The Day is Here

https://www.facebook.com/events/280186425407923/

Tonight is the screening of Under Our Skin in Raleigh North Carolina

We will be hosting a screening from 6 to 8:30 tonight in Park Shops room 210 which is located at 101 Current Drive, Raleigh NC.  Parking in the SAS Lot is free after 5pm and there is a map on the facebook event page. 

We will be having a raffle for $2 per ticket and a question & answer session afterwards with a Lyme Literate Doctor (my personal hero). 

Please consider coming.  

After a month plus of planning, calling, texting and breathing --- it has finally arrived.

Hopefully pictures will be posted shortly (I have GOT to find my card reader)

Day of plans

Tropical Storm Beryl is barreling its way into our lives via the way of rain.  There is a down pour out there and I don't like to drive in the rain.  However, I have a day of plans and I won't let a little Beryl of rain stop me.

First stop.  My friend's house to watch American Idol Finale because in the move, I totally missed it because we didn't have our dish set up yet.
 
Second stop.  Lawyer's office to sign on my portion of the deed.  Our old house is being sold today. 

Third stop.  Back home to meet up with a Lyme friend. 

I might get rained on.  I might get soaked.  However, it WILL be a great day. 

IV Day

I have a love hate relationship with IV days.  I hate having to get stuck (twice).  Today was a two stick kind of day.

However, I love the company.  I got there and met two new friends (everyone is a friend --- I know no strangers, just friends I haven't met yet).  I talked and talked the entire IV.  Usually I fall asleep around the 2 hour mark, but today --- because I haven't been able to be around any people over the last few weeks, I talked and talked and talked.  We all commiserated over our Lyme life.

I invited them all to the screening on Thursday.

I stayed and talked after my IV was through.  Today it took exactly 3 hours.  Usually it takes longer.  So I was pleased about that.  I know I was dehydrated because usually I have to go to the bathroom 3 or 4 times during my IV.  Today, I didn't have to go at all.  I only went once during the entire time I was there and that was about 30 minutes after I finished with the IV and I've only gone once since I've returned home.  That's what Zith does to me.

On another note ---

Tomorrow is going to be a crazy day.  First hanging out with Friend A, then going to the lawyers to sign for our house being sold and then hanging out with Friend B.  So pumped about tomorrow.  Then Thursday night, we have the screening for the documentary Under Our Skin.  Pumped about that too.  Very excited.  Then, Friday --- I start Mepron.  Scared, very scared.  Will live though.

Well, I'm tired.  I'm taking Zith and hitting the bed.

The Zithromax Beginning

So as you all know, I was feeling rather unwell this past week.   I went to Target Pharmacy to pick up my Zithromax on the 24th.  This should not have been a problem as I had gone in on the 22nd to make sure they had the medications that I would be filling on the 1st.  They assured me that they did and even if they didn't have for a full fill -- that they would have enough for a partial fill. 

So when I started feeling extra crummy and then extremely crummy on the 23rd and 24th, I marched into Target that afternoon with full intention of picking up Zithromax.  I tell them what I want and head on to shop around when all the sudden I hear, "Would Jennifer ______ come to the pharmacy.?" 

Now as much as I'm in Target (at least once or twice a week), I have NEVER heard an over announcement for anything.   My hubby & I looked at each other and one of us said, "That can't be good."  We made a bee line for the pharmacy and the pharmacist made her way over.  She explained that they didn't have it  right now.   It took every ounce of me not to cry, scream, cough or vomit.  Yeah have I mentioned that by this point I was coughing so hard that I was vomiting?  NOT COOL. 

I asked for a simple partial fill (knowing that is a typical response to my medication fills and that if they had enough for a partial fill, they would have done so).  They simply didn't have enough in the milligrams prescribed to even send me home for a dose much less 3 days.  I took a deep breath and was told to come back the next day. It was that night that I got sick --- really sick --- if I had started the antibiotics earlier, I wouldn't have gotten that sick sick. 

I picked up the next day.  That visit also made me mad and I kind of showed it a bit.  They had it you see --- and the last time I was on Zithromax, they sent me home with bottles to mix myself.  The thing about liquid antibiotics is that they expire very quickly.  They expire within 10 days of mixing them.  So they mixed for the first 10 days and send me home with the rest of the month and explained how to mix them to my husband.  Then said I could come back if I had any problems.

Well ---- they decided they couldn't do that!  (Now goodness if I were on a 5 days on 2 days off repeat regiment, I'd be royally screwed)  So they send me home with my 10 day supply and told me I had to come back for the second part and then the third part. Well we are in and out of target enough that it shouldn't be a problem, but I told them that if they gave away my medication to someone else, there would be a huge problem.They showed me my 2nd and 3rd bags and assured me that I would have my medications on time without missing any.

Well I start a new medication (another liquid antibiotic) and if I also have to go in every 10 days for that one ---- and the 10 days are different than the Zithromax, I'm going to be hot!  Because not only do I have to call a day or two before hand (which is at day 8), they can't mix them until I arrive at the store.

How on earth am I going to remember to do that for three different medications?  that would be 9 phone calls on day "8, 16, 24" and pick ups on day 10, 20 and 30. That's visiting Target Pharmacy 9 days out of the month that I'm dealing with target pharmacy when I *could* be mixing it up my own and only having to go to.  18 out of 30 (31) days of dealing with pharmacy.  That doesn't include the 4th one of Doxy so drop in an extra phone call and pick up.  20 out of 30 days.  Seriously.  Just give me my powder and let me mix it.  The directions are ON THE BOX. 

Hit bottle on counter top to mix up powder
Add 15 ML of water.
Shake well
Put in Fridge.

I think I can do that!  Seriously.  I've done it before.  Many Many times and then the Zithromax is fresh every 2 days. I remember having this problem at the very beginning of my treatments and by the end oft he first month, they were so annoyed with me --- well they realized how many times I was there in the month) that they suggested me taking home the powder to mix myself. 

*sigh*

I think I'm just worried about taking Mepron and I'm taking it out on the Zithromax. 

PS. I'm getting an IV today.  while I'm on my monthly and while I"ve been sick.  My veins are probably going to be shot.  I avoid IV's during "that time of the month" because my veins are always worse.  But I wasn't thinking when I scheduled it.

PPS.  Under Our Skin Screening is on Thursday and I'm so excited.  I hope that my cough is gone and that my voice is back.  Yes, I've had laryngitis. 

To Remember

Today is not a day about sales or cookouts or hanging out.

Today is a day to remember.

To remember those we've lost who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

I know the widow of one such man.


I never got to meet Daniel.  However, I knew his wife.  She was one of the best friends of my best friend's sister. She was one of my Dad's favorite students, if there are such a things as favorite students.  She fell in love with a guy and they got married in July of 09.  Then in February, they received the call that Daniel had been killed over in Iraq.  He was only days from his scheduled R&R leave.

So today --- let's remember our North Carolina hero.  Cpl Daniel T. O'Leary.

