How has Lyme Disease affected your life?
I was a wild thing – backpacking through Europe and Africa, drinking, sleeping in train stations and generally not giving a rats a$$. I came home with Lyme but didn’t know it. All I know was something was very wrong – a few somethings were wrong with my body. I tested negative for Lyme initially and carried on seeing a mary-go-round of specialists for 3 years. It was rough. I couldn’t walk for a few days at my worst. How did Lyme affect my life? Well, my days of traveling the world came to a gloomy end, but I found this insane passion for medical research. It began with Lyme and ventured off into physiology, anatomy, nutrition, genetics, immunity, etc. I love research and one of my favorite pastimes – no joke – is shopping for used medical text books. Lyme ultimately affected me in a bittersweet way. I didn’t get the life I thought I’d have, but I became more compassionate and started living my life not just for me but for everyone in this boat with me. I am happy – not that I got Lyme – but that I experienced hardships in my life that have put me on the next level of spirituality than I previously had reached. My travels were about soul-searching, afterall, so Lyme has been quite the journey.
What inspires you?
Strength. When I see others and myself genuinely and confidently share that they are feeling great because of x, y, or z, it motivates me. When I feel grrrreat, physically, I keep rolling with it, exercising, hanging out with the world and loving life. Being strong and healthy is the easiest and most effective way to stay in remission. I don’t like losing momentum. I don’t take any day off from good health, from my blog ItsNotJustLyme.com, or from remembering to be grateful. I don’t like losing momentum.
“The more grateful you are, the more goodies you get.” – Louise Hay