Lyme Disease Story
Rethinking Lyme disease treatments
01/29/12 13:52
Whenever somebody else talks about their battle with Lyme, whether it’s about the symptoms, diagnosis, or treatment itself, I get a deep sense of validation. It’s a mixture of relief that I’m not crazy and empathy for the person who went through a hell-realm that I know intimately. My dad’s generation called these foxhole tales, shared experiences while hiding from a hostile enemy.
Celebrities’ stories have a potent affect on our collective notions about disease. When someone famous for car racing or acting or novel writing, or when the President of the US (GW Bush) has fought and defeated the same powerful foe as we have, we want to know their stories. We may not be equal in status but we’re equally brought to our knees by the Lyme bacteria. Hearing their stories about dealing with Lyme might trigger an idea that works, or give us strength to try a new approach.
Parker Posey was diagnosed with Lyme disease in February 2009 and received the standard IDSA Lyme treatment of antibiotics. After completing the round of antibiotics and experiencing a return of her symptoms, she decided not to continue on a second round and instead turned to a holistic approach involving detoxification, diet and supplements. Her experience led to her involvement with a documentary film by rethinkingcancer.org, the story of five cancer patients and one person with Lyme disease who all made the decision to treat their diseases through alternative means, and who have all lived years beyond the time their doctors predicted.
Posey asks: “How can a natural approach to healing oneself be considered so unconventional? Why do we think we can't play an active role in getting healthy? Why do we give ourselves away so easily to pharmaceuticals that deplete our system and confuse the natural healing process?”
Lyme patient David Walant has been free of Lyme for 20 years. Listen to him in this brief clip from the webpage of rethinkingcancer.org.
Karen Allen, who played opposite Jeff Bridges in Starman, was interviewed in 2010 on the blog, Macrobiotic Adventures, about her difficult journey through Lyme disease and back to health. Her story is familiar to almost everyone with Lyme, it’s a series of tortuous misdiagnoses and failed cures, and then finally a way through the pain and confusion and back to a normal, creative life. The interview is fairly long, but very intriguing. Karen talks about her dynamic healing experience with the parasite zapper invented by Canadian Dr. Hulda Clark.
I hope you find these clips inspiring, as I have. Remember you are not alone and you’re not crazy. Change your diet if you think it will benefit you. Change your sedentary life and exercise every single day. Stay limber, stretch and relax daily, and surround yourself with loving friends. It’s your life and it’s worth every precious moment you have to get well.
Celebrities’ stories have a potent affect on our collective notions about disease. When someone famous for car racing or acting or novel writing, or when the President of the US (GW Bush) has fought and defeated the same powerful foe as we have, we want to know their stories. We may not be equal in status but we’re equally brought to our knees by the Lyme bacteria. Hearing their stories about dealing with Lyme might trigger an idea that works, or give us strength to try a new approach.
Parker Posey was diagnosed with Lyme disease in February 2009 and received the standard IDSA Lyme treatment of antibiotics. After completing the round of antibiotics and experiencing a return of her symptoms, she decided not to continue on a second round and instead turned to a holistic approach involving detoxification, diet and supplements. Her experience led to her involvement with a documentary film by rethinkingcancer.org, the story of five cancer patients and one person with Lyme disease who all made the decision to treat their diseases through alternative means, and who have all lived years beyond the time their doctors predicted.
Posey asks: “How can a natural approach to healing oneself be considered so unconventional? Why do we think we can't play an active role in getting healthy? Why do we give ourselves away so easily to pharmaceuticals that deplete our system and confuse the natural healing process?”
Lyme patient David Walant has been free of Lyme for 20 years. Listen to him in this brief clip from the webpage of rethinkingcancer.org.
Karen Allen, who played opposite Jeff Bridges in Starman, was interviewed in 2010 on the blog, Macrobiotic Adventures, about her difficult journey through Lyme disease and back to health. Her story is familiar to almost everyone with Lyme, it’s a series of tortuous misdiagnoses and failed cures, and then finally a way through the pain and confusion and back to a normal, creative life. The interview is fairly long, but very intriguing. Karen talks about her dynamic healing experience with the parasite zapper invented by Canadian Dr. Hulda Clark.
I hope you find these clips inspiring, as I have. Remember you are not alone and you’re not crazy. Change your diet if you think it will benefit you. Change your sedentary life and exercise every single day. Stay limber, stretch and relax daily, and surround yourself with loving friends. It’s your life and it’s worth every precious moment you have to get well.