And please also remember my friend from middle & high school today.  He is over seas fighting for our country.  Every time he leaves, I'm worried until he returns.  This time he lost a few buddies in his unit just about a month ago.  So pray for my friend Kenneth.  One of my first friends when we moved and his family has a special place in my heart.

The one about the Massager

My husband and I went shopping a few years ago.  I sat in this chair that had a back massage mat.  I was in heaven.  It massaged the back and the shoulders and had heat. I sat in the chair every time we went to the store.  It was much too expensive so we never picked one up.  He surprised me with this beauty on Christmas that year.  Our old house was not set up appropriately for me to use the back massage seat.  I used it once and sadly it was too cumbersome for me to use it again.

Fast forward 2 and 1/2 years.  We move to the new house and yesterday we went on the hunt for a computer chair.  In our old home, my computer was set up in front of the futon (that we used as our couch).  Our need for a computer chair for me was non existent.  We went into an office store and I tried out a few chairs, but all of them were way out of our price range.  Then I sat in one that screamed my name.  It was dark brown for one and had a tall back and was comfortable.  There was no price tag.  In general if we have to ask, it's too much.

Sales associate pops over after a bit (after hearing us chuckle about the UGLY white computer chair with bright chrome accents) and we ask him how much it was.  It was just the right price!  So we brought that bad boy home.  Afterwards, we went to our old house and picked up the massage mat.  *sigh*  Oh the joy.  I have been using that bad boy off and on all day.

It can massage the back.  You can choose the lower back, upper back or both.  You can choose a rolling  or a shiatsu motion.You can vary the width in which it rolls.  Then there is a shoulder option.  You can adjust the height of the shoulder massage so it hits in just the right spot.  Then, there is the heat option.  You can choose to use the heat or not.  There is also a "Demo" button so it will do a variety of things.

Perfect for the after move soreness.

Out with the old and in with the new

This morning I sit here waiting,  waiting for my husband and his best friend and son to return with our old stuff from our old house.  I sit here waiting for them together to finally clear out our old house and old shed to bring here to our new house.  The next time I go to the old house, it will be empty.  The home we created there will be gone.  Dings of our presence will remain until the new owner paints and re-carpets. 

Our new house is becoming home.  In fact, it was home the first day we walked in before we even knew what the inside looked like.  As soon as we parked, I said to myself, "This is our home."  As we walked through the door to hear the realtor say, "Come on in," I very quietly uttered, "This is our home."  As the realtor left to let someone else in another house down the street, we perused the first floor.  I said quite audibly ---- This is it.  This is our home.

We were able to check out each room and I could almost envision how  wanted each room to look.  We have now been here a full week.  We are taking it one room at a time leaving the majority of our stuff in the garage.  Our big "project" is in the Master Bathroom.  We replaced the light fixtures in their already.  Next on our list is something we have in hands already are the outlet covers, outlets and switches.  We want them to be dark to match the cabinets.  If they are going to stand out, they might as well stand out in a really awesome way instead of a, "Oh those are really ugly standard white outlets."

The thing on want list is a new towel bar, hand towel bar, robe hook and a toilet paper holder.  The total price on all four things is about $90 so we will wait for another pay check to come in before we bite the bullet and order them on Amazon.  Then, we need a light fixture to match.  We haven't decided on that light fixture yet.  We didn't realize it, but the builder put brushed nickel for almost everything, but in this one bathroom ... they used a bronze light.  Now we love the look of bronze, but we've decided to keep the look of brushed nickel in the master bathroom.  We may just switch out the light for one of the lights upstairs for now, but we may just leave it until we can purchase the right light. Why do the work twice?

***

Out with the old washer and in with the new.

So for about five years, I have been itching to get a new washer and dryer.  However ours were working "Just fine" so I couldn't really justify getting what I wanted.  Well when we decided to buy the new home and sell our old one, we justified the new purchase.  Why bring our old ratty 14 year old set with us when we could buy exactly what I wanted.

LET ME TELL YOU ---- I LOVE THEM! They arrived Thursday morning.  The washer is REALLY neato.  It has a clear lid on top so you can see your clothes being washed!  I watched laundry Thursday morning in lieu of television (OH yeah that's right we didn't have television or internet yet at that point!). 

Now this set of machines --- are $1200 a piece!  You think I paid that?  Well, we *knew* based on many many sales associates telling us that they would be on a great sale on Memorial Day Weekend.  We also knew that we could wait a week to do laundry after moving in so we waited.  We were told that the sale would start Thursday.  I knew that the old sale was set to expire on Tuesday.  So on a whim, I got online and found out on Wednesday that they were already on sale for $890!  Then, we had a coupon! My friends.  We bought each for only 800 each (which is about 200 dollars lower than we typically can find them on sale)!  Now yes, we could have gotten less expensive set --- however, these are a set that I have been itching for since they came out on the shelf and that pretty gray color is to die for! And in case you are wondering, unfortunately you can't watch the clothes tumble.  The glass is two dark to see through.  Bummer, but the clothes dry MUCH faster than my old machine.  One load would have taken me 90 minutes to dry at least in the old machine.  The new machine ---- 37 minutes!

I LOVE THEM!

Out with the old and in with the new!

Feeling Unwell

On top of the side effects of Lyme Disease and Co-infections, I am sick.  I'm not sure what ailment plagues me this week.  I keep getting different things.  If I had to put a name to it, I'd either say I have a case of Influenza, Sinus Infection or the dreaded Mono (I was exposed a week ago).

Yesterday was awful.  Two days ago, I would have sworn it was mono. Yesterday morning, I was sore it was a sinus infection.  By last night, I'm sure I have some strain of influenza.  Who knows what I have, all I know is that my fever is finally gone.

I've pretty much been on Tylenol since Monday due to pain so until I stopped taking it due to the pain going away, I didn't have a fever. Well yesterday afternoon the fever hit and it hit hard.  Every hour it went up a full degree.  By the end of my favorite show (SYTYCD -- which is back yeah!), my temp had reached 101.6 and by midnight it was almost 103. This was even with Tylenol.  I finally fell asleep at some point and when I woke up this morning, I felt cool.  My temp was back down to 98.6 (which is still high for me, but compared to 102.5, I'll take it!).

House progress:

We removed the two undesirable light fixtures in the master bathroom and replaced them with pretty ones courtesy of Lowe's.    Now instead of two -two light fixtures, we have two  three light fixtures.  And, it matches our beach theme.  We had one of these at our old house, except we only used one 4 light fixture. 

We tried to buy a new ceiling fan for our bedroom and our general theory is to go big or go home so when we saw a 70 inch ceiling fan --- in our general style we bought it.  Welllllllllllllllllllllllllll   It would have worked, but there were several things we didn't like about it so we decided to take it back to the store.  Oh well.  What we have works for now.

