How has Lyme Disease affected your life? What inspires you?
Nancy passed away recently. Here is her “Lyme story”. Essentially, it the SAME story of each one of us. Please do yourself a favor and read it. It is imperative you know the actual facts of this illness. Not one person, young or old, is immune to the dreadfully high risk of this disease. Sadly, you have a greater chance of misdiagnosis and ineffective early treatment due to enormous ignorance surrounding tick borne illness. KNOWLEDGE TRULY IS KEY TO PREVENTION.
IN MEMORY OF A DEAR FRIEND. REST IN PEACE NANCY WHEELER. WE WILL CARRY ON IN YOUR NAME. WE WON’T FORGET YOU.
Nancy’s Lyme Story –– My Life Is Ticking Away
I am Nancy Wheeler, age 68, and I am infected with Lyme/Bartonella. My story is my own, but I have come to understand that it is similar to others.
I arrived at age 67, basically in perfect health. No medications, no sickness, and still functioning on my own. One day, in April of 2014, I was walking our two dogs in the woods on our land adjacent to our house. Everything went as usual or so I thought.
To make a long story short, later on that same day, I discovered what looked like a speck of dust on my left calf. I carefully removed it with a tweezers and realized that it was a tick. I thought the head was out, so I flushed it down the toilet, put some ointment on the post and continued my day.
About three days later, my left ankle was swollen and then four days later, my knee on my left leg was suffering and aching. Seven days after the bite, I was at my family doctor’s office. He didn’t think it was anything although it was plain to see the bite mark. He said, “No bulls-eye rash, it is not Lyme,” and sent me on my way.
The following week I was back and demanded a test for Lyme. He reluctantly did it and gave me a prescription for amoxicillin and sent me on my way. Some time later, my phone rang and I was told the Lyme test was negative. I was told I had rheumatoid arthritis and to come back and get some steroids. He called in a doxy prescription for 10 days and I refused the steroids.
When I returned to his office a month later, I was in even worse shape. The hot potato game began. It was a trip from one doctor to another. None would acknowledge Lyme and things continued to decline. I was basically unable to walk and four Lyme tests were negative.
I had all I could take and looked up a local Lyme support group. They sent me a list of all the LLMDs. Most required large sums of money laid out in advance and I realized that my benefits I had worked hard for for 31 years were no good.
I found an LLMD who was more than 100 miles away who took benefits. He did bloodwork of his own and it was finally confirmed that I had Lyme and Bartonella.
I spent the next six months on a roller coaster of pills, supplements and continued to go ever farther downhill. Almost a month later, I ordered the IGeneX test from California. It arrived the same week that my left foot locked up and refused to move.
My husband forced me to the emergency room at the local hospital. When I arrived, they wanted to know why I was there. I explained that my foot wouldn’t move, was extremely painful and my husband said, “She has Lyme disease.” Of course, they said, “there’s no Lyme Disease in Virginia” and so on… One of the doctors looked at me and said, “You look like a refugee from a concentration camp.” A few months later another said, “Emergency rooms are for sick people.”
When they noticed on my record that I lost 75 pounds, they decided to admit me. Three days later, nothing had been done. That same day an infectious disease doctor came into my room, told me to take some steroids, and see a Rheumatologist. I reluctantly took the steroids and was transferred to a rehab centre. Three weeks later my IGeneX results came back and Lyme was in four of five of my blood factors. I also went to a biologist/nutritionist who took a single drop of blood and you could see the spirochetes flowing through my blood and white cells were embedded with Bartonella.
When I went to the LLMD, they would not venture in IV therapy for fear of being caught. I went back to my family doctor of twenty years and showed him the results of my blood tests. He refused to acknowledge them or treat my Lyme/Bartonella. He said I was self diagnosing and needed to see a Rheumatologist.
I am currently detoxing, taking supplements and going to do bee venom therapy. If I go for IV antibiotics, I’ll have to sell my house, rob a bank or beg relatives for the $25,000 I’ll need that my 31 years of work benefits won’t cover.
Why should any sick person be forced to get treatment underground or go bankrupt trying to get well. I want someone to help us. We are a very sick group—thousands, millions are desperately looking for help. I am on a cane and hold out hope for remission.
Don’t forget me please.