Tori – A Life Changing Perspective

This Lyme journey hasn’t been easy. I was playing college soccer and running track when I started to experience anxiety, depression and severe gastrointestinal symptoms. I searched for an answer, going from doctor-to-doctor, from Maine to Massachusetts for many years. I was forced to leave college a semester early my senior year and return home to Maine because I was so sick.

My symptoms soon included night sweats, severe anxiety, depression, anger/mood swings, numbness, heart palpitations, severe gastrointestinal symptoms and losing a lot of weight. After about two years of searching for a diagnosis, my friend recognized my symptoms because she dealt with a lot of the same ones. I finally got tested for Lyme disease and it came back positive. My doctor prescribed antibiotics, but I wasn’t improving at all.

I needed more intense treatment that was specific for my body. I found a new doctor who wanted to start homeopathic treatment. But the treatment wasn’t very affordable or close by. This financial burden gave me no option but to look for help. I was luckily able to find LymeLight Foundation. I applied and was awarded a grant. Without their help, I would not have been able to get the treatment that I needed to survive.

Each week, I would fly down to New Jersey with volunteer pilots from Angel Flight, stay overnight in a hotel, sometimes alone and sometimes with a family member, and get 4-5 treatments through my PICC line. This went on for 14 weeks. It was a long and grueling process, but I’m so thankful I was able to receive treatment. The LymeLight grant really made a substantial impact on my healing journey. It gave me hope for the other people who need Lyme treatment. This whole experience has completely changed my life for the better and I can finally say I’m a year and a half out from treatment and feeling the best I have in a LONG time.

I’m still trying to process what I’ve been through and what this disease has done to my mind, body and life. My advice is to try to keep yourself busy by getting out of the house as much as you can, going on walks, talking to a friend, journaling your feelings, and seeking therapy if needed. My hope is for anyone who’s struggling with this disease to please know that you are not alone. You are never alone in this Lyme journey. Although it might seem like it’s never going to end, please don’t stop fighting. One day we will find a cure to this storm.