We found four great blinds in the clearance section that we loved so we brought them home.  We pulled them out and two didn't have brackets and the other two didn't match in color.  Fantastic.  So we took the two without brackets back and found two more of the blinds we wanted at the other location.  We brought those home and finally had a matching set.  So we now have beautiful blinds in my office.  I jokingly call it my Lyme Advocacy Office.

The blinds kind of look like this (courtesy of lowe's website):

Next thing on our list is to replace the covers in the bathroom with some bronze colored covers and brown decorative switches & outlets.

Our goal is to make this house a home and not just a place we rest our heads at night. 

The Big Move (and #800)

I call it the big move, but not because of the distance.  I *know* God had a hand in every single aspect of our move.  From the very first moment we walked into the house to the moment I put the very first key in the very first lost ---  God had a hand in it all.

I absolutely do not like change.  I think change is horrible and I avoid it at all cost, even if it means I'm miserable.  So every single time my husband mentioned moving, I quickly changed the subject and kept on going.  I knew deep in my soul that me *wanting* to physically pack up every single item in our home and uproot it to another home would have to have divine intervention.

And God spoke very clearly the moment I walked into the home for the first time.  It couldn't have been clearer even though there was no big flashing sign written on the walls.  Not only did the financial aspect fall into place much quicker than anyone anticipated (honestly we were told when we first asked that August was the absolute earliest and there was no way that a spring move in date would be an option), but everything fell into place.  We took a chance by packing up 20 or so boxes before we even got the pre-finance approval.

Friday, I signed the paperwork and then I drove back to our old house to make a few phone calls.  After all, we needed power and utilities to be transferred in our name.  Then, I drove over to the new house.  In order to unlock the doors, I had to place 6 keys in each lock, lock & unlock several times each.  There were 6 locks, 6 keys for a total of 36 key turns (but times that by 3 because each one had to be done 3 times). 

Then I brought in some boxes.  My friend, Beth, came over to give me something, but she stayed to help unpack a few boxes.  Honestly, the first day was a blur.

The next morning, I woke in a world of pain.  To be honest, I'm still in a world of pain.  But I will push through.

My husband and I went out to eat breakfast bright and early and picked up some biscuits for our early morning helpers. We were expecting quite a crew and we decided that my high school friend Jeff & I would return to the new house to unpack the boxes my husband and I had brought over the night before.  Jeff arrived bright & early at 8:15 and off we went.  We had been unpacking for about 30 minutes wehn my husband sent word that no one had arrived to help.  Not a single person.  This was very unlike the two people that had said they would be there at 8:30 at the latest.  We were worried.  Shortly there after a neighbor came to help.  Then, we received the call for us to come back home because our friends still had not arrived (found out later, they thought we were moving in June).

Jeff & I trucked our way back to the house and began to unload.  We were hopeful to return back to the house sometime by 12:30 to 1.  My parents showed up around that time with pizza.  We all enjoyed the food and got to work unloading the truck.  Then while we were unloading, my husband and our neighbor Mike went to get the rest of the big stuff from the house.

At some point during the day, my husband brings over an envelope.  To say this envelope was a gift would be an understatement.  I had been given some furniture from my Grandfather shortly before he passed away.  We had cleaned this furniture a multitude of times when we got it, but somehow something was in the dresser that we had never seen.  I have no doubt it was God's intervention letting us know that everything was going to be alright.

In the envelope were pictures that my Great Uncle had sent my Grandfather.  There were 4 altogether and a letter.  3 of them were copies of pictures from the 1920's and 1940's and one was from 1984.  It was amazing to say the least and they were in perfect condition.  I cried. Of course.

Then, another surprise.  My friend painted me something spectacular.  She's an artist and I had asked her if she would paint me something special. What she came up with was so extraordinary, but --- I had not noticed that on the back she had written something just for me.  That made me cry too.  Of course.

Until today, I pretty much didn't stop.  Moving, moving, cleaning, moving, cleaning, moving.  I decided today was a "me" day so I spent 4 hours with a friend of mine.  It was nice to sit in a house without boxes. ;)

I still don't have internet, but managed to find a space to write a blog because I didn't want to forget the little moments of God's intervention for me.  If I had seen my friend's inscription on another day, it wouldn't have had the same meaning.

On a side note.  Please pray for me.  I am not feeling so well.  In fact, today I do feel down right awful.  I was hoping it was just that I had been doing too much and needed a down time day, but I feel quite feverish and unwell.  I begin my antibiotic regiment on June 1st.  Mepron is one of those.  I think Babesia is starting to kick my tail feathers and it's time that I start plucking those tail feathers one at a time.

Ps too ... found a tick on my husband yesterday morning, yes the Lyme kind of tick.  Fortunately he's on Doxy for pnuemnonia so hopefully it will kick out any infections the tick might have had.

PPS:  This was my 800th post!

10:43am

I signed all the documents using my husband's full name with middle initial, then signning "by Jennifer mylastname as attorney in fact" on ALL the documents this morning.  Some of them were special and I just got to sign my name.

Doesn't matter because all that matters is ....

WE OWN A NEW HOME!  (and our old one  until it sells which theoretically is going to happen on June 1st)

YIPEE YIPPEE SKIPPEE

This IS the day!

Last night was like Christmas Eve as a child. I fell asleep and an hour later I woke. I woke up every hour on the hour until just couldn't take it anymore.  I got out of bed at 5am. Many emotions are running through me.

Happiness
Excitement
Anxiousness
Loved
Terrified
Hopeful

I suspect that this morning will go by very slowly.  At 9:15, I am to meet the builder and the realtor at the new house.  We will do a quick walk through to make sure they fixed the things they were supposed to this week.  Most of it included paint touch up, but the vinyl in the bathroom needed to be fixed and there was a small crack in one of the tiles that needed replacing and the grout in the kitchen tiles was varying in color.

All of the things were quick fixes and it was all indoor jobs that needed to be done (it's rained every day since Monday) so weather shouldn't have affected the ability to do these jobs.

Then, I go over to the lawyers office and meet up with our finance guy and our realtor.  Thank Goodness there will be two familiar faces there.  I am doing this all on my own.  This is quite the change. My husband typically does everything, but our realtor made a mistake by not asking the builders if we could do a walk through earlier so we could close on the 14th.  So, they worked their magic.  I am power of attorney to be able to sign for my husband since my husband has to be at work today.  I will sign all of his paperwork and all of mine.  Double signature duty.  The finance guy thinks we'll be done and funded by 11:15.

I want to begin bringing a few boxes over to the house because it won't feel like our home until we have some of our stuff in it.  When my husband gets home, we want to bring the dog over.  He's been acting strangely since we started packing and he had no idea what's about to happen.  I think once he sees all the windows and the fenced in backyard, he's going to be in doggy heaven.   Our other dog won't have an issue.  She's not been phased one bit by the boxes.  We wanted to take them both out earlier, but were told we couldn't bring them to the house until we owned the house.  I understand that, but it would have been nice to at least bring them to the backyard so they could see it.  But what the hay -- it is what it is.

