Growing Deeper Roots: My Story of Invisible Illness

The other day, I fainted in PT. I had had a really good session, making it up to 80 degrees on the tilt table and tolerated it for 13 minutes. However, while trying to sit up after the session, I fainted, giving one of the med students on my case, the OT, the PT, and my mom and sister a good scare.  While I was trying to recollect myself, the group discussed how they could tell I was about to faint. My mom said her classic line, "I can see it in her eyes. They lose their sparkle." My OT said she could see it in my breathing. My PT said he saw it in my heart rate. But they all agreed that my eyes go a little duller right before I pass out. They even compared me to the Genie in Aladdin.  Our discussion about my fainting eyes got me thinking. I've learned a lot during this process and one of the biggest things I've noticed is how people respond to this tumultuous journey. You can always see it in their eyes.  When I bring up Lyme to the cardiologists, their e...

One of the biggest slogans floating around about Lyme disease both in sponsored awareness campaigns and in patient testimony is "Lyme doesn't discriminate."  We can see this in the demographics of the spread of Lyme disease. When talking about Lyme, people focus on the Northeast regions of America, where Lyme was first discovered. People worry about kids, who spend a lot of time playing outside. They often warn people who live in areas with a lot of woods. But the truth is, when we really look at the demographics of Lyme disease we see that as it becomes a more and more prevalent epidemic, it really truly doesn't discriminate.  While we see a higher prevalence of Lyme in North America, Lyme has been reported on every continent except Antarctica.  We are seeing the Lyme epidemic arise all over Europe and Asia with increasing speed and concern. Clinics and specialities focusing on Lyme disease and tick borne diseases are popping up in Germany and Australia a...