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Debbie's success story in dealing with lyme.
05/07/11 13:52
Debbie Bassett reminds me of a friend I had in college, also named Debbie, who faced life’s twists and turns with a resiliency and sense of humor that welled up from some eternal energy source.
“At one point, all I could eat was baby food,” laughs Debbie. “I lost 25 pounds.” Neither of these statements are the least bit funny, but somehow throughout our entire conversation I found myself laughing right along with her. Gallows humor: a big relief when you’re dealing with something as serious as Lyme disease.
But it wasn’t this 40-something, mother of two’s ability to find the humor in the situation, so much as her strong intuition and intense need to know, that guided her to ultimately find the Holtorf Medical Center, in Torrance, CA, where she began treatment for Lyme.
The basic trajectory of her story line is familiar to many Lyme patients. Sickness, misdiagnosis, searching, then finding a doctor or medical professional who finally leads to a correct diagnosis and treatment. But treatment is often less of an ending point, and more of a start. I know it’s a terrible thing to say, but sometimes I have envied that people can get a clear diagnosis of cancer, and begin treatment for it, while Lyme patients may suffer for months and years without any definitive diagnosis. On the contrary, Lyme patients are often told they have to get a handle on their stress, take a chill pill, or seek a psychologist’s help for mental trouble.
In Debbie’s case, after landing in the ER twice due to headaches, being told by neurologists that nothing wrong could be found, she was handed subscriptions for Prozac. But she knew something was wrong. She told the doctors she suspected she had an underlying virus that they weren’t locating. It seemed unbelievable to her that “nobody’s taking the time to analyze the situation.”
Frustrated, sick, Debbie wound up in Scripps Hospital in San Diego, where she spent 3 days as doctors examined her, determining what they thought was the problem. They scheduled her for gall bladder surgery. It was then that she experienced an interesting turning point. I won’t tell you the whole story -- listen to her tell it.
Debbie’s warmth, generosity and sweetness is a balm capable of soothing the bruised souls of anybody who has suffered through Lyme. She says it is important to share her story so that other people know they are not alone, and that it is possible to pull through in one piece again, as she is doing. Currently on five different antibiotics, Debbie’s in full throttle on her healing path. Please feel free to contact her, as she wants to give her support to others who are going down the same road, dealing with Lyme. Her email address is:dbassett@earthlink.net
“It’s not an overnight journey,” she says. But with smart medical attention, patience and a sense of humor, we can heal.
Click on the podcast link to listen.
Podcast Part 1 of 6. Please log in or join to listen to all 6 parts.
“At one point, all I could eat was baby food,” laughs Debbie. “I lost 25 pounds.” Neither of these statements are the least bit funny, but somehow throughout our entire conversation I found myself laughing right along with her. Gallows humor: a big relief when you’re dealing with something as serious as Lyme disease.
But it wasn’t this 40-something, mother of two’s ability to find the humor in the situation, so much as her strong intuition and intense need to know, that guided her to ultimately find the Holtorf Medical Center, in Torrance, CA, where she began treatment for Lyme.
The basic trajectory of her story line is familiar to many Lyme patients. Sickness, misdiagnosis, searching, then finding a doctor or medical professional who finally leads to a correct diagnosis and treatment. But treatment is often less of an ending point, and more of a start. I know it’s a terrible thing to say, but sometimes I have envied that people can get a clear diagnosis of cancer, and begin treatment for it, while Lyme patients may suffer for months and years without any definitive diagnosis. On the contrary, Lyme patients are often told they have to get a handle on their stress, take a chill pill, or seek a psychologist’s help for mental trouble.
In Debbie’s case, after landing in the ER twice due to headaches, being told by neurologists that nothing wrong could be found, she was handed subscriptions for Prozac. But she knew something was wrong. She told the doctors she suspected she had an underlying virus that they weren’t locating. It seemed unbelievable to her that “nobody’s taking the time to analyze the situation.”
Frustrated, sick, Debbie wound up in Scripps Hospital in San Diego, where she spent 3 days as doctors examined her, determining what they thought was the problem. They scheduled her for gall bladder surgery. It was then that she experienced an interesting turning point. I won’t tell you the whole story -- listen to her tell it.
