The Lyme Interview: Jordan Mitchell

When you visit Jordan's blog Detox and Prosper you get a delightful mix of education and positivity. Detox is a tricky subject for people with Lyme, because we often have to try many things before we learn what is right for us. Jordan takes a complicated topic and makes it easy to digest. I especially like her post The Ultimate Guide to Detoxing for Beginners. Through this interview you will learn that Jordan finds strength in religion and her family. She's definitely someone in the Lyme community you will want to follow. 

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 Tell us a little about your blog and who you are: 
My name is Jordan, and I'm a wife and homeschooling mama to 3 young children ages 6 and under. We live way out in the country, raise chickens, grow a garden, and enjoy learning homesteading and self-sustaining type skills.

I've been a professional copywriter for over 6 years writing sales pages, emails and doing content marketing for various ecommerce companies.

I started my blog, Detox and Prosper, after learning how effective detoxing was and how toxins are such a hindrance to our healing. The blog focuses more on detoxing as a lifestyle--not just a one-time, 7-day juice cleanse. We talk about removing toxins in every part of your life from your food and your body to your cleaning products and environment.

What is your Lyme story? How do you think you contracted Lyme and how long did it take you to get a diagnosis?  
I was just diagnosed with Lyme in the summer of 2017, but after more extensive testing and a look at my medical history, my doctor believes I've had it 15+ years. Perhaps ever since I was about 6 or 7 when I had unexplained joint pain, fever and rash (though not the bull's eye kind).

Throughout my childhood and teen years, I dealt with things like a very rare type of headache, heart palpitations and random rashes at my joints.

I believe it was lying dormant that whole time, and whenever I got sick or was under a lot of stress, it would flare up in the form of those things mentioned above.

My health began rapidly declining after the birth of my second child and the death of my best friend around the same time. I had what I thought was postpartum depression and just post-pregnancy complications. Instead of recovering though, I slowly got worse and worse.

Symptoms included debilitating fatigue, brain fog, confusion, nausea, anxiety, memory loss, random itchy rash at joints, eczema, slurred speech/stuttering and more.

I never went to the doctor until June 2017 when I was nauseous for 2 weeks straight. She tested me for Lyme, and it came back positive. I've since transferred care to a Lyme literate holistic nutritionist where we found I also had Epstein Barr Virus and heavy metal toxicity.

What are your passions?
That's kind of a hard question at this point in life. Because of Lyme, I've lost many of the passionate hobbies I once had due to them being too time consuming, too hard physically, or requiring too much mental stamina.

With that said, I'm still passionate about serving the Lord and my family. I'm also passionate about helping women, even if that has to happen through a computer screen. I started the blog to help other tired mamas find relief from their pain as naturally as possible and encouragement in the way.

How have your family and friends reacted to your illness?
The family members closest to me (husband, mom, grandmother, etc) have truly stepped up and become an invaluable support system. I don't know what I'd do without them. They're patient, understanding, giving and always ready to step in to babysit and care for me when needed.

On the other hand, some family members and friends just don't "get it" as those of us with Lyme understand all too well. Being a chronic, invisible disease, it's easy for others to think I should be better by now, or if I have a "good" day, they think I'm healed and all is well.

At first that sort of misunderstanding was disheartening, but now I just take a step back, realize their good intentions, and choose to focus instead on the heart behind the matter.

What is the one thing that you have found most helpful in treatment?
Detox! I started seeing improvement when I implemented things like activated charcoal, clay and infrared sauna into my weekly regimen. If your body is overloaded with toxins, it doesn't matter how many supplements or medicines you take, they simply won't be as effective.

If you could take away one symptom, which symptom would you take away and why?
My cognitive issues because it's scary feeling like you're losing your mind.

What are you most grateful for in your healing journey?  
God's Word. It’s how He chose to speak to us, and one word from the Lord through His written word is more effective in lifting my mood and giving me strength for tomorrow than any supplement I may take.

What changes do you still feel you need to make in order to heal?
I need to be more consistent. Infrared sauna sessions are so effective, but I often forget to do them or choose to do something else with my time.

Do you have a role model in the Lyme community? Who and why?
Tricia at Abounding in Hope with Lyme. The encouragement she shares and hope she instills through this journey is priceless. Besides having Lyme herself, her entire family (4 kids) were also diagnosed, and she's made it through it all with her sanity and grace intact--that right there is inspirational. 

Please share a mantra or quote that inspires you:
This is just a season, and it too shall pass. It may not be so much inspirational, but it pushes me to keep moving forward, knowing that this season won't last forever.

You can find Jordan here: 
Blog: Detox and Prosper 
Pinterest: @detoxandprosper
Twitter: @detoxandprosper

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"True greatness consists in being great in little things." - Samuel Johnson