Aside from the tick images from the internet, 100% is from the April MM3 & a few pieces from March's MM3.
The journaling:
New Years Eve - 2007. I woke up with vertigo, strange... It was so severe I almost vomited. That day was the beginning of 5+ years of agony, debilitating pain, a myriad of strange symptoms, like an alien had taken control of my normally healthy body. I was a mess & didn’t know why. As the months progressed, my doctor had no clue, other than my labwork proved something was amiss. She threw up her hands, sent me to a rheumatologist who decided to bequest me with a diagnosis of the week. He was condescending, prescribed prednisone for me, and then later wanted me on methotrexate. Against my better judgement, I took the prednisone for a month. His final diagnosis was rheumatoid arthritis, he rattled off the RA website & told me to read up on it. So I did, but my symptoms didn’t match RA. I had hip issues, arm & shoulder issues, knee pain, racing heart rates. My pain was so intense I couldn’t dress myself, I couldn’t roll over in bed. I screamed getting into the car, I screamed trying to take a shower. But the “good” doctor did one thing. The RA site had some Lyme links, I clicked on them, started reading case studies that sounded like me. At that point, I was convinced I had Lyme. Out of 40+ Lyme symptoms, in May 2008 I had 30 of them. The nearest Lyme-literate doctor was up in Fond du Lac, 120 miles away. I called for an appointment, but he was so booked in advance, I couldn’t get in for another 3 months. And so I just hung on to hope, screamed with pain & slept a lot. When I finally met my doctor, I cried with relief. After hearing my symptoms, my story, he was convinced I had classic Lyme. 18 vials of blood & extensive labwork confirmed it. And so began my SLOW and lengthy journey back to health. Lyme is not easy to rid. I was on antibiotics for a couple of years, took supplements to bolster my immune system. The pain gradually subsided, but it took years to find relief. In March 2013 I was released, with yearly checkups. I am lucky, I am whole again, I am pain-free. It has changed me, it has humbled me, it has made me a healthier individual.
And the quote which is SO true:
And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.
-Haruki Murakami
