Jamie’s Story – Chronic Lyme Burned My Life to the Ground

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No amount of plucky optimism or high pain tolerance could hide the fact that I was sick. Joint pain, severe night sweats, headaches, muscle and body pain, sensitivity to light and sound, anxiety, depression, burning in my bladder, stomach upset, loss of appetite, brain fog so severe I couldn’t read or park my car, and more had been plaguing me for over four years by the time I got my Lyme disease diagnosis.

I think the worst symptom for me was the cognitive decline. A voracious lifelong reader, I am just now able to enjoy reading again after almost a year of treatment with a Lyme literate MD. My symptoms are about 80% better now, but flares still occur and require rest and treatment. I was an athlete before I got sick. Now, I’m a slower, softer version of myself, but I look forward to skiing, biking and paddling again someday when I’m more recovered.

“Chronic disease was a forest fire that burned my life to the ground. Once I stopped fighting the fire and let it burn away the things I had once thought valuable, I began to learn from it and accept where I was. The empty spaces gave me room for new growth and my life moved in a different direction.” Gregg Kirk, The Gratitude Curve

Follow Jamie on Instagram: @lettersandlavendef7