Planet Thrive

I am excited to be a guest blogger on Planet Thrive this month.  You can go to the Planet Thrive home page and scroll down until you see the picture of me and my horse, Nika’i, or click HERE.

They run a fantastic website that educates, informs, and supports people seeking health.  Check them out!

Blood Suckers

As we finish up Lyme awareness month, I would like to share a couple of the Lyme public service announcements that were just released.

And, something else to file under “another famous person affected by Lyme,” is Candice Accola’s beautiful post about how Lyme took her young and vibrant friend Teri’s life and turned it upside down.  Teri went from an “invincible woman” in Candice’s eyes, to a woman whose life has been “taken over” by Lyme.

I will come out of the closet and admit that I am an avid Vampire Diaries fan.  I don’t miss an episode and have been known to watch some episodes more than once.  I very much appreciate Candice lending her voice to Lyme awareness.

As I commented on Candice’s Lyme post, I wish recovering from being bitten by a tick was as easy as covering up with a scarf until the symptoms go away like Carolyn did when Damon bit her.    And, I wish the getting bit part was by a hottie like Damon instead of a damn insect.  Just my luck.

Fame and Mis-fortune

Everyone is affected by Lyme Disease.  On a societal level, we are all paying the financial price for this wide-spreading disease and for the associated mis-diagnoses.  We are paying heavily with our hearts as more and more of us either contract it or see a friend or family member suffer from it.

People don’t realize just how many are affected.  Did you know the following famous people have suffered or are suffering from Lyme Disease:

Actors/Actresses:
Richard Gere
Michael J. Fox
Rosie O’Donnell’s daughter
Dick Cavett’s wife
Parker Posey
Ben Stiller (suspected)
Ben Stiller’s son
Joanna Kerns’ daughter
Michael Zaslow
Peter Sarsgaard
Irene McGee
Jane Alexander
Diane Varsi
Tracey Silver
Jamie Lynn Sigler

Singers/musician:
Darryl Hall (Hall & Oates)
Pete Seeger
Kevin Salem
Neneh Cherry (Fine Young Cannibals)
Lisa Bevill

Politicians:
President George Bush
Berkley Bedell,
Christie Todd Whitman
George E. Pataki

Authors:
Rebecca Wells, author
Amy Tan
Alice Walker
Pamela Weintraub

Athletes
Tim Simpson
David Menne
Tom Seaver
Gary Player
Joe Meeko -  (died from LD at age 48)
Julie Furtado
Pete Harnisch
Nick Esasky
Mary-Lynn Currier
Tara McMenamy
Wanda Kurdziel

Misc.
Cody Willard - Fox News Anchor
Gabe Magnotta - Wine pioneer (died from LD at age 60)
Brooke Landau - TV anchorwoman
Joseph Burrascano Md. - Pioneer in LD treatment
Rob Hill - TargetChip Ganassi Racing team crew chief

(Most posts this month will include this reminder to click on the badge to the left to become a fan of my new page on Facebook  and to spread the word to others who might become a fan.  Our goal is to get to 50 fans by the end of the month.)

Justice For All

To the Cop who gave me a ticket.  Yep, I was guilty.  But, the story I told you to explain why I was guilty was the truth.  Even if it seems far fetched.  Even if you hear crazy stories all the time.

By the way, I have seen you several times since you gave me a ticket.  Seriously, you are going to get whiplash trying to see every. single. inspection. sticker.  And another thing, your ticketed drivers filled up the court room, and that just represents those of us who requested a court date.  You are doing your job.

To the clerk who scheduled my court appearance:  I TOLD you I can’t move well that early in the morning.  I wasn’t lying.  Or exaggerating.  If you had a choice between scheduling my hearing at 8:00 am and 9:00 am, why the hell didn’t you schedule me for 9:00am?

But most importantly:

To the BIOTCH at court who answered the phone this morning at 8:15am:

when I told you I was supposed to be there at 8:00am, but I could not physically get there because I was in excruciating pain, I was telling the truth.  When I told you I needed a disability accommodation to allow me to arrive at 9:00am, I meant it.  I don’t pull the disability card often.  When you responded rudely by saying “Your late,” it made me wonder if you have a hearing problem.  No.  You have a LISTENING problem.  I told YOU I was late in the first sentence of our conversation.

When I told you I was waiting for my pain meds to kick in, you told me again “YOUR LATE”.  Yep, I got that already.  In fact, we have brought that out in the open three times during this conversation and we have only been talking for 30 seconds.  Two questions:  Are you a broken record, and can we move past announcing my tardiness, because there is no medication that will make dealing with you any more pleasant.

