctor asked us to stop the medications and come in for more lab work when we got back home to El Paso. The 12-hour trip back home was not very fun. He had episodes all the way back home where he had a pounding heart and checking his sugars would go from 84 to 145 in 15 minutes without eating anything. This is also the first time I started seeing him turn very pale with these episodes and have headaches after each episode that were almost unbearable. 

We got back home went back for check ups and his labs were perfect. There was no longer any indication of diabetes or thyroid problems but there was indication for inflammation in his body and gut issues started coming 10x as bad as they had been. This was very puzzling. During this time pain also started in full force in his back and head. We got a referral to a rheumatologist but 4 months away.  Got into the gastroenteritis and they told him he had diverticulitis take fiber. 

Then the day Robert wrote about where we were at church and he had a problem with his boots. Our kids were all seated in church and at least he thought to tell me he was going outside. He was sweating, having a hard time breathing and pale again. It appears to me like he is having a heart attack. I was going to call an ambulance but if you know a Rodriguez they are quite stubborn and He would have just refused them and there service when they got there. Our compromise was that we would do his thing and get him shoes at Wal-Mart if he still had symptoms we were driving the 2 minutes to the hospital. So, I finally got him to the hospital. Looking at him the hospital staff also thought he was having a heart attack and had his blood drawn and on EKG in 5 minutes of arrival. Cardiac labs were normal and no EKG was normal also. All his labs looked perfect and the doctor even said better than his personal labs and he was no more than 120-pound guy. I did notice Roberts heart rate was slightly elevated as well as his blood pressure and his 02 was low 90’s. I’m sure because of the boot story that you can read in Roberts account the doctor just went to the easiest diagnosis and said now you have anxiety here is an anti anxiety medication. So the thing that bothered me the most about that was the idea that Robert had acute onset of anxiety without a cause, never having had a problem with shoes before. It didn’t add up in my mind. Acute episodes of anything are usually caused by a clot, heart problems, infection, a tumor, trauma or so many other things. So at this point I knew we were going to have to find a cause. I stared praying for wisdom for our doctors and that God would lead us to the right doctors who would have answers. 

We kept going back to our primary NP and we would talk through and she would listen and continued to refer us as symptoms came up. Roxanne is her name and she was God sent. One day she even called us out of the blue saying she had been thinking about us and was wondering how everything was going. 

In December the symptoms were getting worse. They were episodic meaning we never knew when symptoms would hit but he could feel it building usually during the day and could be in a safe place. Many times at night he would be jolted out of sleep with a pounding heart, high blood pressure, high sugar, pale skin that changed to purple skin color, sweating then uncontrolled trembling hands to whole body shaking. I knew it wasn’t a seizure because he was able to talk to me through it all.  This happened several times in Mexico while we were leading the Com2Mex team but thankfully we had a well-trained team who carried on without a hitch. 

In January we were on our way to Ensenada Mexico as a preparation for a summer trip and he had the worse episode yet where he had to pull over. We ended up in Phoenix Az. That night at the hotel he looked like he was seeing a lion and had to run. At some point that night I was down on my knees asking God for wisdom and He clearly said go to an Endocrinologist. His heart was pounding, pale, shaking, sweating, and hard to breath and he was unable to sleep. We we’re keeping a journal of his symptoms and vital signs during all of this. The next day we turned back and went home. I wasn’t going to let him drive at this point and it was a lot to do 12 hours by myself with very little sleep. 

We went back to our NP and I boldly asked to go to an endocrinologist. We talked about how insurance may not pay for it because he was no longer considered a diabetic. I told her at this point I was willing to pay anything. We called for an appointment and it was three months out but our NP called her friend the endocrinologist and we got a work in appointment for the very next day. We arrived at 3 pm on a Friday and were seen at 6 pm. I really felt sorry for the doctor having such a late night but I knew we were supposed to be there. They ran his A1C and it was perfect and I started to doubt. I wrote my family and close prayer partners and said “Please pray boldly with me that God gives this doctor wisdom and as soon as she hears the symptoms she will know what it is.” We met Dr. Egbuonu and I loved her instantly. She said you don’t have diabetes tell me about your symptoms.   Robert talked maybe 15 min and I filled in with the journal I was keeping with all his sugars, vital signs and she said “I have a theory but I know what it is and it may take us a while to find it.” I was praising God!! She knew what this was. She then went on to tell us it was either a Pheochromocytoma or a Paraganglioma, a rare endocrine tumor that was secreting too much adrenaline and causing all these symptoms. Just the night before one of the nurses I work with asked if he had ever been tested for a rare tumor Pheochromocytoma. 

