Welcome to my "Slice of Lyme"

Several times I’ve been asked to write a detailed account of my life with Lyme, but have always felt a kind of irony in doing so, as I don’t even know if there are words that can capture such an experience… Recently however, I've decided to take on this rather challenging task and promise to do my best - with the hopes that from it you will understand the unique circumstance I, and thousands of others like me are in. I'd like to take this opportunity to not only tell my story, but to offer support, love, and helpful ideas for my fellow "Lymies". I've found that this is often an illness that precipitates seclusion and reclusive behavior (and for good reason) - which is unfortunate and, through this media, is something that I'd like to help remedy if at all possible. Nothing like a good "community" feel - right? The other intended purposes of this blog is to hopefully do the following:
• 1. Raise awareness about the devastating affects of Late Stage Lyme Disease and their Co-Infections.
• 2. Provide information about the disease that will help both patients and their often bewildered caretakers. There will be support links, research links, healing ideas, recipes and meditations to practice -- and if all else fails - a page whose sole purpose is to make you LAUGH (for those really, really bad days : )
• 3. Share my experiences with this illness in hopes that it will help people who aren't affected by this disease understand what an extremely difficult climate it is to be in, and why so many people just aren't getting better. For those that DO have Lyme, I pray that at least some of the stories I have to tell will provide relief in knowing that you are not the only one going through this!
• 4. To generate much needed income for necessary medical treatments, not only for myself, but for others like me who simply don't have the means. There are several ways to do this, through online donations, by clicking on those damn "Adsense" links (an unfortunate necessity), through "Gratitude Paintings" (more on this later), or by being sponsored by a third party. Um...at this time I honestly don't know what that means, but I'm sure I'll find out (lol).
• 5. To give people like me HOPE! Such a beautiful, and empowering thing...

Before I finish my very first post, I'd like to point out that some of the things I will be telling you may seem contrary to popular belief, and in some instances downright blasphemous to the medical community. My only response to this well-known controversy is to simply say that I agree. There is a big conflict here and it saddens me.

With all of the respect I hold for Western Medicine, admiring and acknowledging leaps made and boundaries crossed over the past hundred years, I cannot put aside my visceral experience of this illness no matter how much I would like to.

Anyone can read something and understand it, but experiencing that something leads beyond a simple understanding to a complete and cemented knowing of it that cannot and will not be shaken from me.

Finally, I'd like to tell you that you are about to follow a 9 year story still in the making, chock filled with every kind of theatrical element invented, and I do intend to take a "No Holds Bar" approach to it, so sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!

Sarah