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Posted 8/12/2016 10:01 PM (GMT 0)
I am sure this have happened to some or many of you...you get sick and then people, ya know acquaintances, friends and even family they distance themselves from you.
I find this very hurtful. I understand that some people do not want to be bothered with others pains of life and so they shut you down, fast or slowly.

I have friends who also do not like when I talk about lyme. I know they don't because they avoid replying my text messages or stop calling me or wanting to meet with me all together. Every illness has its prejudices. I met people battling tumors who do not like to talk about their tumor, the treatment, and how they feel. I am a very transparent individual by nature. I say what I think most time. Yes at times I am even too outspoken. I am a person who believes that we need to talk things out (whether they are negative or positive) to be able to deal with them in the best way. But that is just me.

Before I knew I had lyme, I thought I had lyme. Friends, family (and spouse) did not like to hear me talking pre-sick. After I had confirmation of lyme, some friends and family got closer while some others got distant...er. I am not a person who does well with a friend who likes to talk about the fluff of life. I do not care about that sort of friendship because it does nothing for my soul.
For that we have the neighbor, or the cashier at Walmart with whom you can talk lightly in a friendly way.....but a friend or a family member?? Nah...I want them involved swimming in s**t with me!!

To push someone away or try to avoid them because they are sick it is just "not nice". Whatever is the reason. As I grow older, not sure wiser....definetely bolder..... I am figuring out that some folks just get stressed out by someone else life drama and misfortune. Often time these are the same people who really enjoy watching drama on the big screen. Go figure!

It happens that with lyme some of us don't look crippled and sick, but perhaps we want and NEED to vent out and this does not go well with everyone in our social circle. For example I like to tell people of all the "amazing" informations I have found about this disease and how little out there the public knows. Very few are interested in the details and the politics about the lyme research and insurance companies policies.

A proverb said "you see a friend at a time of need"....in time of need some of those I thought were my friends were totally gone. Heartbreaking.
These are people I often have the impulse not to want back in my life ever again. They have become like dirty underwear I don't want to deal with. You know those kind with stain that are better off in the garbage. So I don't reach out to them any longer, because I am getting the message....I let em be...gone. The trouble is when, IF, they come back. It has happened to me in the past, I want to tell them to go away.
Instead, I apply the prodigal son act....I try to find excuses for them and still make them part of my life.

How do you deal with this? Did friends and family distance themselves from you because of your illness?
Posted 8/12/2016 10:10 PM (GMT 0)
I was the one to distance myself from everyone. I wanted to be well. I was frustrated that I was not well and I did not want to go or do anything but get well.

I slept a lot, I babied myself a lot and I only did what I wanted to do. My house was a mess and I didn't care. I barely did the laundry and cooking of dinner. That was it. The rest of the time I was taking care of me.

But, that is me and what I needed to do. I focused entirely on getting well because without that, I really was not myself.

We are all so different and have such different needs. I can see exactly where you are coming from also.

I told my friends to call and if I could I would talk to them. The last thing I wanted to do was get dressed and put on makeup and go out to lunch. I'd have to pack up all my herbs. I didn't want to eat non-organic restaurant food and I certainly did not want to be exposed to any germs in public.

See, different people. I messaged and I talked on the phone but for about 6 months I was a hermit.
Posted 8/12/2016 10:30 PM (GMT 0)
It is an opportunity. An opportunity for you to choose the people you really want to be in your life. This disease is helping you to discover who your true friends and family are. And that, in some ways, is a wonderful thing.

You might want to google "owner vs victim". At the moment you are coming from a place of victim. When you frame yourself as a victim of circumstance, you think that the power is out in the world. You are at the mercy of whatever happens around you, it affects you and you are had by it. Instead, you can switch to a place of ownership. When you take ownership of your life, you are deciding that circumstance is not going to dictate your happiness. You are going to respond to situations in empowering ways, because you know that the power is within you. As an owner, you can choose the friends and family you would like to have, create the kind of relationships you would like to create, and know that whatever goes on around you does not need to bother you. In fact, you can even be in your current situation without changing any of the facts - still the same friends and family, and so on - and simply ask yourself "Okay, so Linda wasn't here for me to day. What now?". None of the wallowing / self-pity of victim orientation thinking. You can simply roll with the punches and keep creating cool stuff.
Posted 8/12/2016 11:13 PM (GMT 0)
I also did what PeteZa did for several months...but then decided I needed to get back into my life...and slowly started to see my friends...now and again...and engage in activities I used to.

