Thank you Lyme Warriors!

Thank you Lyme Warriors!

At this time of year, it is hard for me to not reflect on the past. Those Christmases that were spent with our beloved family and friends that are no longer here with us. Those obstacles that you had to overcome. Those most memorable moments that would have been a laugh if they had ended up on “America’s Funniest Videos.” I also take time to count my blessings.

One of my biggest blessings: I have been able to meet one of the strongest, endearing and caring people; I like to think of them as “Lyme Warriors.”   There are individuals that not only have to fight to get heard, fight to get treated, and fight to go on, but they also have to endure the feeling of being “invisible” or “ignored” and forgotten. (I know I was there once upon a time.)

“…Lyme Disease is one hell of a battle, the battle to get a diagnosis, a battle to fight the disease, a battle to get your insurance to pay for your treatment, a battle to get the medical establishment to recognize and treat this disease as a very serious disease that it is…”

~ Joy Burdge PA Public Lyme Hearing 2012

What do I mean? Family members that say: “if you did this, you’d feel better” or “so and so did this and there doing well now.” Or, “just suck it up and work through the pain”. And, oh yes, “you’re not sick” you’re just pretending. Or, “you could have just … cleaned up the house, that’s not much” etc. The thing is that you’ve tried everything you can think of to be well and you work through the pain every single day.

Do you think that we have nothing better to spend your money on? Do you think that they like to get poked and prodded all the time only to find out that it didn’t work? Do those family and friends take the time to realize how much energy it takes to look normal and do those things that are expected of you? Do they realize that it takes every ounce of strength to hear them say to you: “Well, you look good?” Jeez, do they even realize the battle that you can utterly feel going on inside your body?

“Remember that the battle against Lyme disease is not a sprint. It is a marathon.”

~ Les Roberts

The Lyme Warrior gets up and out of bed every day so that they can hear those that have no clue what they endure daily. You know, they are the ones that get up and say they feel like dying, I hear it all the time from those that come down with the most horrendous flu, or the most horrendous cold, or the worst case of strep, you get my meaning. Lyme Warriors awaken to feel like this every day, or they have more “bad days” than “good days;” yet, they still push forward each and every day.

I thank you for being my friends. I thank you for sharing your experiences with me. I thank you for sharing the latest news. I thank you for keeping me up-to-date on what is happening in the Lyme Community!

Thanks to all of you for your support too!

Don’t lose hope and keep the faith.

Thank you Paul M and Doug F for the photo.