Ode To Lyme Disease
In the spirit of May being Lyme Disease Awareness month, I thought I would share a little bit more about myself and how I came to have the passion I do for being a chiropractor.
The summer of 2009 I thought was going to be like any other, however, it ended up being life changing. It all started with my toes randomly falling asleep. From there is was knee pain… and when I say knee pain I mean electric bolts that zapped my knees and shot to my feet. I screamed more than once…oops.
July 9th is when I finally got the diagnosis, but it was something I had to fight for. I was told “just because your knees hurt does not mean you have Lyme Disease” along with, “that is the last thing that I would ever test your for.” Somehow, I convinced my doctor though to run the test. I was then given three weeks of Doxycycline and told I was cured.
I still had symptoms after that treatment which lead me to see a LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Doctor), again this was something I had to fight for. I was given another course of antibiotics, first orally then via IV (it sure is interesting being told “you aren’t that sick” when you have a permanent IV in your arm.) I believe it was after about six months of driving from Duluth, MN to Sartell, MN to see the LLMD that I was finally released from his care.
Life still wasn’t how it was before, I knew there had to be more. It was then that Chiropractic and specifically, Applied Kinesiology began to mean something to me. I met a chiropractor who said he would be able to help me. It was through his technique that my body started working better as a whole, I was able to feel better than I had felt in a long time. I even felt better than I had before Lyme disease.
Long story short… Chiropractic was the missing piece to my healing. It helped my body be able to fight what was left to fight. I knew this was something I needed to learn, so January 3rd, 2013 I started my chiropractic school journey. My passion for chiropractic has continued to evolve and grow, I hope to help patients along their own healing journey. As a chiropractor, I believe all patients should advocate for their own health! Don’t take no for an answer and continue to seek out the right diagnosis if something does not feel fitting. I didn’t stop fighting and neither should you!