Debbie’s warmth, generosity and sweetness is a balm capable of soothing the bruised souls of anybody who has suffered through Lyme. She says it is important to share her story so that other people know they are not alone, and that it is possible to pull through in one piece again, as she is doing. Currently on five different antibiotics, Debbie’s in full throttle on her healing path. Please feel free to contact her, as she wants to give her support to others who are going down the same road, dealing with Lyme. Her email address is:dbassett@earthlink.net
“It’s not an overnight journey,” she says. But with smart medical attention, patience and a sense of humor, we can heal.
Click on the podcast link to listen.
Podcast Part 1 of 6. Please log in or join to listen to all 6 parts.
A Holistic Approach To Treating Lyme
01/29/11 17:55
Q. I was diagnosed with Lyme last July (2010) after several neurologists told me I had a motor neuron disease - ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). My family and I were thrilled to find out it was Lyme as at least it wasn't a death sentence. But after nearly 6 months on IV Rocephin and other antibiotics and many supplements and 5 IVIg treatments to modulate my immune system - I am still not feeling much better. I do have more energy than before the antibiotics but my speech is poorer, my body twitches when I'm still and I feel a sense of vibration in my hands and feet. I have some joint pain in my elbow and fingers, but it’s not too bad.
I really love my Lyme doctor she listens and adjust my doses at my monthly visit. I fill out a symptom list every day ranking my symptoms from 1 to 10. I go weekly to her office for my PICC line to be checked by a nurse and they draw blood at that time to check things. I feel taken care of -- but I never thought it would take as long as it’s taking.
I had read at some point that you beat Lyme with a more holistic approach - can you elaborate on that for me? I know there are alternative medicine doctors and I went to one once - and she told me to use certain Essential Oils by Young Living - I used them for a while.
A. Your letter brings to mind that aphorism: What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Many of the strongest people I know are dealing with Lyme.
Yes, I take what I consider an integral approach to treating Lyme. An integral approach requires more than just treating with medicines and supplements. It also includes getting regular physical exercise, eating right, tending to your psychological/spiritual needs through a regular practice of meditation, prayer, affirmations (whichever practice suits you best), and finally, seriously considering your network of support including your close loved ones on out to the social systems that are available to you: your clinic, nurse practitioner, doctor, as well as the money you must generate, and/or the insurance forms you must navigate, in order to access all of the above.
I started my treatment with antibiotics because I felt (and my doctor observed) that I had quickly devolved into a very low-functioning state. Every one of my systems was affected and going haywire. After 6 months of antibiotics, a period that I honestly find very difficult to remember, I came to a crossroads. I had reached a point where I could no longer financially afford to continue on the antibiotics. I was feeling better, but not spectacularly so. My doctor was not enthusiastic about my decision but he sympathized with my dilemma, and going on his advice that something would be better than nothing, I then prescribed myself a treatment consisting of herbal medicines and a continuation of the supplements that he had started me on. I embarked on the beginning of my second phase of treatment with some real moments of fear. However, I felt deep inside that I had no choice but to get well and although I was still unbearably fatigued after a full nights’ sleep and had many other Lyme symptoms that could have depressed me, I never, ever lost the willpower to fight and get well. I didn’t want to die, and I’m stubborn.
As the months wore on, I was finally able to put two sentences together again and resumed my work as a professional writer. I was fortunate in that way. If I’d had to go to work outside my home, I probably wouldn’t have been able to stick with the routines I had developed in order to stay on the wellness path. I required lots of sleep, little or no interaction with people outside my inner circle, long naps mid-morning, daily walks, blankets piled on my lap. I had to remember to take the supplements at their correct doses and times. And most critically, I had to have the luxury of being able to take my time on assignments. If the editors I worked for at that time had been able to see me at my computer, they would have wondered about my frequent pauses to stare at nothing, my complete spaciness and inability to stay on task! If they hadn’t been utterly disgusted by the ugly rashes on my hands and fingers, they definitely would have been put off by the stammers and slur in my speech. Luckily for me, they never knew, they were usually too busy to talk on the phone, and I was somehow always able to meet my deadlines.
I think many of us get to a point in our healing where we look into alternatives because conventional therapies either haven’t worked, they aren’t enough, or they’re simply not affordable or available. I’ve often thought that hey, if there’s something, anything, I can do to speed up this healing process, let me at it. My 100 Perspectives approach is the integral approach that I’m on.
