May 20th, 2010

I was a completely healthy, happy and normal person as little as three months ago — or so I thought. My life was pretty much going in the direction I wanted it to go in. I wasn’t perfect, but I had my whole life ahead of me to accomplish all the things I wanted to — or so I thought.

One day out of the blue, I got really tired. I was too tired to do the things I loved to do. You could have asked me to go on a shopping spree, and I would have declined I decided to go to the doctor for it because I was so sick of being in bed.

The very next day my life was changed dramatically. I woke up unable to speak correctly. I was extremely confused. It took me forever to remember where my toothbrush was (on the sink, of course). I became light and sound sensitive. Every day it was getting worse and the ER was saying that I was completely healthy. I was tested for everything. I cried in sadness that I didn’t have a brain tumor because the pain I was in was unbearable, and if that meant brain surgery to escape the pain, I was ready.

I had many symptoms. I had over 60 things wrong with me one day out of the blue.

My gums were dripping blood when I brushed my teeth, I could not remember anything or concentrate, I could barely read, I couldn’t comprehend numbers, I had severe physical pain all over, I had a weird rash on my head, I was weak, I lost my balance constantly, I had every digestive problem that possibly exists, I was losing weight for no reason, I had severe allergies — to everything, and I mean EVERYTHING that went in or touched my body or I was around, I had an allergy to it, instead of sleeping all the time, I could no longer sleep, I was having small seizures, I was twitching, my vision was blurry, I was having panic attacks.

I lied in bed for a month with those problems (and I am a lucky one) until I found the correct doctor.

What was wrong with me? I was bit by a tick walking through the grass and contracted not only Lyme Disease but also other tick borne illnesses. Sounds rare, right? It’s not, and it could happen to you! It is spreading 7 times faster than HIV/AIDS.

Why did it show up over night after the doctors appointment? I was given Cipro for an infection and it caused a Herxheimer reaction.

When was I bit by this tick? I was bit almost 2 years before I knew something was wrong, which put me into stage 3 Lyme Disease by the time I had any problems. Only 40% of people notice the tick or the rash. I never went camping and was not at “high risk”. It is also in every single state in America. I live in a large city, not the country.

What have I lost because of being bit by a tick:

My home. I actually still own it, I just cannot live there because I cannot cook for myself or let my dogs out because I am too sick sometimes. After a few months of treatment, I was able to return home to, for the most part, take care of everything myself, such as bathing and feeding myself, and also a bit of cleaning.

My cat that I had for 9 years because she was giving me way too many allergy problems.

My husband. I thought he was great (of course that is why I married him), but I left him because of the shocking way he treated me during the month I was too sick to get out of bed. I now feel like I was sleeping with the devil, but I’m sure I’m not the first woman in history to make such a big mistake. This was a blessing in disguise and of course not because of the tick bite.

My health. My personality. My ability to think logically at times.

I cannot drive any longer. I still own my car.

I cannot eat anything with sugar or carbs. If I eat ANY sugar or carbs, I will get extremely sick. I have a special way to brush my teeth.

Will I possibly lose my life? I am seeing the best doctor in the United States when it comes to this disease, and I think I will live, but I feel like I am dying a lot of the time and question if I will. Yes, you can absolutely die from Lyme Disease.

Money. I have spent thousands because Lyme Disease treatment is not covered by ANY health insurance and my doctor is 3 hours away, so I also pay for hotel rooms when I visit him. My health insurance covers about 3 or 4 of the over 39 pills I take a day. A lot of the pills I take are supplements because I am severely malnourished.

Yes, all of this because a tick, and I haven’t even covered the half of it.

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