This is the day we've been waiting for.  The day we have the ability to get out of this subdivision and into a new one.  We have a lot to do over the next 48 hours.  We have help coming over tomorrow which will be delightful.  So far we have a few neighbors helping, a former neighbor and his son, one of my close friends from High School -- and I'm sure there will be others that I'm not thinking of.  Then in the afternoon, my parents will come over to help us unpack some things. 

 We may be without internet for a while until we can get everything set up.  So those of you that know me in person will need to call me on my cell instead of emailing.  

We need a few prayers spoken on our behalf.

1.  Please pray I can remain healthy during this moving process.  I was exposed to someone with Mono this past week.  That makes me nervous.

2.  Please pray that on the behalf of all the men that will be helping us tomorrow.  Their help means more to me than words can express.

3.   Please pray that everything goes smoothly today.

4.  Pray that we can decide whether to sleep in our  new home tonight (which would mean carrying our bedroom stuff today by ourselves) or to remain in our old home one more night.

5.  Pray for the dogs.

Happy Happy Birthday Dad!

My Dad is having a birthday today and I got the present!

We ordered a U-haul for moving on Saturday.  We heavily considered just huffing it and loading up the pick up truck over and over again, but after we weighed the pros and cons we decided to get a U-Haul.  Well, they just called.  The person that has the truck we are renting is keeping it longer than they anticipated.  Therefore, we are getting a free upgrade.

We rented a 17 foot truck and they are giving us a 26 foot truck because of the error.  They asked, "Is that okay with you guys?"  Yeah like I was going to say no ... it will take less trips back and forth which means it will be cheaper for us.  I think we'll take the free upgrade thank you very much!

Tomorrow we close on the house.  Saturday we move all of our stuff.

Back to Dad.

Happy Birthday Dad.  Glad I got your Good Birthday JuJu today. 

Funny True Story (surgery)

Sometime after I got married, I had a scare.  I was performing a self breast exam and felt a lump.  The lump moved from my breast to my throat to my stomach.  My doctor sent me for an ultrasound and when the results came back, she sent me to a surgeon.  She wanted a surgeon to look at the ultrasound results that was used to handling this kind of thing.

So off I went with my  ultrasound picture and together we decided to go ahead and remove the lump.  And since I was already going to be under anesthesia,  she was going to remove a questionable birth mark.  Having both of these concerning issues at the same time put my mind at ease.  So, we go in for the surgery.  I have the surgery and then I'm put in post op.  I have very little memory of this with the exception of one incident which makes me laugh to this day.

So the surgeon comes back to post op to check on me.  I groggily ask her how things went and she responded to me, "It was much bigger than I anticipated."

To which I responded, "my boobs or the lump?"  (for the record, it was my birth mark that was bigger than she thought it was)

:)  Leave it to me to make a joke.  I believe this was the same visit where I joked with the anesthesiologist asking if HIS name was Anna ... you know Anna Thesia.   Although that could have been my gallbladder removal surgery.

Bicycle

I am a bicycle.

Too Tired.

Lyme & Moving

On April 18th, I posted a message about how home hunting mission and how God was a huge part of everything that had happened so quickly.

March 23rd - close on refinance
March 24th - look at home in big city near work
March 25th - see dream home in current city
During week of March 25th - contact lenders and find out how they can help.
March 31st - go back to home to see if still have same feeling
April 1st - give earnest money check
April 3rd - email with "bad" news, but we overcome challenge to have our meeting
April 4th - meeting and give paperwork
April 7th - go see house again
April 11th - paperwork is sent to the lenders and underwriters
April 17th - send email to check on status
April 18th - given approval and closure date of May 14th

Shortly after posting this, we were given notice that our closure date would NOT happen on May 14th because of some reason or another.  We were VERY upset about it, but there was nothing we could do.  A new date of May 21st was given.  However, the reason we needed to close on the 14th, 15th or 16th was because of Rob having classes at work including May 21st.

Well, we pushed and pushed and pushed.  And a few things happened. 

First thing that happened was I was given Power of Attorney so that I could sign for my husband on the 21st.  The second thing that happened was that we went through a "pre" walk through with our realtor and she told the builder the "big things" on our there are these things we would like for you to fix list.  One thing that concerned us was getting help for the "big move."  We knew that there was pretty much one day that everyone could help us and the other days we'd pretty much be on our own.   So we pushed.  Well, we didn't close today on the 14th --- but we will close on Friday the 18th. 

Every chance we got from March 25th until last weekend, we went to see the house.  We wanted to see if they had improved the things on our punch list.  Slowly things were fixed.  One weekend while we were there, the flooring guy came by.  One of the HUGE big things on our list was in regards to the flooring in the kitchen area.  When you stepped onto this particular portion of the flooring, it sunk.  It meant something was wrong and after looking at it several times we knew that the concrete under it had a hump.  Now several things *could* be done to fix it, but really there was only one thing that could be done to fix it RIGHT. 

Well, the flooring guy happened to stop in while we were there. We discussed the two options and weighed in on which we preferred (obviously the RIGHT way).  Well last Saturday, we stopped in and went over to the area not thinking anything would have been done yet.  Well, we were surprised - and not in a good way.  The fix was terrible.  I almost cried it was so badly done and Rob was angry.  It was so bad that we didn't go back the next day which was the last time we could go because the realtors were moving all of their open house stuff out.  We decided that we would just wait and stew.  I thought about it and thought that if the builders were decent human beings at all --- that this fix would not be acceptable to them. 

So we get there today to do our walk through of the house with the builder.  I held my breath and walked over to the spot.  Much to our great surprise, they had fixed the spot CORRECTLY without us telling them about our complaint.  The thing is --- if the flooring people had fixed it the way they said they were going to --- they wouldn't have had to fixed it a second time.  However, that doesn't matter now.  It is fixed properly, but we will be placing a level on it when we move in to make sure that it is correct. 

So on Friday the 18th, I'll meet with the builder again and then head to the lawyer to sign all the paper work.  On Saturday the 19th, we'll move in. I've said it before and I'll say it again, we are blessed with wonderful friends and family. 

We have a slew of people coming over bright and early Saturday morning to help us load and unload the uhaul truck.  This will be the portion that I will struggle with so it's a good thing we have people that are willing and abled body that can help.  Then in the afternoon my family will come over and help us unpack boxes that have made it over to the new house. 

Have I mentioned I'm excited about having a room for a Lyme Advocacy Office? Maybe I should name it "Lyme Management Advocacy Office"  (GET IT??? LMAO chuckling at my own cleverness).

Yes, we are excited! 

My friend Sarah

Mother's Day.  Where would we all be without our Mother's?  I have some friends that will be going through their first Mother's Day without their Moms.  Please think of them as this day will be tough for them.  I'm thinking of my friend Jaime, so if you guys could really pray for Jaime as she has really really had a tough go of it lately, she would REALLY appreciate it.

