My Journey Thus Far

Part 1:

I have struggled with my health for as long as I can remember. There was not a defining moment in which I suddenly felt sick; instead it was a gradual progression over several years.  The defining moment for me was when I finally got so sick that I had to be taken out of school. At the time I was eight years old and in the middle of third grade. I was emaciated, exhausted, and in massive amounts of pain. My mom and I spent the next two years in and out of doctor’s offices. I went to all sorts of specialists and hospitals, but none of them found anything and gave up. The doctors began suggesting that I had made all of it up and that I needed psychiatric help.

My mom reached out, as a last effort, to a doctor that had treated one of her friends. He had never worked with children before but after hearing my story he agreed to see me. He diagnosed me with severe chronic Lyme, all of the co-infections, and a massive intestinal yeast infection. The yeast infection was so bad that the lab called my doctor believing that there had to be a clerical mistake because they had only seen this level of severity in middle-aged adults. It was so severe that I had stopped being able to digest nutrients and if nothing was done I would have died in the next few months.

Instead I spent the next three years doing a variety of treatments and I was able to go back to public school. I no longer felt like I was dying, but I was still exhausted and in pain. At the time I believed that this was how everyone felt and what life was like.

Part 2:

During the summer between my freshmen and sophomore year of high school the residual exhaustion and pain got worse and I was taken out of school again. I spent the next several months in bed unable to move. This time the pain was not concentrated in specific areas but radiated all over my body. On good days I was able to get out of bed and with assistance walk short distances. This made it even more difficult to get to doctors to figure out what was wrong. Eventually I was referred to a neurologist and at a relatively nearby, well known hospital. There I was diagnosed with the autoimmune disorder Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). Which basically means that my immune system was attacking my peripheral nervous system. After a fight with my insurance company I was treated with IV/IG or intravenous immunoglobulin replacement therapy. I spent a year and a half on IV/IG therapy during which I regained my strength and my pain subsided.

During this time I was also diagnosed with a new infection of Lyme which thankfully was found and treated quickly. However, due to all the meds that I had to take as a child my digestive system was in ruins. Every time I take antibiotics I develop an infection in my intestine called SIBO. Quite often I would develop infections at random. I was constantly bloated and vomiting, my abdomen was distended, and I had trouble eating any food.

Part 3:

More recently I was diagnosed with mononucleosis (the EBV virus) and Hashimotos. I am also currently working on improving my immune system, strengthening my digestive system, and lowering my cortisol levels. To treat these issues I am using an all natural approach. I will be healing myself through food, natural supplements, exercise, and other natural remedies.