When you told me I needed to come up there and ask for a continuance and be on time next time, I realized you don’t get it.  And, I can’t make you get it anymore than you can make my body cooperate at eight in the morning. I CAN’T WALK THAT EARLY IN THE MORNING WITHOUT SERIOUS PAIN AND SUFFERING.  Don’t you think if I could make the pain go away on command that I might have done it by now?

When I sarcastically said “Thank you for your compassion” and hung up, I was holding back.  Trust me.  And I know you have untold power over me because you work for the Judicial System, but seriously, honey, I dare you to arrest me.  It is my understanding that jail-time brings three hots and a cot.  And medical treatment.  Ha!  You’d be releasing me faster than a greased pig on a Jewish holiday.

Literally

My brother gets really annoyed when people misuse the word literally.

I was just watching a commercial for AAA when a woman exclaims something like “I literally fell out of my chair when I saw their prices.”  Not near as funny as the sorority type girl who told me recently that she was so upset by something her boyfriend had done that she had literally had a cow.

Good Day for a Haiku

Daily naps and calls,
rock star parking, strangers’ stares.
Many gifts from Lyme.

(Every post this month will include this reminder to click on the badge to the left to become a fan of my new page on Facebook  and to spread the word to others who might become a fan.  Our goal is to get to 50 fans by the end of the month.)

Listen to Your Gut

This morning Cooper crawled in bed with me and cuddled up.  In the process, he hit me in the gut with his elbow hard enough to knock the wind out of me.  Sometimes he has the subtlety of a freight train.
When I caught my breath and told him he had hurt my tummy, he sweetly kissed my hand and gave it a pat.   He usually kisses whichever body part he hurt, but sometimes he thinks a kiss anywhere will solve the problem.  And, coming from him, it usually does.

Strangely, this interaction made me think of my interactions with numerous doctors.  It seems many doctors have tunnel vision.  They make every symptom fit into their specialty, or they treat one thing even when you are complaining about something else. My Rheumatologist swore I didn’t have Lyme, and that every symptom fit into the category of Rheumatoid Arthritis.  Unfortunately my LLMD (Lymie lingo for “Lyme Literate Doctor”) suffered from the same tunnel vision.  He attributed every symptom Dave and I had to Lyme.  When I told him my IV antibiotic was giving me horrible gallbladder symptoms (a common side effect of this medication), he told me to stay on it because it was helping kill Lyme.  Sure, but at what cost?  I still have to live in this body when and if the Lyme treatment is complete. Then he missed Dave’s tumor symptoms because he was looking for Lyme.

It is almost against the Lymie code to bad mouth your LLMD, or even point out their imperfections.  They face so much persecution that we want to protect them.  Regardless of this persecution, it is important that we, as Lymies, still take charge of our own health care.  We can’t allow tunnel vision, regardless of the source.  If I had, I would be without a gallbladder, and my husband would be without eyesight.

If you doubt your doctor’s advice, ask for clarification or get another opinion.  Don’t ignore your instincts.   If you go to a doctor complaining of stomach pain, don’t let them send you home with a wrist splint.

(Every post this month will include this reminder to click on the badge to the left to become a fan of my new page on Facebook  and to spread the word to others who might become a fan.  Our goal is to get to 50 fans by the end of the month.)

Going Green

Welcome to “Paint May Lyme Green“, the official Lyme Disease awareness month!

Please help me spread the word about Lyme Disease.  Two things you can do right now to spread the word:
1) forward my blog address to your friends and family.  You never know when knowledge of Lyme Disease can save someone’s life.
2) become a fan of my new page on Facebook by clicking on the badge below.

I will post a lot this month, so check in regularly!

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger

A year ago today, we heard the earth shattering words that Dave had a very large tumor on his pituitary gland.  Even though the pituitary gland is about the size of a pea, the tumor on his pituitary was the size of a golf ball.

In the last year, we learned (quickly) how to shop for and hire brain surgeons, made it through surgery, scheduled and completed follow-up radiation, and began the process of putting this all behind us.  Somehow, we emerged stronger.

We are thankful to all of our wonderful family and friends who helped us through this tough time.

Life Isn’t Fair, #372

How is it that a few weeks after Easter there is no chocolate to be found in my house, but REST ASSURED, every time I look down I find a strand of that damn plastic Easter basket grass?