A Chronic Illness isn’t the end of your life,
It’s the start of a new journey.
I thought that my diagnosis meant the end of my life but instead I am starting to understand that this is the beginning of a new life, one that may always look a little different from average but that doesn’t mean I can’t make an amazing one for myself.
If I can give hope to one person going through similar struggles then everything I’ve gone through won’t be for naught.
Chronic Lyme
Usually transmitted by the bite of a tick, chronic lyme is very difficult to diagnose and even harder to treat. It has been nicknamed ‘the great imitator’ because symptoms can show up differently in individuals and most chronic lyme patients are misdiagnosed multiple times before they confirm a chronic lyme infection.
Lyme Co-infections
Like chronic lyme, the co-infections can be difficult to diagnose and treat both because of the variety of symptoms and the vast types of presentation in different patients. Trying to treat one and not the others can lead to frustration and persisting symptoms.
Mycotoxins
A fancy way of saying high levels of mold. For someone like me the body does not recognize and detox mold so anytime there is exposure it stays in the body and poisons it.
Finding hope in diagnosis and treatment.
Life when chronically ill can be difficult, especially when you don’t know what’s wrong or how to treat it. I struggled for over 8 years with health issues before finally getting a diagnoses in late 2021. I was hopeless before that, and even since, I struggle sometimes when looking towards the future and what mine will look like with no cure currently available, but there is hope, and I am fighting everyday to find it.
This is where I want to be.
Everyday I fight to regain my health and to improve so I can get back to the active, athletic person that I am and want to be. My journey doesn’t start or end with my diagnosis, that is merely a small part of who I am.
It’s a journey.
I believe that one day I will be able to do all the things I love without fear of symptom flair ups and without having to plan my life completely around Lyme, co-infections, and mold symptoms. Until then I will work hard to make a good life for myself, and to bring light to these misunderstood and often overlooked illnesses.