It's been over 3 years since my symptoms started...and I'm glad I chose not to isolate myself until I was healed...as that is a very long time to be 'checked out' of life.

I'm not the same person...and can't do all the things I used to...still not working...but I can still participate in life now. I still mourn my old life...but hopefully one day...there will be a new and improved me...with a new and improved life.
Posted 8/12/2016 11:37 PM (GMT 0)
I completely relate to what you have shared, artermix.

Dealing with these infections has strengthened my relationships with certain people and distanced me from others.

I'm grateful for the people supporting me through my journey and am happy to be apart from those who aren't.

As "they" say - you find out who your true friends are when you are faced with adversity. (or something along those lines lol)
Posted 8/12/2016 11:51 PM (GMT 0)
I think there are varying reasons why some people distance themselves. I think some just don't want to be a position where they may be called upon for a favor or two. Others simply, cannot deal with the reality of a friend or loved one being sick.

But in the end, I think that we are better off without both groups. I don't want to be a burden or thought to be a burden to anyone and I don't want to spend my time trying to make someone else feel better about me being unwell.

And I'm one who has chosen to distance myself a bit at this time. I'm just concentrating on me right now.
Posted 8/13/2016 12:18 AM (GMT 0)
No one mentioned that people not by choice are distanced from the world because they are too sick to participate in it. This is what I call the phase of The Walking Dead. You aren't part of the living but you also aren't dead. This can last weeks, months or years for some people. Sure attitude and positive approach etc. can make in roads against this but some people just aren't well enough ever to even do some things they used to even while going through various treatments to get better. We are all different and need to look at ourselves to see what we are capable of and how we want to spend whatever levels of energy we have on what's most important to us. For most usually that energy reserve is used to take care of the must's in live (working, taking care of kids, etc.)
Posted 8/13/2016 1:37 AM (GMT 0)

Rikky1 said...
No one mentioned that people not by choice are distanced from the world because they are too sick to participate in it. This is what I call the phase of The Walking Dead. You aren't part of the living but you also aren't dead. This can last weeks, months or years for some people. Sure attitude and positive approach etc. can make in roads against this but some people just aren't well enough ever to even do some things they used to even while going through various treatments to get better. We are all different and need to look at ourselves to see what we are capable of and how we want to spend whatever levels of energy we have on what's most important to us. For most usually that energy reserve is used to take care of the must's in live (working, taking care of kids, etc.)

Not here in this topic, but it's been hinted at.

I remember reading posts like that because it's a problem for me. I posted that my daughter even guilted me with "the only reason I wanted to stick around in this area was to spend time with you.....I might as well move away."
She apparently hadn't gotten to the point where so many of us already have that we feel so weak and unfunctional we aren't up to company. Walking dead I'm familiar with. I walk by my plants and note that they are dying from lack of care and I can't help them, and I really don't care. Too many things are getting neglected around here, but they have lost their priority standings.

I take care of my pets and bills and if that's all I can do, at least I did that. Thankfully I'm on disability. Not because I have Lyme, but for the damage it's done to me. I just cry for those that have to work outside the home. It must be hell. At least when I was working I was my own boss.

Anyway, I know that there are thoughtful people out there, and for those of you that have even one person like that, treasure them.
Posted 8/13/2016 1:58 AM (GMT 0)
Ok... I will give you my personal experience on this. We have to separate it in 2 parts.

First 1- It's hurtful when you get sick and don't know what you have and people just are not there at all to support you. I get that it really sucks and it separate real friends from acquaintances.

Second one- hey who wants to hear about lyme disease? Let's not be emotional about it and think it over. Before I got sick I wouldn't for sure so I understand others.

My friends actually call me to hang out with them I turn it down most of times because I don't want to be that guy who brings the latest information about ticks disease in the US when everyone is talking about soccer. Lol.

People yes they care about us but there is a limit... I don't want to hear Paul talking about his hemorrhoids every time that I call him or when we meet each other... it's our problem and believe me all the education that we think that we are providing them most likely they will never care about unless the get bitten...what in my case in Florida at the moment do not scare them that much. So don't be sad over it...

they are just being normal people we are the ones acting all crazy and spending some hours on line trying to find an herb to help us cause we got bitten not them.