My Mom.  Whoever would I be without my Mom?  I am 1/4 part of my Mom, 1/4 part of my Dad and then I'm myself.  I think as we get older the part of ourselves get to be a bigger percentage, but the things we like -- the things we don't like --- I think they are all molded by our Mom's.

Rob & I were walking in a furniture store looking at bar stools for our kitchen counter.  For the first time in my adult life, we'll have a kitchen counter that allows for bar stools.  Well, I am trying to find --- tall swirly bar stools.  Rob says that we might have to give up our search for swivel and we might have to just get plain ole stools.  Well while I may have to settle, I *really* want bar stools that I can sit up high and swirl in!  It takes me back to my youth when I crawled up into my Granny's bar stools and swirled.  So I would *really* like to get some.  I have them in my head, but the only ones we have found are so expensive that there is no way we will be getting them anytime soon so we'll wait until we find the ones we either settle on or have the money to buy.

Speaking of youth and money ---  (like that segway?)

I want to tell you a little more about my friend Sarah and her MOTHER --

Sarah and I have been friends since almost the beginning of my Lyme Diagnosis. She was 16 or 17 when we "MET" online.  Sarah has Lyme Disease.  As if that isn't bad enough, the ticks have given her Babesia and Bartonella.  As if that weren't enough, let's throw into the mix several other diseases. She has Hashimoto's Thryoid Disease, Tachybrady-Cardia, POTS syndrome, Gastroparesis, Poly-neuropathy, degernative disk disorder, nerve damage to the vagus nerve and also Chiari Malformation. 

She has constant pain and is non-responsive to pain medicine.  She gets no relief from her symptoms.  She has severe chronic fatigue and severe insomnia.  She has seizures, tremors, muscle spasm, memory loss, brain fog, dyslexia, fevers, migraines, severe light sensitivity, sound & vibration sensitivity, temporary paralysis in lower extremities. 

Sarah is a strong warrior and so is her Mom. Sarah wanted to move out on her own when she became an adult and her Mom let her.  That is strength to let your child, one who is very sick, move out on her own when everything inside of you is screaming to not let her leave.  Sarah has an amazing outlook on life considering everything she's been through.  She wants everyone to pray for OTHER people. She wants others to receive healing, relief and understanding. In 2009, she told me, "So to all my fellow Lymies, Keep fighting, for you are all stronger than you know! You all inspire me in your own way, and I thank you for making me laugh when I wanted to cry, and complaining with me when I needed to vent. :)"

Yesterday I posted a link to her surgery fund. This surgery is to help her with her Chiari Malformation symptoms. If I'm not mistaken, Chiari Malformation is something that people are born with, but it was only diagnosed in 2009.  This surgery for Sarah is hopeful to be a life changing event.  Sarah and her Mom must drive to Colorado from South Carolina. Sarah can no longer fly due to her seizures.  They must rent a van and stay in Colorado for a month while she has this surgery.  Her surgery is scheduled to take place at the end of June.





Sarah will be having something called Decompression Surgery.  This is where they will remove the bottom part of the back of her skull and the doctors will press her brain back up into her head.  If this line just made you say "OW,"  please consider donating two things. First, please donate your prayers.  This is quite a serious surgery.  Not to mention, for them to have a safe drive, etc.    Sarah and her Mom will have to pay out of pocket expenses related to this surgery.  Please help them by donating for Sarah's Chiari Surgery.  Please help her alleviate some of the pain she has on a daily basis by helping them.  Thank you so much. 

Sarah shows everyone her love all of the time.  Now is the time for us to show her that we love her.  Thanks to everyone. 

http://www.giveforward.com/sarahschiarisurgery

Day 12 and personal request for a dear friend

On day 12 of Lyme Disease Awareness Month, I come to you with a different agenda.  This agenda is to help a great friend of mine.  We met through circumstances of Lyme Disease.  Although we hate we have the disease, we love that it has meshed our lives together and we will be life long friends.  

My friend --- Sarah --- I've mentioned her before when I went to her High School Graduation.   When I first "met" Sarah, it was in a huge Face Book Lyme Group.  She began to talk to me and she was quite young so I asked her to get her Mom's permission before talking with me.  Her Mom was thrilled because I was giving her nutritional recommendations and suggestions what things to try to eat.  We became fast friends and when we visited her in South Carolina her family welcomed us with open arms and we became friends for life.  

Sarah has been sick for some time, not only with Lyme, but she was born with Chiari Malformation.  Sarah has been having a lot of complications and in order to help her a surgeon wants her to go all the way from South Carolina to Colorado to have an operation.  She must stay in Colorado for a month.  She never asks for anything, but she needs our help and a friend of ours has set up a fundraiser for Sarah so that she can have this much needed operation.  

Donate if you can, but also please pass the word about my friend to others so they can have the opportunity to donate to my precious friend Sarah.  Sarah, I love you girl

http://www.giveforward.com/sarahschiarisurgery

Day 11 LDA Month

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkBhPSMNPzE&feature=relmfu

This is the 2nd part of Michelle On Lyme.  Thank you for watching these videos.

Remember to go further down to read my blog on Discrimination and Prejudice.

May 10, 2012

There are days where I hate to write something new because I don't want my previous post to be pushed down.  So I'm keeping this short.  Please read my post on discrimination and prejudice under this one.

Day 10 of Lyme Disease Awareness Month:

Michelle -- a Lyme patient did a two part video a while ago.   Here is part one. It's been a while since I've watched these two videos, but I remember I enjoyed them. I hope you do too.  

 http://youtu.be/Lmq-y6EU4AE

Discrimination & Prejudice

I want to share with you all a video that a Lyme patient created first before I go onto my non-lyme portion of the blog post.   It's a 4 or 5 minute video that describes some of the things we go through. 

 http://youtu.be/cCB6ezBzSMY


I write this hesitantly because I know my family reads my blog, but this has been on my heart for a few weeks and I feel that I must write it.  To my family.  I think the way I think because you raised me to be a caring compassionate woman.  You taught me to get to know people before dismissing them based on assumptions and status.  You taught me how to love like God loves, without condition.  

Discrimination is a huge word. Prejudice is another huge word.  These words have been talked about ad-nausea over the last few months in North Carolina. Discrimination is when "we" give a certain treatment to someone based on their membership or perceived membership in a certain group or category.  I have been affected by discrimination, me personally.  Discrimination hurts.

You might think to yourself that there is no way that I've been treated poorly based on my membership of a  certain group, but it is true.  In fact, you thinking what you just thought ... is prejudice.  How could this white girl have been pre-judged? In more ways than you think ---- 

One of my best friends in elementary school was a girl. We had different color skin.  I didn't notice because Edna was my friend, my best friend.  I changed schools in elementary for two years and people convinced her that I attended that private Christian school because I was prejudice against her.  It most certainly wasn't the case because I didn't even realize we were different.  I went to a different school becuase my family thought it would be a better learning environment for our family.  These people at the new school were prejudice against me for coming from a public school.  However, I did make a few life long friends.  Some I haven't seen since I moved away and oh I how I miss them.  Oh how I missed her, my best friend.   I didn't talk to her for years (decades actually).  I recently reconnected with her on facebook and found out that not only did her family tell her that I didn't like people of her race, but that we had moved far away because of it.  I was heart broken that she would have been told such a thing.  She was heartbroken that they had lied to her.  She said I was the best friend she had ever had and would never forget that I was her very first best friend in life. 

