F*cking Deer Ticks. May Evolution Rid Us Of You Once And For All

So Lyme Disease it is. Those of you who guessed that on Facebook now owe me dinner. Those who didn’t now owe me booze. However I can’t drink for 3 weeks now on this medicine. It’s like rehab, only not as fun. I also found out I’m allergic to wheat, which means no beer. That may be enough to put me into a depression, but one crisis at a time.

So 3 weeks and 6 days after waking up with a problem I finally have an answer. I can’t tell you what a relief it is. I had such a burst of adrenaline when the Dr called. Before that I had been laying in bed so exhausted and in so much pain I couldn’t move, yet unable to sleep. I was thinking how can I possibly function today. An answer was wonderful. My Dr said she’s never been so excited to tell someone they’re sick and her co-workers couldn’t believe how happy she was to tell me I had Lyme disease.

Yesterday I went to the Center for Natural Healing in Kingston. Only because I know so many people who have gotten help there that I trust. So I gave it a try. It was very interesting. I’ll write more about that in a subsequent blog.

Afterwards I fell asleep twice while doing something at my Mom’s. I finally slept for about an hour. It took another hour to clear the fog in my head to drive home. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t make any decisions. I had plans for doing some shopping and enjoying my pass day, but all I could think about was getting home to bed. I cried on the Thruway on the way home, feeling so overwhelmed with frustration at the past 3 weeks of not getting any answers. I was angry at the Drs who told me there was nothing wrong. Even angrier at the Drs who didn’t do their job to even try to figure out what was wrong. Angry at the misdiagnosis’s and the time wasted in bureaucratic bullshit.

I was afraid I was going to have to out on leave at work, unable to do work when I was there, and it being harder and harder to get to work. Angry at the almost $1000 I’ve spent already to find answers.

But this morning all of that was taken off my shoulders as the Dr said “you should start to feel better in a few days”. As the day progressed all the things I worried I wouldn’t be able to do this summer suddenly became reality and it thrilled me. No more laying in bed on beautiful days, listening to people enjoying the sunshine outside, while I sat inside in pain. Hope started to return. The idea of feeling normal again filled me with adrenaline. To not have to put so much effort into just cooking dinner, cleaning the dishes, let alone do laundry or keep my apt at least semi clean. I worried I was going to have to ask for help to do the simplest of things. I felt bad when friends with full time jobs and kids were offering to do my grocery shopping for me. How could I possibly be that sick? And how could I continue to feel sicker and sicker each day? And then today I knew an end was in sight, and there is hope that Eric will be Eric again. And life will begin to return to normal again.

I’m so grateful for those of you in my life during the past 4 months. For all the love and concern. For the cards, the prayers, the well wishes, the offer of help, the support and most of all the humor you all helped me to keep up through it all. It was nice being able to laugh about it with my friends. I am so blessed. On the day I went for the MRI results I had 28 offers from people to go with me for the results. How can someone be so lucky? So on the bright side of all of this I am reminded to be thankful for all that fill my life with such happiness and love.

I know this isn’t a particularly witty or funny blog, but an update, and the promise that I’ll be back to my former self in anywhere from three weeks to six months. But fear not, I’ll be back and stronger than ever. Thank you all for everything you do to make my life complete on a daily basis.

I told Mark today when he was asking about Lyme disease and what I needed to do that the idea of returning to normal made me happier than I’ve felt in a while, and how nice it was to have hope again. So here’s to hope and happiness for us all.