Post Edited (robby vieira) : 8/12/2016 8:04:59 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/13/2016 2:11 AM (GMT 0)
I was sick with lyme for 15 years, returned to the living in 2007! I had nine great years until June of this year. I am a mess and never could have imagined myself this sick again. I went through the total loss of family and friends in the first round. It was so sad to me to have my family just sort of diss me.I felt like I could have used them more than ever. I think that they felt like it was a choice for me to hang around the house being sick. My brother told my mother that I needed to get out and ride a bike more. I remember that my sister one time yelled at that she "liked to do things" not like me who liked being cooped up at home. My Mother (who loved me dearly) talked about how my sister had "lost all of her dreams" when her good friend died. My mother had no understanding that lyme was not a choice and that it also was a loss of dreams. I am going through round two of this nightmare and I am already getting the eye rolls and the "when do the drugs start to work questions" .

I think that people are very judgemental of people with chronic illness. I think that they are bored of the same old story. It is a rare person that sees beyond the suffering to who we were before this happened, that we are not our illness. Yes, it hurts a lot. I want to cry thinking of all that I have missed and all that I am missing. I don't think that anyone knows how hard it is to feel this bad....And yes, it is just a huge loss. I miss my friends and I miss my family.....
Posted 8/13/2016 2:19 AM (GMT 0)
In the time frame when I actually had a huge circle of friends I didn't know I had Lyme, I was told I had Fibro, but I still didn't talk about it.

Have you others had more than your share of friends that would constantly tell you to smile? I'm one of those unfortunate people whose face didn't know how to properly express pain, or anxiety and try to look stoic at the same time. I looked grouchy! I probably still do, except that I am so unkempt compared to how I used to be, it's obvious something isn't right. Or my eyes are funny colored and sweat is sheeting off of my face.

I learned that people soon tire of being given explanations for your apparent 'mood'. Or why you are limited in what you can do.

Also, and I wonder how many of you also experience this, that if you do end up bringing up how you feel or what's wrong with you, it becomes a contest of who has the worst problem/disease? LOL! I try not to engage in those debates. I'd rather talk about the mundane things like weather than debate who feels worse!

It's why I love this place, and I suspect it's part of the reason others do. No one passes judgement on your complaints, it's all empathy and support, even if someone can't give actual helpful suggestions at that moment, someone can relate, and many offer good ideas.

Really, you folks are wonderful.
Posted 8/13/2016 2:44 AM (GMT 0)
did you get treatment back in 2007 and just had a relapse? Or you got better by yourself without proper treatment? Just asking because I'm so afraid of having to deal with this forever.

AK said...
I was sick with lyme for 15 years, returned to the living in 2007! I had nine great years until June of this year. I am a mess and never could have imagined myself this sick again. I went through the total loss of family and friends in the first round. It was so sad to me to have my family just sort of diss me.I felt like I could have used them more than ever. I think that they felt like it was a choice for me to hang around the house being sick. My brother told my mother that I needed to get out and ride a bike more. I remember that my sister one time yelled at that she "liked to do things" not like me who liked being cooped up at home. My Mother (who loved me dearly) talked about how my sister had "lost all of her dreams" when her good friend died. My mother had no understanding that lyme was not a choice and that it also was a loss of dreams. I am going through round two of this nightmare and I am already getting the eye rolls and the "when do the drugs start to work questions" .

I think that people are very judgemental of people with chronic illness. I think that they are bored of the same old story. It is a rare person that sees beyond the suffering to who we were before this happened, that we are not our illness. Yes, it hurts a lot. I want to cry thinking of all that I have missed and all that I am missing. I don't think that anyone knows how hard it is to feel this bad....And yes, it is just a huge loss. I miss my friends and I miss my family.....

Posted 8/13/2016 3:30 AM (GMT 0)

artermix said...
@AK.....I know. The stigma with the chronic illness is not the same that with few others. It is horrible. This what I meant in my original post. No that I want to complain and talk about the illness but be dismissed is like beyond disrespect.

I think lyme is a very lonely illness.

@Julymorning.....
...I wonder how many of you also experience this, that if you do end up bringing up how you feel or what's wrong with you, it becomes a contest of who has the worst problem/disease? ha ha ha......somebody told me yesterday...oh think about it it could be worse, like cancer.
hmmm but it is also true that some cancers are terminal some are very curable (when caught on time)...and things like Parkinson's and ALS are very bad.....I think any illness that stops anyone from having a normal life is bad. Not a race of what is worse.