I’ve also read about the essential oils by Young Living and looked into them a little. At one point, someone gave me several tiny bottles of elixirs that I tried. Alternative doctors, alternative medicines, and holistic or complementary therapies are familiar terms, even to those of us who prefer Western medicine. But we often read about or hear these terms referred to without knowing or really understanding what is meant by them. We’ll explore and define these terms in subsequent posts.
All good wishes to you my friend.
Readers write about Lyme brain
11/21/09 08:55
"Kmart" sent these comments in response to last week's post:
1 - I once lost my truck key on the job (gardener). I had three people (customers), for thirty five minutes, looking all over their house and property for it. I must have checked my pockets thirty times and even flipped out my front pockets like a rabbit. Yes (you all have done this) while just standing in confusion & embarrassment my stomach fluttered & face grew red as I had to suddenly admit that I found my key in my right front pocket while casually just standing there. Oops, my bad. There is still no way to explain lyme brain to others.
2 - Having read through the protocol, how in the heck is someone with stage 3 suppose to remember all that? I believe any attempt (at a protocol) is a good one for fighting Lyme. Seriously, there is no way I could stay on this as I am still looking for my keys!
***
Success stories usually, if not always, follow failure. The classic example is learning to ride a bike. If it took falling over nine or ten times before you finally got the balance thing down, than those nine or ten times were more about succeeding than failing.
Healing from Lyme has been sort of like that for me. Starting with getting a diagnosis, which doctors kept getting wrong. I've talked to people for the success stories who said that they went to more than 30, or in some cases more than 40 different doctors before getting a correct diagnosis!
It still makes me shiver to think about the dermatologist who wouldn't even look me in the eye while he was examining my skin rash. I'd brought in a notebook with questions I had jotted down, because I knew I wouldn't be able to remember them unless I wrote them down. The minute I opened it and read my first question, he stopped making eye contact with me! It felt as though he saw me as some sort of weirdo to protect himself against. I absolutely did not feel like I was in the supportive hands of a healer. Of course, it didn't help that I stuttered terribly whenever I tried to talk. He was one of the docs who had prescribed prednisone for my "excema." He was sure he was right. I was sure I was getting worse, not better. At that time I had no clue that the medicine itself was making my disease spread inside my body and brain, quickly rendering me unable to think, talk or keep my balance while walking.
Lyme brain can definitely be funny in retrospect, but I know it's absolutely terrifying when you've got it.
Whether your stories are humorous or scary (or both!), I invite you to share one of yours here. You can either email me directly: ldrd.support@gmail.com or put it in the comments.
All good wishes for healing to every one of you,
Suzanne
P.S. Kmart, I know what you mean about remembering the protocol. I kept notebooks full of schedules for when to take which antibiotic or supplement, to take it before meals, between, whether to take it with water or juice, or put it under my tongue, and how many drops of this and that, when to increase or decrease...It got to where I was either taking a medicine or writing about having taken it. Having Lyme is hard -- but healing from Lyme can be just as tough!
1 - I once lost my truck key on the job (gardener). I had three people (customers), for thirty five minutes, looking all over their house and property for it. I must have checked my pockets thirty times and even flipped out my front pockets like a rabbit. Yes (you all have done this) while just standing in confusion & embarrassment my stomach fluttered & face grew red as I had to suddenly admit that I found my key in my right front pocket while casually just standing there. Oops, my bad. There is still no way to explain lyme brain to others.
2 - Having read through the protocol, how in the heck is someone with stage 3 suppose to remember all that? I believe any attempt (at a protocol) is a good one for fighting Lyme. Seriously, there is no way I could stay on this as I am still looking for my keys!
***
Success stories usually, if not always, follow failure. The classic example is learning to ride a bike. If it took falling over nine or ten times before you finally got the balance thing down, than those nine or ten times were more about succeeding than failing.
Healing from Lyme has been sort of like that for me. Starting with getting a diagnosis, which doctors kept getting wrong. I've talked to people for the success stories who said that they went to more than 30, or in some cases more than 40 different doctors before getting a correct diagnosis!
It still makes me shiver to think about the dermatologist who wouldn't even look me in the eye while he was examining my skin rash. I'd brought in a notebook with questions I had jotted down, because I knew I wouldn't be able to remember them unless I wrote them down. The minute I opened it and read my first question, he stopped making eye contact with me! It felt as though he saw me as some sort of weirdo to protect himself against. I absolutely did not feel like I was in the supportive hands of a healer. Of course, it didn't help that I stuttered terribly whenever I tried to talk. He was one of the docs who had prescribed prednisone for my "excema." He was sure he was right. I was sure I was getting worse, not better. At that time I had no clue that the medicine itself was making my disease spread inside my body and brain, quickly rendering me unable to think, talk or keep my balance while walking.
