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3. Lessons Are Not Always About Character

The lessons we learn are not always related to character development. Sometimes it's for information. We're forced to learn how the body works and how the health system works. I bet we know more about healing than some people who are healthy. 

I know most of us had no intention of going into the medical field. So what is the point for learning all these things? That's assuming we're going through this so that we can develop knowledge.

Well the first answer is in line with the lime-lemonade example: nothing beats personal experience when it comes to gaining knowledge. They say knowledge is power. I disagree. Knowledge coupled with self-discipline is power. That's because you can have all the information in the world, but if you don't have the self discipline to see it through, then it's useless to you.

Also, self discipline comes through experience. Knowledge isn't really knowledge without experience. It's just theory. Until it is put in practice, and until one has the self discipline to use it, it's still theory, even if it's true.

But why do we need this? Maybe it's not necessarily for our benefit. Maybe there's someone in the future that needs the knowledge we are gaining now. It could be that by getting, fighting, and treating this disease, we are gaining the knowledge to help someone else with Lyme or another chronic illness. Knowledge is not always just about us.

It could also be that the knowledge will come in handy and useful for us someday in the future. Maybe we will want a career in the medical field. Then we'll have had the experience of being on the other side. Or, maybe, someday we might get sick again (after we're healed, of course). Then we'll have the knowledge of how to get better faster.

These are just possibilities that are very valid, but none the less possibilities.

4. Let's Take Advantage of this Opportunity

This is probably not the situation we wanted. This is probably not the way we intended to educate ourselves about the world. But this is the situation we are in.

I'll admit, it's a difficult trial. But this doesn't mean that this can't be every bit of an opportunity. We  may still want the other opportunities, and that's fine, but we also now have a view of the world that others don't have. We need to keep it, and to cherish it. It may be, that this will be helpful for us in the future someday.

"I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back." - Maya Angelou

By Lindsay Penkower 
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​Dear Nasty Little Nymph:

Don't let the title of this article fool you. Things have been downright sucky since you picked me.

I bet it was in my early 20's during my obsessive hiking phase, where, with no kids and no real responsibilities, I spent the majority of my weekends trudging through your neck of the woods without a care in the real world. I’ll chalk that one up to home court advantage.

Or perhaps you launched a sneak attack during one of those long treks down to the beach where I was too distracted by kids (and my role as a professional Sherpa) to remember to put on long pants.

Or maybe, just maybe you stole a bit of my blood and ultimately a great deal of my energy, during one of those "glorious" Sunday morning nature walks I like to take with my family—you know the ones that usually end with me pushing a 75 pound stroller up a steep hill while trying to dodge fruit snacks flying out the sides, as well as my husband's disdainful "I-told-you-so" looks.
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Whenever, wherever you decided to infect me, your bite would change the course of my entire life and shape me into the person I am today. And even though you can't hear, speak or read for that matter, I feel like I needed to confront you and tell you exactly how I feel. Here is my real, raw, honest and sometimes downright depressing letter to you:

Lindsay is a recovering lawyer and teacher turned writer, blogger, and advocate for healthy living. She lives in Danville, California with her supportive husband and 3 energetic kids.

Photo Credit: BrittRene Photography

"What I like most about change is that it can be a synonym for 'hope.' If you are taking a risk, what you are really saying is, 'I believe in tomorrow, and I will be a part of it.'" - Linda Ellerbee

Dr. Elena Frid is a board certified Neurologist, who treats vector borne illness and autoimmunity in New York, New York. If you have Lyme you have probably heard of her, because she is a strong Lyme advocate, spreading information to various publications and online. On her website it says "Through social media, medical publications, and community "call to action" speaking engagements, Dr. Elena Frid has committed her time to bring awareness to medical colleagues, patients and families across the united States." This article was originally published in Dr. Frid's Newsletter and she has given me permission to publish it here: 

Interpreting Lyme Test - Not So Easy

I have been writing to you about my involvement with Lyme disease and other tick borne illnesses for over six months. Through the letters one can see the vast involvement and damage these disorders can cause and can present in many different ways often mimicking other conditions.  In my practice, I primarily see patients who have been undiagnosed for months or even years, often not receiving any treatment or not being treated appropriately.

Part of the frustration in the Lyme community is the fact that there is no one good test that is accurate. The test that we have now is up to 50-70% inaccurate in some instances. In turn, if you test negative for Lyme disease on regular blood work--it doesn't mean you don’t have Lyme. In fact, recently the state of Maryland signed a bill into law that requires health care providers warn patients in writing that Lyme disease testing can be problematic and standard laboratory tests often result in false negative and false positive results.

So what do we do? Well, my suggestion is educating yourself which is the reason for this newsletter.

When a Lyme test is ordered through a regular lab, it goes through a two tier approach: ELISA and Western Blot - WB (3 IgM Antibodies and 10 IgG Antibodies) screening test. When the ELISA test comes back positive, only then a Western Blot test will be run, which tests for specific antibodies for Lyme disease. If you tested for ELISA and 2 out of 3 IgM Antibodies came back positive on WB, you are positive for Lyme, or positive for ELISA AND 5 out of 10 IgG Antibodies positive on WB=you have Lyme.

The issue: a patient may falsely test negative for ELISA and so the bands will never be run/reported, or patients may test positive for a number of bands but not enough to meet the CDC/IDSA guidelines delineated above.

Another important point is that not all WB IgM and IgG bands are created equal. If you speak to Lyme Literate Doctors (LLMD) they will tell you that some bands are more or less specific for Lyme disease. Therefore, many LLMDs look at quality of the bands not quantity in conjunction with assessing the clinical picture including physical findings. Bands that are considered to be Lyme specific according to the International Lyme And Associated Diseases Society=ILADS guidelines: 18, 23, 30, 31, 34, 39, 93.

Please note that some LLMDs also advocate the use of specialty laboratories to test for Lyme and associate diseases which many report is a more accurate way of looking for serologic evidence of exposure to tick borne illnesses.

Take away points:

• Just because you tested negative for Lyme disease – does not mean you don’t have it!
• See an LLMD (Lyme Literate Doctor) if you have symptoms that are not explained by other physicians and you suspect a vector borne illness.
• Educate yourself on your illness and ask your physician direct questions about your specific concern.