Discrimination.  Prejudice.

Right before 7th grade began, we moved to a new county.  I was discriminated against for being the new girl in school.   I was discriminated against for having parents that worked in the school system.  I was discriminated against for wearing glasses, being too skinny, for being in the band, for being different and for being smart. The students in my school prejudged me before they got to know me. Their prejudice hurt.  I cried daily.  I wanted nothing more than to be accepted for who I was and to have friends.  I wanted nothing more than to go back "home" to be with the friends that I had grown to love. 


Discrimination.  Prejudice.

In college and in my adulthood, I have been discriminated against in the medical community.  They've called me a number of things and have lumped me in with a group of people that are crazy.  Twelve years after my first symptom, I was finally diagnosed correctly.  There is still a prejudice in the medical community about Lyme Disease.  People are either FOR it or AGAINST it.  I am FOR the treatment of Lyme and AGAINST the IDSA guidelines.  I am a competent woman that gets looked at like she's incompetent when regular physicians find out I'm seeking the help of an integrative doctor for Lyme Disease.  


Discrimination.  Prejudice.

I have friends of all types.  I have always been like this.  In high school, I had friends of a wide range.  I had shy quiet very smart friends and I had very outgoing friends who in hind sight were probably drug addicts.  I had friends that were raised in homes of loving single Mothers, had friends that were raised in a not so loving home of two parents, had friends that were raised by their grandparents, had friends that were raised in a traditional home.

Discrimination.  Prejudice.


In hindsight, I know I had friends that were gay in High School.  In regular sight, I knew I had friends that were gay in college. This portion of my blog may not come out correctly and I may confuse or anger some , but it is what it is. 
 
I do not believe in abortion.  I believe it is wrong.  I believe that life begins at conception and killing that life is a sin.   However, I also believe that I should not judge that in which I don't understand. I shouldn't judge or tell someone else what they should or should not do based on my own very personal opinions and biases. I do understand that there are certain circumstances in which a woman thinks there are no other choices including rape victims and a pregnancy in which it may endanger the life of the mother or the child.  However when I look at the life of my friend's 4 year old daughter in which the pregnancy could have ended the life of my friend and the life of that daughter --- I know she made the right decision because she and her husband believe what I believe -- the sanctity of life -- even after her doctors told her that an abortion was the best way to save her life.  Even with all of this, I feel that women should be given a choice.  I have the choice to feel the way I do and I feel that other women have the same right to choose another option even if that option is wrong to me.

It wasn't until I got to college that I realized (yes I was very naive) that sometimes life worked a little differently than in my family.  For the first time in my life, I was introduced to men that loved other men.  I was introduced to women that loved other women.  I'll be honest.  It confused the mess out of me, but as I went back to my teachings and my upbringings I remembered one of my favorite children's songs ----

Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
All are precious in His sight,
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

We are ALL God's children.
We are ALL loved by God.
 Last time I checked. ALL meant ALL.
 It is not my place to judge that in which I don't understand.
It is not my place to discriminate.

Last time I check, God  made us all. He knew what we were going to be before we did.  He knew about my Lyme Disease, well before I did. He knew that I would be an advocate for Lyme before I did. He knew that I would find it in my heart to pour out these words to all of you before I did!  God created us ALL.  Every single one of us. 

There, I've said my peace on discrimination, prejudice, abortion, homosexuality, etc. It was an honest account of how I have been feeling over the last few weeks.   Please pray for my friends, my friends that have been deeply hurt this morning based on how our state voted yesterday whether it was for or against the amendment or just the primary election in general.  Friends, families and children are hurting this morning over discrimination and prejudice.   

Thank you for reading the words from my heart. 


 

8th day of LDA Month

 We are packing, packing, packing.  In 10 days, we will be signing for our new home.  On the 18th, I will sign for us and will begin moving boxes on my own to the new house.  My husband will get home around 6pm so I'm sure we'll move some on the night of the 18th.  However, our big plans are to move everything out of the house and into our new home on the 19th.  It seems strange that we're about into the single digits!  Our house is a wreck.  I can't find anything. 

Now onto Lyme Disease Awareness Month.

Sarah Buchman is a 3rd year medical student at Georgetown University.  She decided to write her thesis on the research she did on the Economic Implications of Lyme Disease. She presented a summary of her works at the ILADS conference. I really enjoyed this little bit of video so I thought I would share it with you all on the 8th day of Lyme Disease Awareness Month. 

http://youtu.be/GIiTYAvylyU 

 

Day 7 of Lyme Disease Awareness Month

Personal Story on friendship and Lyme and then onto the video:

Yesterday I spent the day with one of my closest friends and his family on his birthday.   Lyme has taught me a number of things.  I can roll of information about Lyme Disease and Ticks in a moment's notice.  I don't have to think about it anymore. It is just ingrained.  There is one small thing that Lyme taught me.  If I could take Lyme away and never have had it in the first place, if that meant not learning this one thing ... I wouldn't do it.  I wouldn't give it back.  I would take this journey all over again as long as I learned this one thing. 

Lyme Disease is very tough on friendships. I've lost some friends along the journey of Lyme. It is just what it is.  However, you know how you have friends that you don't realize how special they are until they do something to step it up?  Something unthinkable.  Well this post is about how a friendship like that came to be.  We were merely acquaintances in middle and high school until he stepped it up when I needed it. It had nothing to do with Lyme Disease or health issues. I didn't even know I needed it, but he stepped it up.  Ever since, we were tight friends.  When we both went to college, we emailed a lot.  He became my sounding board.  When I was going through unbelievable trials and tribulations, he listened.  I didn't want suggestions. I just wanted someone to listen.  And listen he did.

When I finally got diagnosed with Lyme, he was one of the first friends I told.  He rejoiced with me in the fact that the unknown was finally known.  He shared my sorrow in the fact that the journey would be a long one.  I shared my concern that I would lose all of my friends and he made me a promise that our friendship would remain strong and intact no matter what I experienced.  I am blessed by the way with some of the best friends ever --- Lyme has made those bonds stronger. 

When I was undergoing the most experimental and controversial of treatments, he didn't criticize my choices. He didn't question the doctor's choices.  He just listened and when I had run out of ride home options --- he offered to pick me up after a treatment.  After those treatments, it wasn't pretty.  I did not like people to see me like that.  It was difficult to walk.  It was difficult to talk.  The muscles in my mouth didn't work properly after a treatment and it was difficult to swallow my own saliva.  And each treatment was slightly different in end results, but I needed rides to the treatment and home from the treatment. 

