Guess Who's Back - Back Again. Shady's Back, Tell A Friend!

After a 5 months hiatus from blogging… this girl is back!

Welcome October! We meet again… although, in a much improved condition than the previous year. October 14, 2016, I began treatment through a local LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Doctor). Initial lab results revealed I had 4 vector-infections: Babesia, Bartonellosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Classic Lyme. Additionally, I had several viruses: MTHFR mutations, Parvo B19, Influenza A, Coxsackie A and B, HHV 6, Mycoplasma Pneumonia and Epstein-Barr. 

I had my first port placed on November 14, 2016 at Menorah Hospital. November 29, 2016, several medications were added to my treatment plan - sleep aids, biofilm “breaker downers”, antimalarials, human plasma, anticoagulants, anticonvulsants, Glutathione, and an oxygen canister. 

December, 2016, I experienced my first port infection. The port was removed and a PICC line was placed. Mid December, 2016, I developed multiple clots in my arm where the PICC line was located. The PICC line was removed and a second port was implanted. 

January, 2017, following multiple seizures and fainting spells, a prolonged QT was determined by an abnormal EKG. Mid January, 2017, a second port infection was detected. The port was removed and an appointment with a renowned LLMD in D.C. was scheduled for the end of the month. 

February 2017, my new treatment through the doctor in D.C. was underway following a Power Line placement at the Washington University Hospital. 

March, 2017, I completed my first intravenous regime. Immediately following my finishing, I was diagnosed with C Diff Colitis. 

April, 2017, I was hospitalized for C Diff Colitis and told treatment was on hold. 

Have I lost you yet? It gets better, I promise! After spending the entire month of April recuperating from a near death experience with Clostridium Difficile Colitis, I knew a change was in order. I broke up with my doctor in D.C. and starting researching Hansa Center located in Wichita, Kansas. I scheduled my new patient 2-week treatment for May 8, 2017, and crossed my fingers that this was the answer I had so desperately been looking for the past 9 months. 

To save time… and interest… I’ll be very brief with the remaining details. Hansa was incredible… it was insanely different and frightening yet perfect. Hansa treats the “whole person” utilizing non-invasive therapies and supplements. It is considered a “natural” clinic. The 3-months protocol following my 2-weeks stay at Hansa was pure and unobtrusive. 

After a month of incorporating the various supplements and therapies into my everyday lifestyle, I was confident in moving forward with setting a date for the wedding. Blake and I decided the sooner, the better… I was finally feeling somewhat “normal” again, and we didn’t want to miss out on this ever so precious time. 

Blake and I got married September 1, 2017. A month prior to the wedding, we learned that we were expecting. We are so incredibly excited and believe this baby is a true miracle. This past May, the doctor in D.C. told Blake and I that pregnancy was not in our future… God obviously had a different plan. Trust the timing in your life!

So where am I at now with things? I’d say every day brings on a different challenge and I’m learning to roll with the punches and stay calm while doing so. I still get daily migraines, earaches, joint pain, fatigue, occasional rashes and visual disturbances. It’s become who I am and eventually, you learn to just deal with it. I no longer take any medications besides a prenatal vitamin for the baby. All of the natural remedies I was taking from Hansa were completed in July. I haven’t given up researching my invisible disease and I won’t stop until I reach my true optimum health. Unfortunately, Chronic Lyme Disease doesn’t have a cure, therefore, those who suffer from this debilitating illness, are on a never-ending journey until they discover what works for them. 

I think Hansa saved my life… Do I plan on returning? Absolutely. When? After the baby is born. I am due the beginning of April, so I hope to go back for a 5-day treatment stay in May. Blake and the baby will come along and I imagine Avery and Addison will stay back with my parents. The days are long and consist of back to back treatments from 8:00-5:00. Avery and Addison would be bored out of their minds if I dragged them along. Luckily the baby will sleep the majority of the time we’re at the clinic. Blake is able to work remotely, utilizing the clinic’s lounge room and outdoor seating area. The environment is very tranquilizing… To say I’m ecstatic to go back to Hansa would be a major understatement. Hopefully the 5-day treatment stay will be the exact “tune up” that my body needs. 

Along with revisiting Hansa, I plan to take my detox very serious once the baby arrives. Before finding out I was pregnant, it was recommended I do ionic foot baths, colonics, infrared saunas, gluten-free diet and salt baths weekly. My dad was ever so kind to purchase Blake and I the exact infrared sauna that the Hansa Center has at their clinic. 

It’s been an endless and pitiful year. My sweet baby girls have witnessed more falls, faints, seizures, and hospitals than most people do in a lifetime. Their strength and courage is admirable to both myself and everyone who knows their recent hardships. This adventure hasn’t been easy, on anyone, but the braveness and appreciation that it’s gifted us is quite incredible. 

I feel closer to my girls, today, than I’ve ever felt before. The little things like dropping my girls off at school and picking them up has become such a precious time for me. Sitting at the kitchen table after dinner working on homework with Avery means more to me than she’ll ever know. I lost my deep connection with Avery last year after missing out on so much of her life. You could tell she was afraid of my illness and didn’t like to see me sick in bed. She became distant and I was no longer her “go to” person. It was at that time that I knew I HAD to get better… There was no more lying around feeling sorry for myself. My girls needed ME and I so desperately needed them too. 

I’m a completely different person than I was before I got sick. A lot of negative has come from my diagnosis but I’d like to think that I’ve become a better person throughout it all. I look at life completely different now and I appreciate the little things. “You can’t really begin to appreciate life until it has knocked you down a few times. You can’t really begin to appreciate love until your heart has been broken. And you can’t really begin to appreciate happiness until you’ve known sadness. Once you’ve walked through the valley, the view from the mountaintop is breathtaking.”

Until next time!