How it all began...

My story with Lyme started 16 years ago when I was 16. Somehow I managed get covered by the tiniest ticks I have ever seen while on a hiking trip in North Carolina. In order to get rid of them, I picked them off and squished them between my thumbnails like any thinking teenager would do. Nothing bad came out of that for 6 months until I got the flu. The flu triggered the dormant Lyme disease and an auto-immune disease called Sjogren's Syndrome. My mom did some research and discovered that I had Lyme disease. Except she couldn't prove it to the doctors who wanted a physical test that would say I had Lyme. They said she was crazy; they labeled her an overprotective mother; they said she had borderline Munchausen syndrome; they said Lyme did not exist in North Carolina. And still, my loving, dedicated, frustrated mom ever persisted in taking me to doctors, trying to get that diagnosis.

It took 8, read that, EIGHT years to find a doctor who would treat me. By then, Joel and I were married. The doctor wasn't even in Raleigh, so we drove west. Now, eight years later, Joel drives me north to see the doctor. I will not mention my practitioner's name on this blog for his protection, so we'll call him "Best-Doctor-Ever." I started oral antibiotics immediately. I improved, but the medicines were always hard on my stomach because of my acid reflux. I did treatment off and on and had been off for the last two years or so to give my stomach time to heal.

Eventually, I got super sick with the Lyme, and by last summer it was obvious that something had to be done. Joel, my kind and understanding husband, left the ultimate choice up to me because we both knew how terrible the treatment was going to be (you get much worse before you get better). I was approved for IV therapy done at home. We visit "Best-Doctor-Ever" once a month or once every two months. We bring new medicines home after every visit; we pay tons of money to get me better. I get therapies that insurance companies won't pay for or even touch with a ten foot pole. We were told that the treatment costs could be as low as $35,000 and as high $60,000 or $70,000. These figures only cover our medical costs (IV medications, doctors' visits, etc...) We need help from you, --our family, friends, and acquaintances. We need help from people who may not know us but may have a link to Lyme. You can't just leave the Lyme alone and expect it to go away. Why not? Because LYME DISEASE KILLS. A great resource to learn about Lyme Disease is the documentary aptly named "Under Our Skin." You can find out about the documentary on their website http://www.underourskin.com/

While I'm thankful that my Lyme has not been life threatening, I desperately need to have a better quality of life. There is a donation button below that will allow you to donate to our medical fund. Right now we are trying to raise $50,000 dollars to cover my treatment. However, the price could fluctuate based on what treatments I receive. Please, donate. If you can't donate, pray that God would lift people up to donate.