I did not want a "friend" to see me "like that."  My husband was my main "escort."  He carried me to the treatment always and most of the time he picked me up to carry me home.  However, we needed help.  So I called on my immediate family.  One week, they couldn't help and I thought I was going to have to stay at the doctor's office until night.  I was "woah is me-ing" to this friend and he said, "I can pick you up if you need."  I was shocked and had to decide if seeing me like that was something he could handle and allowing a friend to see me like that was something I could handle. 

I confided in him the things he might possibly see and asked if he could handle it.  I trusted him when he said he could handle it.  Leave it to me to have the worst reaction ever on the day he had to pick me up.  He literally had to carry me to his car, carry me into my home and as I stumbled to try to make it on my own, he picked me up and put me in my own bed.  I don't remember much from this day, but I remember thinking how very blessed I was to have a friend that would be willing to literally pick me up from treatment.    I was terrified that I would never see him again after he saw me limply laying there looking like that with a mouth full of saliva rolling down my cheek, hitting my chin and drenching my shirt, but that moment brought us closer together as friends. 

 Like I said, if it meant that I wouldn't learn this one simple thing, I would not take this journey back.   I would do it all over again. 


 Now onto the Advocacy part of my blog post.

Advocating Lyme One Blog Post at a Time.

We are one week into Lyme Disease Awareness Month. This is the 7th post about Lyme Disease in the month.  I found a video created by a woman that includes 7 Lyme facts that could have improved her health.  If she had known these things, she wouldn't be as sick as she is now.  She created it for you to learn to help prevent others from getting as sick as she has.

There was only one part I truly was conflicted on.  It was regarding the use of Tom Tick Twister.  I have no personal experience with this tick removal tool, but I've always been told to avoid twisting a tick upon removal. I don't know how this tool works, but it appears that it's twisting around the tick.  I personally prefer fine point tweezers or the Pro Tick Remedy.

I hope you enjoy the video.

http://youtu.be/4ALgOikmjCw

Lyme Awareness Day 6

Today is the 6th day of Lyme Awareness.

BTW: I was right.  Yesterday at the wedding I was asked about Lyme Disease.  PS.  Before we move on to the Lyme advocacy portion, I would like to make mention of the wedding I attended yesterday.

Yesterday was a monumental day.  It was the day where a boy became a man.  Like a tick, I attach myself to people.  Many many years ago, I attached myself to a friend. This friend and I were friends from the first moment we met. I met her on the first day of a new job.  We hit it off right away.  Because of our job (we worked in retail), her family would often come into the store to shop.  That included her "little" brother Jon.

I mean this in the best possible way, but Jon was the "cockiest" kid I knew.  He was good looking and he knew it. Many years later, I saw "little" Jon at an event and this cocky little boy had turned into a cocky young man.   I guess instead of saying cocky, I should say charismatic with a twist.  I see the family at weddings and funerals.  Occasionally when Val comes home from where she lives, I'll hang out with the family at her parent's house.  After one such occasion, Val was busy running around and Jon and I had the chance to catch up.

He seemed finally ready to grow up and turn into a man.  We talked, a lot.  In the end, I told him love would bite him in the rear when he least expected it.  It could be in 5 minutes, 5 days, 5 weeks, 5 years, but that at some point some woman would walk into his lives and they wouldn't be able to live without each other.  I gagged at my own sappiness and he just kept saying, "Yeah right."

Well wouldn't you know it wasn't too much longer when on his FB page there was a status update that said, "Man Down."  Then shortly after that ---- his relationship status changed.  Folks, this was in August of 2011.  Don't you know in October, he proposed to this woman and yesterday they got married in a beautiful chapel.

Now, I have been to many weddings and in that time I have never been to a wedding where the groom was so infatuated with his bride.  The pastor and Jon came out from the side room.  He looked out and saw his mama and winked at her.  I thought, "That is so Jon."  He made contact with several people (I'm assuming women ... just because I know how he is) and he winked at them too.  As the bridesmaids came down the aisle, the winking continued. And then a friend began to sing "Marry Me" by Train.  Jon's bride and future father in law came walking in.

I have never seen a more beautiful bridal gown.  She looked confident and on the verge of tears.  I looked at Jon and a single tear fell down my cheek.  This was the day my little boy friend had turned into a man.  From the moment she walked down the aisle, he couldn't keep his eyes off her.  During different musical interludes, they were chatty Kathy's with her grinning like the Cheshire cat and him talking back to her.  I couldn't be prouder of my little buddy and his new wife. 


Now that I've made you all a little teary eyed like I was yesterday ----

Now onto advocacy.
Taken straight from the TBDA website:


"Dynamic, inclusive and passionate, the Tick-Borne Disease Alliance (TBDA) is dedicated to raising awareness, supporting research and promoting advocacy to find a cure for tick-borne diseases, including Lyme.

Mindful of the urgency of this escalating public health crisis, Turn the Corner Foundation, co-founded by Staci Grodin, and the Tick-Borne Disease Initiative, founded by David Roth, decided to consolidate their efforts in the fight for a cure.

In early 2012, they joined forces to form a new, national organization—the TBDA. As part of our efforts to raise funds to support much-needed research, TBDA will embark on a quest to develop a diagnostic tool as a first step toward eradicating the diseases.

Working with others in the tick-borne disease community nationwide, TBDA seeks to raise public awareness through education and create a unified voice for advocacy regarding the current epidemic in order to make a real difference Please join us. By working together, we can help eliminate tick-borne diseases for future generations." (http://tbdalliance.org/about-tbda)

Please visit their website to see Tick Talk Tips.  They have 19 tick tips.  Read them carefully.

http://tbdalliance.org/getinformed/tick-talk/91-tick-talk-tips

Cinco de Lymo - the one about teasing

Today is the 5th day of Lyme Awareness Month. The other day I said that I feel like I am in Lyme Tyme Land all of the time.  I eat, breathe, sleep, talk, email, facebook, blog Lyme Disease.  It's Lyme Tyme all the time.

Today, I'm going to a wedding.  I bet I'll get asked at least once while I'm there about Lyme Disease.  I'm the Lyme Lady!  People sometimes make fun of me either straight to my face of behind my back because I carry information with me about Lyme all the time.  But in the end, I'm the first one they call to ask a tick related question.  I'm the first one they think about when someone they know or loves gets diagnosed with Lyme Disease.  I'm the first one they think about when someone they know or loves finds a tick on themselves in the middle of the night.  I'm the first one they want to talk to because they know I'll know the answer.

Yesterday a friend from work called. This friend does not make fun of me.  This friend has watched the documentary Under Our Skin.  This friend found a tick on her significant other's back and knew enough from me to remove the tick carefully and clean her SO's back thoroughly.  Then, the next day she sent me a message asking me to call her.  I did.  She described the tick.  I calmly told her it was more than likely a Lone Star tick, which are popular in NC.  I reminded her of the tick removal procedures and some of the symptoms he should watch out for over the next few days.  I encouraged her to take him to the doctor, but also don't want to cause panic.  He has an appointment anyways on Monday so they should bring up the tick bite and any unusual symptoms.  I told her about the tick having numbing agents.  These are things that just rolled right off my tongue and I didn't have to think twice about any of them.

