Eight years, 25 doctors, no diagnosis. Five infections missed. One immune system, shattered. Five years in treatment. Two years of IV and needles, daily. Forty medications, 20 supplements, 8 alternative therapies. One retirement plan, depleted. Thirteen years of life passing. Mostly recovered but mainly managing. This is Lyme Disease. This is my story.
Mr. Wild Dingo sat in the kitchen watching me prepare dinner. He claimed he changed his routine from working in the office to the kitchen so he could spend more time with me. Knowing his passion for the economy of motion, I suspected it was easier for him to stay close to me rather than jump […]
A wise old owl lived in an oak The more he saw the less he spoke The less he spoke the more he heard. Why can't we all be like that wise old bird? ~ Oxford Nursery Rhyme¹
This month's masthead is brought to you by the letter "B." B is for butterfly, bee and bull thistle. I could watch nature's co-workers for hours as they each take what they need from the thistle. As long as I didn't have to move much.
If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr. A flock of brawny pelicans soar the sky above the sea one evening. I'm feeling weak and my headaches have returned. All […]
A few weeks ago, the cracker, the criminal and I had a fantastic 6-mile hike, climbing up 1500 feet. Yes, it's true. I'm getting a lot better. But I still have a long way to go. I'm functioning anywhere between 30-40% my normal level. And while a 6 mile hike may seem like I'm fully […]
Anyone can end up in hell: by the choices you make or by the luck of the lottery. Since nobody's going to reach in to pluck you out of hell and plop you into paradise, you have two choices: stay there and be miserable or claw your way out---one inch at a time. That clawing […]
Sometimes I feel like Lyme disease is a black hole and I'm standing on its event horizon. Petrified, yet consumed with its mystery. My feet too heavy to move from the crushing grip it has on me. One second of my life spent frozen on the event horizon and a life time of the world […]
Patience. It's about the only thing in this house that's been getting any exercise lately, by human or canine.
It was a warm, fall evening in Santa Cruz as Mr. Wild Dingo and I walked the dogs along the beach. The usual sunset over the sea's horizon was gone and instead a dense wall of fog rolled in. Though it was windy, it just sat there, motionless, blocking the sun set from above. I just started to […]
"Princess, why is Mom so darn whiny and slow? She's got a total handicap with those big wheels. Geesh." "Big boy, your guess is as good as mine. She looks totally healthy and fine to me." Lyme Disease is nothing if not deceptive and a complete mind-f*ck.