With a Twist of Lyme

I'm not really sure how to begin this post, so I think I'll just start typing and hope that the regurgitation makes sense in the end. Jason has recently been diagnosed with Lyme Disease, also know as an infection of the Borrelia bacteria, and possibly and infection of the Babeseosis bacteria as well. We have suspected this infection for a few months, but have waited until test results confirmed our suspicions.

Around January Jason began having pain throughout his body that would seem to move all over. What I mean is, one day his knee would hurt, the next his hip, then his wrists. At first it seemed to be irritations of old injuries, but as time went on the pain began to be more sporadic and unexplainable as well as growing in intenstiy. About a week before Jude was born he confessed to me that he had been having a lot of pain and wasn't being honest about the severity of it. The timing wasn't ideal, but we wanted to get to the bottom of it, so he visited his family physician and had an array of blood tests performed. They ruled out Lupus, anemia, thyroid dysfunction, and even tested for Lyme, per Jason's request. Everything came back normal with no red flags, but the pain continued and began to get worse.

Jude was born and the whirlwind of having a newborn and an 18 month old kind of distracted us from reality. Kind of. I was sleeping on the couch so that Jason could get a full nights rest, but he would wake up in the morning feeling worse than when he had gone to bed. Some days he would have to take multiple naps or stay home from work because he was physically exhausted. The pain continued. Since the physician had ruled out everything he suspected we felt like we were at a dead end. We were both frustrated and Jason was still suffering.

For those of you who don't live near us or don't go to our church I will give you a little background as to why we decided to look further into Lyme. Grace Community Church has two pastors, and both of their wives have Lyme. Yes, you heard me corretly, BOTH. Pastor Brook's wife, Stacy, went undiagnosed for EIGHT long years. Stacy's sister was neighbors with a physician who specializes in the treatment of Lyme, after hearing about Stacy's symptoms he urged her sister to have Stacy come to his office to get tested. Stacy has been treated for Lyme for quite a few years now and while she still suffers some, her health has improved GREATLY. Pastor Paul's wife, Amy, also suffers from Lyme (along with other members of their family). Although she has not had it nearly as long as Stacy, she still had to put up a fight and is still suffering from Lyme symptoms. Along with those two women, we know many other people who have Lyme, including our close friend Gabe Isbell. After talking to Paul, Brooks and Gabe, we decided to get a more thorough examination for Lyme.

On June 2 Jason, Jude, and I all went down to Colombia, Mo to see Dr. Charles Christ. He has worked with over 7,000 patients with Lyme and is a very knowledgeable physician. While he uses prescription medications when needed, his is very open to encouraging to the use of natural methods...which is very attractive to us. Jason had a head to toe examination, along with a very expanded time of answering questions. Dr. Christ felt that Jason was showing enough symptoms of Lyme to be tested. They also tested him to see if he had strep hanging around in his body undetected. The strep came back clear, but the Lyme test (also known as the Western Blot) came back with positive bands...meaning that different parts of the bacteria were found in his blood cells.

Jason has begun treatment for Lyme. This can be a long process, or somewhat short (6 mos), or lengthy, all depending on how your body responds to the treatment. It may be something that he deals with for the rest of his life, but hopefully not to the extent that it is now. Right now he is on a 'cocktail' of antibiotics along with a few other meds. He has a protocol to follow and is walking the tightrope of treating the Lyme and dealing with the 'herxing' that happens when the bacteria begins to die off, leaving toxins in your body.

While this process is not fun, it is such a relief to know what is wrong and that there is hope and treatment. This process has brought about a lot of growth in both of us, our trust in God's sovereign will has grown immensely, we are learning to be thankful for our health, and it has brought us closer to each other. This experience has also been a huge eye-opener for us regarding our health, the food we consume, habits we have, and our lack of self discipline in certain areas of our lives. God is good, bringing about these convictions in a sweet, gentle way.

We hate the thought that someone else had to endure a chronic illness in order that Jason could receive treatment for his infection, but we are so thankful that Stacy, Amy and Gabe have all gone ahead of Jason. Their support has been invaluable and cherished during some low times.

I did not post this for pity or even sympathy, but rather for the sake of honesty. I am a very honest, real person who hates small talk and dodging the truth. I want you all to know that we are real people, real sinners saved by grace, and that we aren't ashamed or afraid to face hard things. In this I hope to bring the 'real' out in others.