]
So very true. And the pain! As if all the rest isn't bad enough.

Cancer is a terrible, terrible and scary thing. It for some of us the unimaginable fear. Others that haven't had it have been close to someone that did. Some that lost their life. Cancer generally doesn't last as long as this does, giving some decades of the roller coaster in and out of hell and back again so many times.

You're right, I don't think it matters much what changes our life like these diseases do. And that is a really good point that should end any debate.
Posted 8/13/2016 3:45 AM (GMT 0)
>>To that she answered..... "how disappointing".... I explained to her how I felt I was living my life these past months. She simply was so turned off by my answer that she cut me off without saying a thing

There's an old Depeche Mode song that goes "Try Walking in my Shoes....you'd stumble in my footsteps". No one can really know what having a debilitating chronic illness is until it happens to them so no point trying too hard getting them to see your perspective that can only go so far if you aren't walking in it. I mean did any of us ever think we could put up with the myriad of pain and suffering for a month let alone much longer? I remember before I got sick how I would bellyache if I was feeling like crap for more than 3-4 days now I'm going on close to 2 years.

Also with others even those who are close like family members and friends, "sympathy fatigue" sets in. There's only so many times someone can ask you "How are you feeling?" getting the same old answer every time and they wonder how can that be? Then some will come up with all sorts of reasons why you really don't feel that way or how you can get rid of it. Its their way of responding to something they really don't understand and are probably uncomfortable talking about. We've all been there.

In the end it gets tiring being asked and the person asking it. I've basically told those close to me no offense but please don't ask me how I feel if I want to tell you something that's different than usual I'll offer it up.
Posted 8/13/2016 4:09 AM (GMT 0)
Of course, it hurts. I've been through this so many times, throughout the years, more times than I can count. I've lost friends, family, both by my choosing as well as theirs.

I used to really put a lot of effort into trying to put a mask on for them, though I was rarely successful, then I tried to make them understand what I was going through with the hope that they'd show a little more empathy, be more open to how I was, etc. That didn't really work.

It's a lot for people to chew on, and I'm not the best at really painting the picture. Though, really, I feel as though it's gonna take more than words for people to understand what this illness is. It's just gonna take people being sick, more and more, your friends, family, etc. The same people that might have cast you aside. Short of an MLK, Malcolm X, JFK of Lyme advocacy, words aren't gonna do it.

Until then, yeah, most people are gonna act like this. Though, in a way, you can't blame them, because I feel that, for most, that's just their nature. We don't like being sad, so it'd only make sense for us to distance ourselves from negative influences. I'm sad, they're happy, and if there's not much they can do to make me happy, then why would they want to be around me?

I get that. I try not to be around certain sides of myself either.

But, at the same time, you expect these people to be there for you, then they're not. That sucks.

Thing is, the conclusion I've come to is that I'd rather lose someone, knowing what kind of person they truly are, than have them by my side, putting on an act. I used to argue, defend myself against family members who doubted, misunderstood, etc.

Nowadays, I just say, you're either with me or you're against me, and leave it at that. If you aren't gonna be here for me, I'm not gonna be there for you.

I wanna have friends, I wanna have family, of course, because life's no fun being lived alone, but I want them to want me too..

If they can't do that, I'm fine with being alone, just me, grandma, my dogs, and Gian. Oh, and you guys too.
Posted 8/13/2016 5:33 AM (GMT 0)
That's a really good point Antonio, about it being difficult to be around a sad person. . Especially if we start crying from our frustration. Yep, I've done the happy pretense a lot, and when it gets to the point I can't even pretend, is when I cancel letting folks come over. Sometimes I just can't be entertaining, and no matter how they protest, you know they don't want to be bored.

Phew it is hard losing our ability to do the things that bring us joy. Sometimes just enjoying something that we don't have to be active in helps, like getting to a movie, or just watching music we love on youtube.