However, thanks to Lyme Disease Association --- I have a handy dandy tick card.  I will share with you that website later in the month.  But, I wanted you to know that ... while we may made fun of for being in Lyme Tyme Land all the time --- we are the first one you think of when you find a tick.  And if being made fun of for a few minutes because I carry these cards all the time is the price I have to pay to help you in your time of need and to save you a life time of illness --- then it is well worth it.  Keep on teasing.  Keep on making fun.  I'll take it.  And then when you need somebody, you need somebody that knows what you need to know, call me.  I'll answer your questions and then when I get off the phone --- I will breathe a sign of relief that your teasing caused you to remember the person to call in  your time of need and then pray for you or your family member that the tick that got you won't be as bad as the tick that got me.

Thanks for reading.  

**** Now onto today's scheduled post:

Dr. Jemsek is one of the world's renowned LLMD (lyme literate medical doctor).  Here is his speech in which he "speaks the truth" about Lyme Disease at the "In the Light Lyme Disease Gala in Charlotte NC.  Before Lyme became endemic in the area, he was a specialist (and still is) in HIV/AIDS. He may have been the first ot recognize HIV/AIDS in NC and then LYME Disease.  Since he was "evicted" from his medical practice in Charlotte, he moved to South Carolina.  He was "asked to leave" and he now has a practice in DC where he treats Lyme patients from all over the world.  Please take the time to listen to Dr. J speak the truth. Dr. J discusses the controversy surrounding Lyme Disease and what action needs to be taken to provide patients with better care.  He compares Lyme to HIV/AIDS.  He talks about doctors that quit on patients.

http://youtu.be/V-lHDA863TM

Day 4 of Lyme Disease Awareness Month

It is the fourth day of Lyme Disease Awareness Month.

I forget that there are many acronyms that we use daily that we don't even have to think about, but that those without Lyme or newly Lyme diagnosed won't know.   Some of those are LLMD, ILADS and IDSA

LLMD stands for Lyme Literate Medical Doctor.

There are two kinds of doctors that "treat" Lyme.  Some are IDSA and some are ILADS.  In essence, IDSA doctors don't know the truth about Lyme.  ILADS are Lyme gurus that know about Lyme and co-infections (ticks give other things than just Lyme).  So if you go see a doctor, you want to make sure that they are ILADS affiliated.

ILADS - International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society

IDSA - I like to "pretend" that it stands for I DON'T SEE ANYTHING or I DON'T SAY ANYTHING, but it  actually stands for Infectious Diseases Society of America.

The reason I'm sharing all of these acronyms with you is because I wanted to share with you a video from the most recent ILADS conference where LLMD Dr. Horowitz spoke on a co-infection (one of the other things that Ticks can give) Babesia (also known as Babesiosis).  Dr. Horowitz is a top notice Integrative LLMD.  He is PRO Lyme Treatment is in one of the best in the nation for treating Lyme Disease.  The video is about 11 minutes long and starts off with someone introducing Dr. H.  Dr. H speaks french for the first minute or so, but then switches to English.

I hope you enjoy the video and I hope you find it educational.

http://youtu.be/fRBXpOPMxNE

Day Three Lyme Awareness

https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/vector-borne/lyme/lyme-resource-educators.shtml

So, you've seen tick removal tips and the HULU Under Our Skin. 

Next up a video from 1992! 

Things have changed since 1992, but it is sad that in 1992 they knew as much as they knew in 2007 when I got diagnosed.  The biggest part that I had trouble with in the video were regarding transmission (how long the tick is attached and whether it is transmitted in another way other than an infected tick) and to flush the tick down the toilet. 

Lyme Prevention

Yesterday, I shared with everyone how to view Under Our Skin on Hulu. 

Today, I want to share with you important information regarding tick removal.

It is important to take the necessary precautions to help prevent any tick borne illnesses by using small pointy tweezers and grasping the tick as close to the head as possible and pulling straight out without yanking. It is always a good idea to keep handy a tick kit including small pointy tweezers preferably with attached magnifier, non-latex gloves, small pencil, alcohol prep pads, zip lock bags, tick identification and removal information card.

1. It is important not to touch the tick when removing it so avoid handling ticks with uncovered fingers. Use tweezers designed for removal. If you absolutely must use your hands, protect your fingers with non-latex gloves, plastic or even a paper towel.

2. Take the tweezers and place them around the area where the mouth of the tick enter the skin.

3. Using a slow steady motion, pull the tick away from the skin. Be careful not to jerk, crush, squeeze or puncture the tick.

4. After you remove the tick, place it directly into a Ziploc bag or other sealable container. Wash the area around the site of the bite with soap and water. Use an alcohol pad to disinfect it even further.

5. If possible, keep the tick alive for a month in case symptoms of a tick borne illness develop. Place the tick in a labeled, sealed bag with a lightly moistened paper towel. Label the bag with the date of the bite and the patient. For your own protection, tape around the Ziploc part of the bag to prevent the tick from exiting the bag.

It is important NOT to flush the tick down the toilet.  Some people suggest to do this, but ticks can survive a good flush AND the water.  If you want, you can send the tick to IgeneX for a Tick Test.   It's about 300 bucks for them to test 5 different diseases, but keep in mind that they only test for one strain and each disease may have  hundreds of strains. So even if your tick comes back free and clear from disease, it may not be. 

There is controversy about how long ticks need to be attached for transmission.  *most* sources say that it takes at least 24 hours of attachment to transmit a disease.  However at the last ILADS conference, they talked about a research study they had done with a Lyme infected tick and a mouse. They injected radioactive die into the bacteria and then the tick attached to the mouse.  Within some amount of time, the bacteria had already left the blood and crossed the blood brain barrier. It was something ridiculous like 30 minutes.

Lyme Disease Awareness Month

Today starts Lyme Disease Awareness Month.  My plan is to connect everyone to one link every day.  I may write disclaimers about why I like it or what I think is inaccurate, but I want to share with all of you different links.  If someone asks me about Lyme Disease, the first thing I say after saying, "Yes I was bitten by a tick" is if they have seen the documentary Under Our Skin.  There are several ways to view Under Our Skin.  Some are free right now and some are not. 

You can view Under Our Skin on HULU at this website:  www.hulu.com/watch/268761/under-our-skin

You can also purchase the DVD at this website:  http://www.underourskin.com/store

You can purchase one DVD for home use.  Or you can purchase a DVD for community use.  Or you can purchase more than one and loan them out to people, or just give them away.  If you have never seen it, watch it on HULU first.  Then when you fall in love with the stories and get angry at the controversy and have feelings you never thought you'd have, buy one, buy three, or buy 10. 

Whatever you do, watch it. Then, share it. 

Wat