Elayna – Dancing Again

When I was a little girl, I did not have stamina like the other kids. I knew how to run, but I couldn’t keep up and run with the others. I didn’t really understand why. I also had learning problems but they would come and go. Sometimes I did really well in school but then other times my eyes would do strange things and it was hard to read. I also had a lot of headaches and seemed to catch every sickness around me and had frequent colds and fevers. This went on for years.

A big shift came at the end of 5th grade when I started to lose grip in my hands. I couldn’t hold a pencil to do my schoolwork or open a jar. The headaches also had gotten worse and more frequent. I didn’t tell my mom at the time, but my eyes started blackening everything out like a closing tunnel. Later, I found out these were pre-seizure episodes. This was a very hard time for me.

My mom, dad and older brother were in treatment for Lyme disease. Since my parents already knew so much about Lyme, they had suspected I might have it too. At the time, my mom and dad both were very sick and couldn’t really take care of another Lyme patient. Once I lost my ability to grip, my parents decided it could not wait and sent me to the LLMD they were seeing. I was diagnosed with Lyme disease.

At the beginning of treatment, things got worse. My mom had warned me things might get worse before they got better. I started struggling even more cognitively, but we kept pushing forward. Eventually most of these issues improved a lot except for the headaches and poor stamina, so we kept going.

When I found out about LymeLight Foundation, I was overjoyed. We got the grant and it helped with so much. It also helped me look at everything with a more positive point-of-view. I got better enough to start dancing again. It was difficult and I had to work harder than most of the other kids but I could do it. My headaches were gone. My mental health got much better, too.

Around Christmas in 2021, I had to get a PICC line. I had something called chorea (involuntary muscle movements) that made me move funny. The IV medications helped a lot and after about seven months I was able to take the PICC line out and the chorea was gone. I’m still in treatment but I’m so much better and am expected to go into remission status this year!

I am continuing to dance and pursue other things that I love. I don’t have headaches at all and my stamina has improved dramatically. I don’t know how this would have been possible without LymeLight. I am so grateful for the chance to heal and for all that LymeLight has done for me and my family! Thank you, LymeLight, for helping me!

Lastly, I want everyone to know that the journey out of Lyme disease can be very hard and longer than you can imagine. But, keep pushing and full recovery is possible! You are worth full recovery!