It would be rough to never be able to find something that makes us happy and forget our life for a few moments.
Posted 8/13/2016 6:08 AM (GMT 0)
Wow ..the pain this microscopic devil snake causes ..it robbs us of everthing my own mom is like give it rest ..i cant ...not till im well or dead ..and ill die trying ...thanks healing well..ima cry myself blue
Posted 8/14/2016 1:08 AM (GMT 0)
For me it helped to have relatives at a long distance, they couldn't get further away :)

I think another tricky area is work. I told my boss (we get along), but I'd worry about a layoff if they smell long term disability.. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't share.

it took me a while before I shared with my family. Like PeteZa I choose to focus on myself and will wait until I have more energy to spend time outside with friends.
Posted 8/14/2016 8:01 PM (GMT 0)
1000Daisies - that's why I'm still here after so many years. It was actually quite difficult to stick around after I got reinfected, because I was completely overwhelmed with my own grief - but I knew so many others on here were as well, and I just couldn't stand thinking that I might be able to reach out and help someone if I would just stay on the forum, and continue to reach out elsewhere.

I know that many in my town are also infected and without any type of support - family/friends or medical. So my goal is to start a support group soon for those in the area. They need to know that they don't have to have a doctor to diagnose them and treat them. They have choices!!

I do have to say that I have been blessed with family that is quietly put off. They know little about the infections I live with, are VERY surprised that I STILL live with them, and they don't want to hear anything about them. Oh well. They would rather believe their doctors - you know, the ones that I know wouldn't diagnose Lyme or if they had to, they will only treat with 2 weeks of abx at best.

Rather than cause a MASSIVE family rift (on my and hubby's side), I just quietly tell them that if they ever get Lyme, or see that rash, I can be of help, and leave it at that.

For those that aren't family - either they believe or they don't. Because I've lived with these infections all my life, and have learned I have limits unlike others, I've been forced to become pretty much a loner, and I'm okay with that. Hubby not only believes me, he's watched me go through enough of the horror that when he was infected, he told me that I'd be treating him if the doctor wouldn't listen to me!! So I know I have his full support, and fortunately that's enough for me.
Posted 8/18/2016 3:28 PM (GMT 0)
Robby Vieira
I was sick for 7 years before properly diagnosed. I then found a functional medicine LLMD and we hit it with everything known to man (including some babesia treatment) I did not really notice much improvement. After three years and some problems with CIPRO I just went off the meds. I did not notice a backslide off abx. I did a LOT of alternative things - ozone, hydrogen peroxide, raw food diet, acupuncture...I even used a medical intuitive at one point -(desperate YES! But she actually turned out to be pretty helpful and specific,,,.. And oddly enough my MD relied on her at times :) .I never really noticed a huge improvement with any one therapy, however just really tried to take care of myself in all ways. I felt like I could do more and more things.. Two steps forward one back. I was playing ice hockey and skiing, maintained a large garden and lawn, I went through some very stressful times- teenage kid problems, parents dying, surgeries and while I was still not 100% held my own. I was always more tired than other people but really did everything. I got to the point where I didn't even think of lyme. This spring, for whatever reason, the tick borne stuff has reared up in a really ugly way. (Strangely enough, I did not recognize my symptoms as tick borne stuff this spring,,,but most definitely it is) ,I am as sick as I ever was. It has taken me by total surprise that I am back like this. I am hoping that I can again turn this around but yes, it is depressing to try so hard and have to live with the fear that all energies will have to be put into just existing. I do not have the map but it seems to me that many people do find their way out of lyme land......I want a magic wand!



quote="robby vieira"]did you get treatment back in 2007 and just had a relapse? Or you got better by yourself without proper treatment? Just asking because I'm so afraid of having to deal with this forever.

AK said...
I was sick with lyme for 15 years, returned to the living in 2007! I had nine great years until June of this year. I am a mess and never could have imagined myself this sick again. I went through the total loss of family and friends in the first round. It was so sad to me to have my family just sort of diss me.I felt like I could have used them more than ever. I think that they felt like it was a choice for me to hang around the house being sick. My brother told my mother that I needed to get out and ride a bike more. I remember that my sister one time yelled at that she "liked to do things" not like me who liked being cooped up at home. My Mother (who loved me dearly) talked about how my sister had "lost all of her dreams" when her good friend died. My mother had no understanding that lyme was not a choice and that it also was a loss of dreams. I am going through round two of this nightmare and I am already getting the eye rolls and the "when do the drugs start to work questions" .

