How has Lyme Disease affected your life?
Lyme Disease took my mind and my body. It made me crumble inside when I was once a healthy young mother with so much ambition and physical strength. I loved to dance, how I loved to dance anywhere and everywhere but the disease took my legs and feet, I am only 28 and now have severe peripheral neuropathy, my feet burn, my legs shoot with pain, standing is sometimes not an option, walking exhausts me. I use a cane and wear braces on my feet. Lyme took my brain too, thinking, talking, and configuring simple thoughts has become a chore. I don’t retain information, I stutter and fumble over my tongue to say words. I lose my train of thought and become confused very easily. I get migraines and headache that last for days, ringing in my ears, stomach problems, aching and stiff joints. I have extreme skin sensitivities, such as to touch, cold/heat, plus I’m prone to acne, rashes, and boils. Aside from the physical affects of Lyme, the emotional toll it takes is debilitating in itself, there is frustration, depression, anxiety, and so much fear. I get frustrated when I can’t clean my house, can’t walk my kids to the park, can’t carry on a conversation or just can’t feel good. The fear I try to push to the back of my mind, will I be able to perform my duties as a mother, will I get to watch them grow, will I be still be alive in a year, will I have to use a wheelchair soon, can I fight another day, and the most terrifying: what if one of my children contract Lyme?
Lyme has become my life, it consumes my body, and my days. I fight each day to get through and to have another day tomorrow, I am not garenteed another but I can do my best to make each one count, to make sure my family knows I love them, to be a friend, to lend advice, to encourage, and to raise awareness.
What inspires you?
My children inspire me, they give light to the darkness and make each day worth living. They are the reason I get out of bed, the reason I push through, and the reason I smile. The patience and support they give their sick mommy is inspiring.
“I am also inspired by the other Lyme sufferers, each story is unique but each goal is the same, to fight, to share, and to love.” – Anonymous