Today, along with my husband and daughter, I met with an LLNP (Lyme Literate Nurse Practitioner) and a holistic practitioner at the same time. They are the ones who will be coordinating my care through this difficult process. The appointment was 2 hours long and I walked in absolutely exhausted. The drive the day before was less than 4 hours, but it felt like we had just flown back from Okinawa. As soon as we checked into the hotel I hopped into bed and slept for more than 2 hours. After a good night's sleep (no less than 8 hours) we were up and ready to go to the clinic. I was so tired, but so glad that this would be the day that would change everything.
After a long appointment and a 12-vial blood draw for labs, it was time for lunch and then the trip home. I was given a new patient folder full of information on Lyme disease. Well, that's no surprise. See, I had already figured it out in December. Through people placed in my life at different times and different places, I can see how it all fit together.
When we lived near DC someone in our Sunday school class (who is now a dear friend) had recently been diagnosed with Lyme disease. We were comparing symptoms one day she said it sounded a lot like Lyme symptoms. I told her I had been bitten by a tick when I was 11 and the reactions that I had 10 days later and all through my life. Surely, I thought..."you can't have Lyme 33 years after a tick bite, can you?" According to most unreliable lab tests, most mainstream doctors, and the CDC...NO, you cannot have chronic Lyme. I've found that you absolutely can. What's the big secret? Why won't anyone, other than a handful of doctors considered quacks, believe you? There are so many sick people out there and the LLMDs who are treating them are helping them reclaim their lives. I don't consider them to be quacks. I think they are pioneers.