Lyme brain can definitely be funny in retrospect, but I know it's absolutely terrifying when you've got it.
Whether your stories are humorous or scary (or both!), I invite you to share one of yours here. You can either email me directly: ldrd.support@gmail.com or put it in the comments.
All good wishes for healing to every one of you,
Suzanne
P.S. Kmart, I know what you mean about remembering the protocol. I kept notebooks full of schedules for when to take which antibiotic or supplement, to take it before meals, between, whether to take it with water or juice, or put it under my tongue, and how many drops of this and that, when to increase or decrease...It got to where I was either taking a medicine or writing about having taken it. Having Lyme is hard -- but healing from Lyme can be just as tough!
Lymelife filmmaker turns pain into art
08/28/09 14:40
Actor, writer, producer, editor and composer Steven Martini's latest film is Lymelife. As one reviewer wrote, "Lymelife is a unique take on the dangers of the American Dream."
Steven and his brother Derick learned the craft of filmmaking while making Goat on Fire and Smiling Fish (1999), and wanted to "dig deeper" for their next film. The material they mined for Lymelife is largely autobiographical. Taking place in the late 70s, the story chronicles their childhood in the NE, a first searing adolescent love affair, and the dissolution of their family unit. Scott, 15, begins to see that nothing is quite like he thought it was.
In the story, Scott's girlfriend's father, Charlie, is inflicted with Lyme. In real life, Steven's girlfriend's father had Lyme as well. He watched her family try to deal with illness and found it terrifying. As Steven says, Lyme back then was considered mysterious, even psychosomatic. Sound familiar?
I got a chance to speak with Steven last week. He described the intensity of writing and producing this autobiographical tale. He talks about his creative process and his experience of making the film, and even tells what became of the real life character of Charlie.
Please listen to our conversation by clicking on the Podcast link below.
Podcast
Steven and his brother Derick learned the craft of filmmaking while making Goat on Fire and Smiling Fish (1999), and wanted to "dig deeper" for their next film. The material they mined for Lymelife is largely autobiographical. Taking place in the late 70s, the story chronicles their childhood in the NE, a first searing adolescent love affair, and the dissolution of their family unit. Scott, 15, begins to see that nothing is quite like he thought it was.
In the story, Scott's girlfriend's father, Charlie, is inflicted with Lyme. In real life, Steven's girlfriend's father had Lyme as well. He watched her family try to deal with illness and found it terrifying. As Steven says, Lyme back then was considered mysterious, even psychosomatic. Sound familiar?
I got a chance to speak with Steven last week. He described the intensity of writing and producing this autobiographical tale. He talks about his creative process and his experience of making the film, and even tells what became of the real life character of Charlie.
Please listen to our conversation by clicking on the Podcast link below.
Podcast
"My year in HELL"
07/20/09 12:40
It's Friday, and I wanted to share this with you all. One our readers, Kim Jones, gave us permission to post this happy note. If you're sick, take heart and know that there are many, many people who are beating Lyme:
It has been a year since a nasty little tick gave me the disease from HELL. But I am back among the living. And living well. Feeling better than ever! Something I did not think was possible a year ago. Some days were so hopeless and I was too tired to read in bed or walk down my driveway to get the mail let alone work or go out with friends.
I dreaded the full moon and nights of restless sleep and days of endless exhaustion. The joint pain was incredible and I could not think through the brain fog to function in any normal sort of way. I will forever look back on May 2008 as the beginning of my year in HELL.
Nevermind the swirl of doctors and pills and tests that we have all gone through and the endless researching and reading to find an answer. I absolutely was consumed with finding a cure - I was not going to let this ruin my life. I was absolutely glued to my computer screen searching every LD site I could find.
Then later, when Under Our Skin came out (I bought an advance copy), I watched it over and over while I cried seemingly endless tears. But I refused to allow this to happen to me. Mine is a story of strength and perserverance and just plain stubborness on my part. Even from the beginning I made my mind up that this THING was NOT going to get me. I was going to beat it.
And I have beat it. Thanks to self-determination, excellent nutrition, LOTS of exercise, and meditative positive thinking. Also, with support from my husband and an excellent local LPN, the only one in the medical community who would listen and help me with meds and support, and a team of online supporters.
