Hello and Happy New Year!
I hope this update finds you well and blessed! My little
family is blessed and feeling excited about the future. I have several
blessings to share with you and as well as a few prayer requests.
It is official, I have chronic Lyme disease. That would go
under the blessing category. It is a blessing to finally have a name to all
these crazy symptoms. It is also a blessing because now I know what to pray
about and what to fight.
Before I go any further, I have a plea for you. Please be
your medical advocate. There are many knowledgeable doctors out there, but they
don’t live with you, so they can’t know everything that is going on with you.
Only you do! Also, we would have never found out what was wrong with me through
conventional testing and blood work. It pays to research and learn! This is so
important!
Okay, back from my scattered rant…
We have found a good doctor, who is open to many treatment
options. She is knowledgeable and spends much time talking with us. She spends
time asking good questions and is willing to research if she needs to. This is
a huge blessing! Thank you for your prayers while we were seeking a godly,
knowledgeable doctor. Also, most (not all) testing has been covered by our
insurance. And any prescriptions are also covered by our insurance. These are
also huge blessings!
We have a plan and are no longer wondering through life.
Having a plan of action against this crazy sickness is something that my heart
has been longing for. Yes, our plan is to continue to pray for healing, that
will never change, but we now have the ability to fight it with knowledge and
understanding as well. This is a blessing!
Lyme is a very tricky disease and can easily hide out for a
while before reeking havoc in your body. It is also not an easy disease to
treat as the symptoms are all very different for each person. It can also mimic
many other different kinds of diseases. If you are interested in more
information about Lyme, check out this website: http://www.columbia-lyme.org/ If you
think that you may have Lyme, please have testing done through this company
(they are the best at Lyme testing): http://www.igenex.com/Website/
The hardest part of the recovery from Lyme is that it takes time. Just like any
young person, I am ready to get on with the plans that we feel God has for us
and I am impatient. Please pray that I am patient for my healing!
Recovery from Lyme is not only time consuming, but it is
also costly. We have been so blessed and are thankful for the many ways that
God has taken care of us. He is truly faithful and we are so blown away by His
ways of providing for us. Please continue to pray that He blesses our finances,
so that we are able to continue treatments.
I am quickly finding out that Lyme treatments are
controversial in nature, because the disease itself is very controversial.
There are those that would try to scare you into only conventional treatments.
There are those that would try to scare you into only natural treatments. In a
nutshell, there are many scare tactics out there. Please pray that while
researching, fear would have no place in our hearts and decisions. Also, as we
research, please pray that we would have clear direction and peace about any
treatment options.
We are moving forward with three prescription antibiotics,
as well as probiotics and a prescription antifungal. This may seem crazy to
you, but there are specific reasons for each of these. I am also going to start
taking several supplements to help with liver function, detoxifying and immune
support. It may be kind of gross, but as the Lyme dies it releases toxins that
the body is just not able to handle by itself, so I need a healthy liver and
several ways to detoxify. My immune system is seriously compromised, so it is
very important to support my immune system, as well as physically staying away
from as much sickness as I can. Please pray for these treatments to act
quickly, so there use is not prolonged. Also pray that I am protected from
additional sickness.
I won’t sugar coat it, recovery from Lyme is a painful
recovery. As I mentioned earlier, the Lyme releases toxins as it dies. This can
cause increased and worsened symptoms before getting any better. My symptoms
indicate that my illness has progressed to the point of late neurological
damage. Sounds worse than it is, but it means that my illness is in the late
stages of damage and I will most likely have a longer and more painful recovery
than if we had treated it earlier. Please pray that God gives strength and
endurance during recovery.
The Lyme has opened the door to many other problems that we
will have to fight against quickly. I have an underactive thyroid, which we
will be working on by way of a natural hormone. I am also dealing with symptoms
of adrenal fatigue and a lack of iron. I am still on supplements that will help
with these problems and am researching more natural ways to combat these
problems. These may seem like a small thing compared to the Lyme, but they are
very serious and something that we need to get under control quickly. So, my
prayer here is for quick healing, knowledge and wisdom in choosing treatment
options, and financial resources for the treatments and supplements (which are
not covered by insurance).
Thank you for taking this journey with me through your
prayers! We are confident that the Lord is working! We are also very confident
that He has a plan for me and my family! Again, we are excited about the future
and look forward to more joyful blessings as we journey together. I am learning
much and would love to share more if you ever want to know more about my
journey. Just ask J
Many hugs,
Joy
P.S. I just realized that many of you may wonder about
our little girl and how my illness may affect her (and any future kiddos). Lyme can be
passed to a child during pregnancy. So, we will be getting our girly tested at her
next pediatrician appointment. She can be a carrier but never have any
problems, but we want check to see what her risks are.