On Robert’s birthday 1/21 we did labs and 24 hour urine collection and it was confirmed that his body was secreting too much Dopamine and Norepinephrine and that was on a good day. Most likely on symptomatic days the levels would be higher. His endocrine system was misfiring which usually is due to a tumor on the adrenals on top of the kidneys. All these tests and results feel like they are taking forever but in reality things were moving fast. The next step was a CT and our doctor said a lot of times it is negative and we have to move to a PET scan. 

We went to Houston for a faith promise service that had been scheduled for over a year and he really struggled to get there. His heart would pound so hard and all his other vital signs were off and sometimes the only thing that helped was to pull over and let everything be still for a little bit. His blood pressure cuff at one point said the heart rate was irregular and would not give us a reading. We were out in the middle of nowhere and the next available hospital was San Antonio so we kept going. In San Antonio the symptoms were gone again but I was worried about the irregular heart rhythm that is usually hard to catch unless you have continuous cardiac monitoring. I went and bought for his birthday the Apple 5 Watch that does EKG monitoring. He tried to return it because it was too much money but I won that round. I kept telling him his life was way more valuable than an expensive watch and I needed to know if or when to take him to the hospital. 

In Houston when the pastor and the church laid hands on Robert in the morning service and prayed for his healing he instantly felt relief and did not have one single more episodes for 3 1/2 days. We got home with no problems and we had three really good nights of sleep. God is good! I really felt God saying, I have you, I hear you, I’m taking care of you and I am healing you! We also needed that sleep because one week later Robert’s only brother died on a Monday. 

We got ready to leave town to go to Oklahoma City for the funeral and Roberts’s episodes had gotten frequent again and so he physically did not feel like he could go to the funeral. We talked to the kids extensively and it was decided as a family that Mikayla and I would go to the funeral and represent the family and the two oldest Ruthy and Josiah would stay back in El Paso with Robert. 

We got the CT results, which basically said we needed to move to the PET scan. An Alpha-blocker, a new medication was called in to help decrease the symptoms. 

Mikayla and I flew to OKC and spent time with the family talking, crying and making a video for the service. The night before the funeral, Robert called me saying he was sitting in his recliner watching TV and adrenaline just started surging through his body harder than ever before. His heart was pounding. It went away in 2 minutes but then it hit again. His heart would surge from 80-160 in seconds. I asked for an EKG and it looked like Junctional Tachycardia on the portion of the EKG strip from his watch. I told him to call the ambulance or have Ruthy drive him to the closest hospital. He chose to have Ruthy drive. 

Well he was kept overnight where they worked to lower his blood pressure and heart rate and everyone studied about rare Pheochromocytoma’s. Now he remains on both an Alpha and Beta-blocker. We are all back in town and going to another appointment on Monday. Anticipating the PET scan will be ordered this week. 

Through it all God is faithful and good!! We see Him at work in every step! 

Update on our lives.

!!!Warning, very long blogpost.!!!

We have not blogged in a long while, but we now feel that this is the best place to share our current journey.  We have just recently completed our 8^th year here in El Paso Texas, serving our church as Global Missionaries for the Church of the Nazarene.  Our Global assignment happened last February.  We are honored that the church would choose to assign us.  Many things have changed since we arrived.  For starters, our kids have grown up.  In December Ruthy turned 15 and had a quinceañera, Josiah just turned 14 and is in a shoe size 13, and Mikayla is anxiously awaiting her 13^th birthday in May, and is in a shoe size 11 ½.  Lots of changes besides that, but through it all, God has been faithful and the constant through the good and the not so good.  

