The bad news is that her neuropathy and fatigue issues are worse than they were this summer.
The ugly would be that damn tick that is responsible for all the bad health issues that Heather is dealing with.
The good news is that Heather loves her new job and she still enjoys the off season quiet beach season. There are probably 90% fewer people at the beach during the winter. Kind of a DUH statement. You can still get some spectacular beach days, but the wind off the ocean is brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr freezing cold and that in itself is bad bad bad for Heather's neuropathy.
Some bad news (actually more annoying than bad) is that Heather had to deal with some crazy home repair issues that involved way too much time before and after work. Instead of catching up on sleep and resting, she was dealing with some time consuming, intrusive and annoying things at the cottage. Thank goodness for her good friend Derek. He did so much to help Heather and and I am forever grateful for that. In a perfect world, I would be retired and would have been able to go down for a few weeks to help Heather deal with the cottage. The good news though is that Heather and I both have great jobs and that is something I never take for granted.
More good news is that Kevin is going to be with Heather to ring in the New Year. Heather, Kevin, and Pearl will start off 2016 with love, laughter, and new beginnings.
The good news is that Heather is working with new doctor in North Carolina who is talking with the NYC medical group. This will mean more blood work and adjustments or additions to meds.
What is really bad and ugly are the way that the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) set the Lyme guidelines which are followed by the medical community and health insurance companies. The CDC and IDSA maintain that Lyme disease can be treated with short courses of antibiotics and that persistent infection is rare or non-existent. Lyme patients that were not diagnosed in the early stage can tell you what an ignorant and stupid statement that is. You know the saying: "Walk a mile in my shoes. Don't judge another person's life until you've been forced to live it."
When Lyme isn’t detected in the early stages, it becomes Chronic Lyme, a condition which the CDC and IDSA both deny even exists. They will continue to deny it, because if there’s one thing insurance companies hate, it’s chronic disorders they have to spend time and money treating. Therefore, a panel with ties to insurance companies gathered to write up official Lyme guidelines that assure patients are only allowed a few weeks of antibiotic treatment and are not to be diagnosed with Chronic Lyme Disease (even if clear symptoms persist and invade the nervous system).
The good news, is that I will stop my ranting, for now, this blog went from good, to bad, then ugly. I will step down from my soap box and stop giving my opinions about the politics, red tape, and games that corporations play when it comes to health care issues and what is best for a patient.
Heather is a good person. Contracting Lyme disease was bad for Heather. However, she is determined to not have this ugly disease destroy the beautiful, kind, hard working, and caring person that she is.
One of my wishes for 2016 is that Heather continues to heal from Lyme and that she has more good days than bad days. She deserves that. Actually all good people deserve that.
Happy New Year. May 2016 bring everyone love, laughter, happiness, and good health.
xoxo
Lisa
