First thing is to find a doctor!

After my last post in November 2016, can’t believe I have been out of remission that long!  I hit a pretty dark space in my ability to cope with this illness.  I kept hoping that the symptoms wouldn’t come back as bad, maybe my immune system could handle it on its own now, etc.

By June 2017, I could no longer avoid the obvious that I was fully out of remission and needed to think long and hard about treatment again.  I flew to Baltimore to see both my John’s Hopkins physician and my Lyme Literate physician that had both worked on round two.  Both were very disappointed that I was back in their office with severe symptoms so soon.  I came out of those appointments crushed and still couldn’t find the energy or fire to fight again.  I decided to take a solo break to Belize July 2017.  I had always wanted to get dive certified, so why not do it in another country on a solo mission?  I packed my bag, left my cell phone and camera at home and just brought the essentials: books and a bathing suit. My goal was to get centered and pray and decide which direction I was going.

Belize was amazing, I felt connected to God, connected to my body and starting to learn its new boundaries. I even found a little sliver of fight to get back to the life I want.  I reached out to my treating physician in Baltimore just to find out that she was giving up her practice in any western medicine and would be taking on the study of eastern medicine for the next few years.  That crushed any fire I had mustered up.

So I just kept moving forward, hoping I could go a good long while before having to seriously think about intensive treatment (yes, I know not the healthiest response).  I effectively hid my head in the sand until a few snowboarding trips pointed out that my body was deteriorating before my eyes again.  I had to be escorted off the mountain one of the days because my thigh would no longer work and I just kept falling every time I attempted to turn. I decided on that day, it was about time to being the search for a new doctor.

I started searching everything, new research in the last 4 years, doctors that speak at conferences, doctors that have treated celebrities, doctors that work with specific protocols, full live in treatment facilities to just one off doctors.  You name it, I probably found it.  With a very organized excel of over 55 doctors and clinics across the world, I then put together a cover letter to the facilities.  I am not new to the Lyme scene, I know what worked and didn’t work the first time.  I also know that I value quality of life above all else, and that is important to know about me as a patient.  The responses I got generally fell into three categories:

• a) The doctor uses the protocol he uses and if that doesn’t fit your lifestyle then you probably shouldn’t be here
• b) The doctor uses a few different protocols and can probably work with you
• c) No response at all

So then I took all of the doctors and clinics from group B and scheduled calls with patient coordinators (clinics) or physician assistants (solo doctors).  After those calls, i had narrowed my search down to 3 possible locations: Arizona, Florida or Colorado.  Then I asked for patient referrals. Two of the three were happy to send me referrals while the third was strangely hesitant.  Now, I know in the world of HIPPA you have to be very careful about information, but for any treatment center asking people to pick up their move, pay absurd amounts and trust with their lives, a referral seems appropriate.

After speaking with referrals, it was very clear that I needed to see this clinic, which I will reference as My Healing Spot*, in person.  Adam and I flew to Tampa in April to look at apartments and tour the facilities and it was VERY clear, that My Healing Spot was definitely the place for me.  They treat symptoms as what they are, symptoms, not diagnoses. They are a root cause clinic but scientifically based in every measurement.  This means they are always measuring levels of necessary “ingredients” for vital functions in your body.  They do use pharmaceuticals in conjunction with natural infusions to kill what shouldn’t ever be in your body, but focus just as much on making sure your basic body functions are all working correctly.  Doc always says, “if there is a God given ingredient that fixes the whole process why on Earth would I look for man made item that just masks the symptom.”

Start date September 10, 2018!

*if you’re interested in the name please ask! With all of the lawsuits of lyme doctors I won’t be using the name in any posts