One of the main reasons for restarting our blog is because we want to update everyone on what is going on in our lives.  So much happening in our personal lives, and we have not really shared all on FB.  We want this blog to be a place where we share what is happening so that y’all will know how to pray for us, be aware of what is going on, and can share your words of support.  Lets call it a more intimate place for knowing our family.  Both Rhesa and I will be writing, from our perspectives, which we think is important.

So lets start back in September of 2019.  I Roberto was flying to Portland Oregon to attend a Work and Witness Conference.  This is something that I have done for at least the last 7 years. I have flown alone many times, and this time was no different.  I got checked in, past security, and to my gate.  I was working on changing out my SIM card on my phone as we were changing carriers.  I got everything done before we boarded, and then boarded the plane, took my window seat, and then tried to relax.  Since being in El Paso, I have flown more than ever in my life.  My normal routine is sit in my seat, make sure the air vent is pointed at me, then doze off until the refreshments are being passed out.  The dozing off had become an involuntary thing, something even my kids would make fun of me for.  I would say, “as soon as by butt hits the seat, my eyes close”.  It’s true!  It’s like I have narcolepsy or something!  HAHA!  Anyway, as we took off, something strange began to happen.  Instead of sleeping, I began to feel weird, like I was having difficulty breathing, like the place cabin was closing in on me, like claustrophobia was rearing it’s ugly head like never before.  I waited as long as I could, then I asked to go to the restroom.  The problem was that being in the small airplane restroom was not helping the situation.  I came out quickly and shared with the flight attendant that I was not feeling very well.  Then, I began to all of sudden feel very weak and it became difficult to stand.  It wasn’t a pretty picture and soon I realized I was becoming “that guy” on the plane, that would need medical attention.  Without knowing, God had already worked out the details.  They asked if anyone on the plane was either a Dr. or a nurse.  Turns out that the lady sitting right next to me, was a nurse, and since I had not come back to me seat in a while, was very concerned about me.  It seemed like my blood sugar had dropped and so the flight attendant gave up his banana and chocolates, so that I could eat something that might get me feeling better.  They also gave me some orange juice to try and help.  Well any how, long story short, I had to deplane at my connection in San Diego.  Needless to say, I was the very first person to get off the plane, on a wheelchair, and guess what, the paramedics were waiting for me at the gate!!!  Lots of excitement!  We decided that it was a panic attack that was caused by low blood sugar.  BTW, about a month before this, my Dr. put me on diabetic meds, because my blood sugar was high.  I decided to cut out some things in my GF diet, and decreased my A1C by almost a whole point, putting me out of danger and not needing meds.  Well, fast forward a couple months, and I am driving to go to church in Las Cruces, NM.  All of a sudden, it hits me, I am in what seems like a full panic attack mode.  I had decided to wear some new boots I had bought, and it became very apparent to me, that those boots were going to have to go!  I had to pull over, get out so Rhesa could drive, take the boots off, loosen my belt, and unbutton and untuck my shirt.  My panic/claustrophobia was a little much.  We arrived at church, I came in, sat down, then quickly had to run outside.  I felt like I could not breathe and my heart was pounding.  I know I looked crazy!  Rhesa decided to take me to Wal-Mart to get some new shoes, thinking that the boots might have triggered my panic attack.  Well, my heart began to pound and race, and I was not feeling well, so instead of going back to the church, (where we had left our kids, cause we thought we would be right back) we ended up going to the ER, where they told be it was just an anxiety attack and gave me a RX for anxiety meds, and was released.  It was all scary and I was not sure what to think of this all.  Was I just going crazy and was this all just anxiety?  Well, the attacks happened a couple more times, and we decided to go back to my Dr.  I was in tears explaining to her what was still going on and how it was getting worse.  I needed help because even traveling was becoming difficult.  She listened and heard.    Rhesa asked if maybe this could be an endocrine issue.  She agreed that it might and referred us to an endocrinologist.  The only thing was that my appointment was scheduled for three months away.  I was loosing hope here.  I needed answers to what was going on, and really to confirm that I was not just going crazy.  