I have WON this battle. I am symptom free now for over 3 months. No meds, no brain fog, no fatigue, no rash, nothing. I really am free of this dreaded disease. I now have my life back - whoooooooppppppeeeee!
It has been a year since a nasty little tick gave me the disease from HELL. But I am back among the living. And living well. Feeling better than ever! Something I did not think was possible a year ago. Some days were so hopeless and I was too tired to read in bed or walk down my driveway to get the mail let alone work or go out with friends.
I dreaded the full moon and nights of restless sleep and days of endless exhaustion. The joint pain was incredible and I could not think through the brain fog to function in any normal sort of way. I will forever look back on May 2008 as the beginning of my year in HELL.
Nevermind the swirl of doctors and pills and tests that we have all gone through and the endless researching and reading to find an answer. I absolutely was consumed with finding a cure - I was not going to let this ruin my life. I was absolutely glued to my computer screen searching every LD site I could find.
Then later, when Under Our Skin came out (I bought an advance copy), I watched it over and over while I cried seemingly endless tears. But I refused to allow this to happen to me. Mine is a story of strength and perserverance and just plain stubborness on my part. Even from the beginning I made my mind up that this THING was NOT going to get me. I was going to beat it.
And I have beat it. Thanks to self-determination, excellent nutrition, LOTS of exercise, and meditative positive thinking. Also, with support from my husband and an excellent local LPN, the only one in the medical community who would listen and help me with meds and support, and a team of online supporters.
I have WON this battle. I am symptom free now for over 3 months. No meds, no brain fog, no fatigue, no rash, nothing. I really am free of this dreaded disease. I now have my life back - whoooooooppppppeeeee!
The Lance Armstrong of Lyme disease
10/31/08 15:03
Caryn "CJ" Jaffe is pure bottled sunshine, a powerful and amazing model for those of us who are sick and determined to get better. She calls herself the Lance Armstrong of Lyme disease. Although she is "bombarded with Lyme symptoms every day," she's worked hard and prepared to compete in an ironman event on Saturday, November 1. What's the lesson for the rest of us? We can do it too. Maybe not race in an ironman, however, we can find the inner strength to set a big goal and then work to reach it, no matter what obstacles are in our way.
"I found out my bib number is 81 (no idea how I ended up with such a low number...it doesn't mean anything but it's kinda cool!)," she told us. "People can go to ironmanlive.com and search for me by name or bib number on race day, 11/1/08."
"I am starting to get very emotional about being a part of this race," says CJ. "I honestly never thought I could make it back to being this kind of an athlete. It truly is a miracle of sorts. I cannot wait to race. Just to get to that starting line is leaving me speechless. I am excited to see what the journey holds during and afterwards!"
Please follow CJ's race online, and forward this story to anyone you know who could use a shot of inspiration. I recently interviewed CJ for our Lyme Success Stories, so members can also listen to her tell her remarkable story. This little firecracker is also going to make a huge explosion with the book she's writing about her struggles with Lyme disease and her grit and determination in fighting her way back to an active life, one that even Lance Armstrong would be impressed by!
It's no coincidence that many of the people who are beating Lyme are dedicated to regular physical exercise. Ask your Lyme-aware doctor about starting an exercise program that is appropriate for your condition.
Ready...set...get better!
"I found out my bib number is 81 (no idea how I ended up with such a low number...it doesn't mean anything but it's kinda cool!)," she told us. "People can go to ironmanlive.com and search for me by name or bib number on race day, 11/1/08."
"I am starting to get very emotional about being a part of this race," says CJ. "I honestly never thought I could make it back to being this kind of an athlete. It truly is a miracle of sorts. I cannot wait to race. Just to get to that starting line is leaving me speechless. I am excited to see what the journey holds during and afterwards!"
Please follow CJ's race online, and forward this story to anyone you know who could use a shot of inspiration. I recently interviewed CJ for our Lyme Success Stories, so members can also listen to her tell her remarkable story. This little firecracker is also going to make a huge explosion with the book she's writing about her struggles with Lyme disease and her grit and determination in fighting her way back to an active life, one that even Lance Armstrong would be impressed by!
It's no coincidence that many of the people who are beating Lyme are dedicated to regular physical exercise. Ask your Lyme-aware doctor about starting an exercise program that is appropriate for your condition.
Ready...set...get better!