I think that people are very judgemental of people with chronic illness. I think that they are bored of the same old story. It is a rare person that sees beyond the suffering to who we were before this happened, that we are not our illness. Yes, it hurts a lot. I want to cry thinking of all that I have missed and all that I am missing. I don't think that anyone knows how hard it is to feel this bad....And yes, it is just a huge loss. I miss my friends and I miss my family.....

Posted 8/18/2016 4:01 PM (GMT 0)
Thank goodness for this community, where one can come, give and receive support. There are fair weather friends, and there are individuals who one might perceive of friends, but really - they just want to take rather than reciprocate, and there are individuals in your life - which are seemingly few, who would risk their lives for yours. Modern society - it takes so much effort to simply survive for some sectors... I wonder how much extra people have to give. Great thread! Thanks for sharing!
Posted 8/18/2016 4:40 PM (GMT 0)

artermix said...
I think that is very nice and altruistic of you to offer help and support Traveler. Most people perhaps after remission, just don't want to deal with the entire depressing scene.

You said
......"I know that many in my town are also infected and without any type of support - family/friends or medical. So my goal is to start a support group soon for those in the area. They need to know that they don't have to have a doctor to diagnose them and treat them. They have choices!! "

Yes there are not many support groups. None in my area at all.

Naw, there's nothing altruistic about me. I just can't stand to sit around and not help when I know that I may be of some help. It's partly the way I was raised, and partly something I have found that helps me deal with what I have been through. But, thank you for your overly kind words. :-)

I don't blame anyone that doesn't want to 'jump back in' and help out. It doesn't need to be pointed out how stressful and disruptive that this is on a person's life. I completely understand, actually. It turned into a kind of therapy for me is all - it helps me make sense as to why I went through so much for so long - at least I have something to show for it, besides bad memories.

Have you searched on Lymenet for a support group? I know that they have quite a listing of them:
www.lymenet.org/SupportGroups/UnitedStates/
Posted 8/18/2016 7:45 PM (GMT 0)
I just wish people would understand. I am going through the testing process now, but been sick for a long time. It has definitely affected my social life. My husband is the only person who truly knows what I go through. I have lost and scarred many of relationships for all of the functions I have missed over the years. I think for me since I can't say I have this specific disease or this illness people just don't get it or don't understand. I'm not always honest about my absence mostly due to the comments,reactions and constant questioning - so I end up making myself look like a total flake, when inside I'm suffering. When I do talk about my symptoms I feel very awkward. Probably from all the Dr's treating me like I'm crazy - I have now developed a complex so I think everyone thinks that same way.

I have two close friends left - but even they say things to me that are hurtful, but they are still around. You can tell they think I've lost it, you can tell from the comments they think I need to think more positive, or try this or that. They just don't get it - all want to help and have good intentions though. I cherish that :-)
Posted 8/18/2016 9:53 PM (GMT 0)
It's like reading the story of my life. I honestly think people just don't understand it all, and they cannot relate. Most people have been touched by someone with cancer, and that is very understandable, as is diabetes, etc. But we are in a situation that has systemic symptoms and appears on the surface to be complaining. I don't talk about it to my friends. When we get together, we just try to let it all go and have fun.

My spouse is fantastic! We have had our moments where I know he cannot understand... then I cry and he feels bad. One example is that we work in the same place. We generally get to work around 10 AM (thank goodness hours are flexible). He wants to get in earlier, but I physically cannot wake up!! Even though I feel 1000 times better now than a couple years ago, I still fight co-infections. I broke down because I was failing at getting up... I told him to leave without me... worst case is I use a sick day. He won't do that and is extremely patient waiting for me now. Extended family on my in-law side are amazing. My family, not so much... although my Mom seems to get it more now that some friends and friends kids have Lyme, with the same struggles and she sees it's not just me being antagonistic or lazy.
Posted 8/18/2016 10:10 PM (GMT 0)
I am so sick right now that it is hard for me to be out, around people, or to put on any kind of happy face. My family has dropped me ( I thought that my sister was better than that) and my friendships are fragile, since I spent so many of the early friend making years sick....It hurts SO much to be judged when it is all I can do to just hang on. It feels like we all deserve medals and parades for enduring what we endure and getting through each day!!!! I am so sick right now and it is so isolating. I saw this the other day... I thought that it was relevant.

http://essays.caringforandhealing.com/2015/10/23/10-things-to-know-about-people-with-lyme-disease/
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