OK, that I was not going crazier that I already was!  HAHA!  I called my Dr. and told her that I was not sure I could wait so long.  She asked me to hold on, and she called and was able to get me in the next day.  I visited the endocrinologist, and explained all that was going on.  She very confidently said she had theories of what it could be, but was very certain she knew what it was.  It would need to be confirmed by some tests and labs.  This is where she put a name to what she thought it was:  PHEOCHROMOCYTOMA.  What??  What is that?!  She explained that it is an adrenal gland tumor that causes all the symptoms I had been experiencing.  I not crazy!!!  WOOHOO!!!  Wait, well just a little crazy, but that has nothing to do with this tumor!   HAHAH.  We rushed to get the tests done and then the waiting began.  Then my mind allowed satan to place doubts in my head.  What if, what if it’s not it.  What if you are really just crazy, what if you really are just losing your mind?  It seemed like forever.  We got the results and had a follow up with the Dr.  Results showed my dopamine and norepinephrine levels were hi, indicating that this was a possible pheochromocytoma.  It did not present in all the typical ways, but my dopamine levels should not be increased. Next was a CT scan.  The Dr. had warned that the CT might not pick up anything because the tumor might be 1cm or less.  Wait…  something that small could cause all of this?  Yep!  So in my heightened state of anxiety and with my issues of claustrophobia, I was not looking forward to the CT scan, but God was good and gave me peace in the midst of everything and I was able to get it all done without a problem.  We got the results back and just as the Dr. said, nothing.  So now, we know I will have to have a  PET scan done of the whole body, to be able to find this thing that is probably less than 1 cm in size.    Fast forward to last week.  My only brother died suddenly.  My heart is broken into so many pieces that I can not fully describe the level of grief I was experiencing.  I knew we would need to travel to OKC for his memorial service and was trying to prepare myself for it.  We packed the car, took care of some last minute things, then came back to the house for some things we forgot, when out of nowhere, I have the worst episode of panic and emotion I have ever had.  My blood pressure skyrocketed, my blood sugar was high, my heart was pounding out of my chest, and it was more than I could handle.  We made the difficult decision that I would not be able to make it to my brother’s service.  This is something that even now as I am writing, has and is causing me deep sadness.  I loved my brother.  He wasn’t perfect, but who is, but he was MY brother.  I loved him dearly as a kid, I remember just wanting to be like him in many ways.  I don’t know if I will be able to get over this second loss in my life, the first being my sister three years ago.   So there I sat at home broken, when we figured out a way for Rhesa and Mikayla to fly to be with my family.  We thank God for frequent flyer miles and people who were willing to share theirs too.  The night before the funeral, at about 9pm this past Thursday, I began to feel strange very quickly as I sat and watched TV.  I could literally feel adrenalin being released multiple times into my body.  I felt very warm, then all of a sudden my heart rate shot up from 75 to 164 in a matter of seconds.  It was very very scary.  It happened again and I called Rhesa right away and she suggested I go to the ER ASAP.  Ruthy, who has had her driving permit since December, would have to drive me.  She did a great job, and then she and Josiah had to drop me off, go park in the parking garage, and then find their way to the ER all by themselves.  My babies are not babies anymore, and were able to handle the stress of everything very well.  Ruthy kept a level head and calm demeanor through it all.   So I get to the registration desk explain what is happening, they send me back ASAP, do an EKG, and find that I am in Tachycardia, or rapid heartbeat.  They get me into a room and onto monitors and scans I go.  I told them about my pheochromocytoma and not sure they believed me as they kept asking me whether I smoked, drank, or did drugs.  HAHAH!  I gave them my endocrinologists info and they were able to contact her.  They got my heart rate down and kept me for observation.  I’m ok now, but a little shaken.  I was able to watch my brother’s service from the hospital room.  I also learned how strong my kids are and how mature they are, handling everything and being able to be independent while Rhesa was in OKC, and I was not able to tend to them.  God is good.  I feel better and the new medication seems to be controlling my heart rate and blood pressure.  I am so ready to find this tumor and get it out so that I can feel more like me.