Going for Gold in spite of Lyme
09/08/08 12:46
23-year-old champion archer Mel Clarke of Great Britain was asked what it meant to be preparing for the Summer Paralympic Games in Bejing, which opened Sunday.
"The honor to represent your country at that level, it's incredible. I didn't think I was going to have the opportunity."
Lack of confidence in her athletic ability was not the reason for Clarke's doubt. Rather, it was a tick bite that had resulted in Lyme disease.
In 2003, Clarke was paralyzed and partially blinded by Lyme disease. She was told she'd never shoot the bow again. Since age 11, she has used a wheelchair due to arthritis. A fearless competitor, she rejected the notion of giving up her dream of gold. Instead she worked hard to heal from Lyme's brutal symptoms and recover movement, sight and agility. Three and a half years ago she began training for the 2008 Paralympic Games.
The Summer Paralympics began in Rome in 1960, for athletes with physical, mental or sensory disabilities. They are held in the same host city as the Olympic Games, and run by the same organization. They begin three weeks after the Olympics closing ceremony. "Para" is from a Greek word for "alongside," and is not related to "paralyzed."
Mel Clarke currently holds 20 county records, 10 national able-bodied records and eight world records. In addition to going for the gold in Bejing over the next few weeks, she is also eagerly anticipating competing in her home turf in the London Olympic Games in 2012.
"The honor to represent your country at that level, it's incredible. I didn't think I was going to have the opportunity."
Lack of confidence in her athletic ability was not the reason for Clarke's doubt. Rather, it was a tick bite that had resulted in Lyme disease.
In 2003, Clarke was paralyzed and partially blinded by Lyme disease. She was told she'd never shoot the bow again. Since age 11, she has used a wheelchair due to arthritis. A fearless competitor, she rejected the notion of giving up her dream of gold. Instead she worked hard to heal from Lyme's brutal symptoms and recover movement, sight and agility. Three and a half years ago she began training for the 2008 Paralympic Games.
The Summer Paralympics began in Rome in 1960, for athletes with physical, mental or sensory disabilities. They are held in the same host city as the Olympic Games, and run by the same organization. They begin three weeks after the Olympics closing ceremony. "Para" is from a Greek word for "alongside," and is not related to "paralyzed."
Mel Clarke currently holds 20 county records, 10 national able-bodied records and eight world records. In addition to going for the gold in Bejing over the next few weeks, she is also eagerly anticipating competing in her home turf in the London Olympic Games in 2012.
Marguerite's Lyme story
08/22/08 18:03
"It's been a rollercoaster," says Marguerite, who began looking for a Lyme literate doctor when she first contracted the disease many years ago. She had just experienced the death of her second husband. She had two adorable puppies, and was active in church, taking yoga, working and staying physically fit when she discovered she had Lyme disease. Living in the heartland of Lyme in Fairfield, Connecticut, she was bitten more than once.
She got herself to an infectious disease doctor the minute she detected a tick bite, and was given short courses of doxycycline, which she now suspects were not long enough. She even received the controversial Lyme vaccine, which was only available for a brief period of time due to its ineffectiveness.
This is a frustrating and familiar story: Marguerite's Lyme symptoms began as flu-like feelings and migraine headaches. Her severe low back pain and neurological challenges made it very difficult to work, even though her company allowed her to work from home. She developed apnea, insomnia, painful swelling in the joints and more. She's gone to three infectious disease doctors who she says won't even listen to her positive test results for Lyme. Today, she uses patches for pain control, and is actively looking for a Lyme aware doctor to treat her.
We wish you well, Marguerite!
Members can listen to Marguerite's story. Please consider joining the LDRD.
She got herself to an infectious disease doctor the minute she detected a tick bite, and was given short courses of doxycycline, which she now suspects were not long enough. She even received the controversial Lyme vaccine, which was only available for a brief period of time due to its ineffectiveness.
This is a frustrating and familiar story: Marguerite's Lyme symptoms began as flu-like feelings and migraine headaches. Her severe low back pain and neurological challenges made it very difficult to work, even though her company allowed her to work from home. She developed apnea, insomnia, painful swelling in the joints and more. She's gone to three infectious disease doctors who she says won't even listen to her positive test results for Lyme. Today, she uses patches for pain control, and is actively looking for a Lyme aware doctor to treat her.
We wish you well, Marguerite!
Members can listen to Marguerite's story. Please consider joining the LDRD.