April, 2010 was the start of a journey for our family. Kelsey got Lyme disease but we didn’t know
it. She had a bout of what we thought
was just a virus and she fainted. We
didn’t think anything of it really. The
next month she passed out but it was more like a seizure, not like her fainting
the month before. Something was
definitely not right with this one.
So we got on the long road of doctor appointments,
unanswered questions, multiple diagnoses, complete frustration, helplessness,
and disillusionment with the medical system.
At one point, Kelsey was diagnosed with neuropathy, POTS, basilar
migraines, migraines with aura, chronic daily headaches, chronic pain syndrome,
possible MS, and “all in her head.” In Jan.
2012, the severe pain began and she massively deconditioned basically overnight. On good days, she rated her pain in her arms
and legs at 6/10 and there were a whole lot of days at 7-8/10 and even 10+ days
at the hospital. This went on non-stop,
literally, until the next December (2012).
What helped Kelsey came from an unexpected place. Out of 15 or so doctors, a couple of them
being world-renowned doctors in their specialties, not a single doctor would
take the lead in her case. Only one
doctor would prescribe a narcotic pain medication (and that wasn’t the Chronic
Pain doctor) and he only gave her a tiny bit.
One doctor continually called her “bizarre and complex.” Only one doctor stepped a foot or so out of
her specialty and tried to help Kelsey and that simple act made her a hero to
us. But, even that was a short lived
advocacy. Overall, the doctors only want
to diagnose within their specialty which meant that they never really looked at
over all causes of Kelsey’s symptoms.
They wanted us to believe that she contracted all of those diagnoses
separately at the same time. How can
people who are so smart be so ridiculous?
Tim kept saying through the whole thing that there has to be one
cause. It is the difference, I believe,
in the mindset of a trouble-shooter vs. a “diagnoser.”
Then my brother-in-law, Mark (aka New Mark; aka Assimilated
Mark), said, “Look into Lyme disease.” I
knew we had already tested twice for Lyme with the results being negative. Plus, honestly, by that time I was sick of
being told to chase what seemed to be wild geese. So, I did nothing. A couple of weeks passed and Angela asked
again if I looked into and I had to say no and she encouraged me to do so. A week later, still with me doing nothing, a
friend at work, Darla, asked me about Kelsey and she made a connection to her
friend who had Lyme disease. I told her
Kelsey had been tested and was negative and she said that didn’t matter and
said to go to a Chinese medicine lady in Greenville. So, Tim took Kelsey. The lady found Lyme and made recommendation
for Dr. Wilson. Tim, to this day, is
still skeptical about this lady but the end result is still the same. During this time, I also met with someone who
has Lyme and she also suggested Dr. Wilson for Kelsey. Do you see the paths lining up?
We went to Dr. Wilson and he confirmed Lyme through
specialized testing and we started treatment.
It took three months before we saw any significant improvement. Just at that time is when Tim and Kelsey went
to the Mayo Clinic, who disagrees with chronic Lyme disease in general. Their conclusion after a week of testing and
consults was, “We are at the end of discovery and need to move on to recovery.” In other words, “We don’t know what the hell
the she has so let’s just learn to deal with it.” Um, no.
We decided to stay on the path with Dr. Wilson.
Ten months after the start of treatment, it finally
ended. And now, three months after that,
Kelsey is so good it is practically unbelievable. She has moved from “bizarre and complex” to “miraculous”
according to Dr. Linder. I couldn’t
agree more. Yesterday, she ran 3.2
miles, she has decided to start eating healthier, and is even writing a blog (www.ablessedrunner.blogspot.com). She homeschools and works 25-30 hours a week
being a nanny for two boys (2 years old, and 2 months old).
Certainly I have seen God working in the last 3 ½ years. What I see in this story is God leading the way
to diagnosis. I sure wish He would have
done it a lot sooner. But, like the old
saying goes, “I have my plan, but
God has His.” I got a glimpse of that
perfect timing last week when I read Kelsey’s first blog. She wrote, “I know all
too well what it is like to not have the ability to run but to be honest I
wouldn’t take back what happened for anything.” I asked her why and she explained that she
loves her life now and if it hadn’t been for the illness, her life would be
incredibly different. God’s timing, not
mine. God’s plan, not mine. Which brings me back to my mantra/prayer for
the last 3 ½ years: “Into your hands, O Lord.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmUGekcTuLM