- BHN Radio Interview with Kathryn Ely on Lyme Disease

Help Kathryn cover the cost of her medical bills. Here is something you can do to make a difference today! Every dollar helps.

 

Donate today by clicking here

Hi i'm Kathryn Ely and I am a shameless idealist. I was in the middle of planning a 2011 thru hike of the PCT and in conjunction with that, a Philanthropic Adventure

Reality Series...kind of The Amazing Race meets Survivor with a philanthropic twist.

Anyway, I was always hiking in the Malibu Mountains, which come to find out is infested with Lyme disease carrying ticks. I was very active and

had the occasional ache and plain, which I attributed to my active lifestyle. There were also a couple times in the spring it seemed like I was

coming down with a cold or the flu...headache, sore throat and fever. But it cleared up pretty quickly. In June of 2010 I set out to hike a section

of the PCT. The first night I felt a tightness in my hips creeping in. I attributed it to not stretching well enough and the steep descent. It only

went downhill from there. My hips, knees and ankle would hurt so bad I was actually convinced I had a stress fracture in one foot. I am too

stubborn to quit, so that 144.7 mile trip was an epic battle between my determined mind and failing body. 2.5 weeks later I finished and came

home. 3 weeks after I was home, I was still experiencing joint pain in my hips, knees and ankles and was always worn out by the end of the

day, which was new for me. Looking back on those symptoms, it's scary how natural and organic they felt. It didn't feel like I was sick. It just

felt like I was sore and tired. One morning i woke up and went downstairs to the kitchen. Well, I tried to get down to the kitchen. I was seized by

excruciating pain in my lower half. I gave up and went back to bed, where I quickly fell back asleep and proceeded to sleep another 5 hours (on

top of the 10 I already had). I woke up and it dawned on me. I knew about Lyme and the symptoms but it never occurred to me thats what was

going on, like I said before...the pain and fatigue felt organic, not like I was sick. I went to Urgent Care and asked the Dr to be tested for Lyme. I

explained I engaged in high risk activity in high risk areas. What happened next shocked me. She tried to convince me I had Lupus or

Rheumatoid Arthritis. The likelihood of a 27 year old healthy female developing those diseases is highly unlikely. I had to fight for the Lyme test

and eventually she gave in, just to humor me. A week later she called and was eating crow. My Lyme titers were through the roof. I definitely

had Lyme and I needed to see an Infectious Disease specialist right away...

Looking back, I don't think there is any way I could have been prepared for what came next. There I was, freshly diagnosed with Lyme and only

armed with information provided by a basic google search. The Doctor from the Urgent Care called in a prescription of doxycycline and gave me

the phone number of an infectious disease specialist in the area. I promptly hung up and called that office to make an appointment.

"Dr. --- office"

"Hi, um, yes...I've been diagnosed with Lyme disease and I was give--"

"We don't treat Lyme"

"Oh well, do you kno--"

CLICK

Strange, right? Well, I had 10 more conversations like that with 10 different Dr's offices. I was confused and overwhelmed. In addition to the joint

pain and fatigue, that pesky sore throat and headache that would come and go was back. I wasn't sure of the next move to make, so I took the

next logical step; I updated my Facebook status to "Just diagnosed with Lyme and need to find a Dr...Anyone??".

I love living in the digital age with iPhones, Facebook, Twitter and Google. They've given me the opportunity to widen my social circle, raise

funds for causes like trafficking victims in Nepal and simply keep in touch with people. Social networking did not let me down after that post. I

had a few people get in touch, either giving me the phone numbers of relatives who've had Lyme or of Doctors who've treated Lyme patients in

the past. I called one of the Dr's in Malibu and made an appointment for the following week.

It dawned on me that this could get costly and my insurance may not cover some of it. I had my plan bundled with a family members, as it was

cheaper that way, so I called them. I explained my diagnosis and asked for them to send over the policy details of my plan, so I could know how

much coverage I would have. After a few moments of awkward silence on the other end of the line, I was told that they had cancelled my

insurance a year ago, citing their need for the money. Well, that explains why my check was being cashed every month.

I couldn't believe it. Not only had I just been diagnosed with a serious bacterial infection, but now I had zero insurance coverage. The way I saw

it, I didn't really have a choice, so I gritted my teeth and forged ahead with treatment...

Great Resources:

CALDA (California Lyme Disease Association)
www.lymedisease.org

ILADS (International Lyme and and Associated Disease Society)
www.ilads.org

Lymenet
www.lymenet.org

CALDA - California Lyme Disease Association

www.lymedisease.org

California Lyme Disease Association (CALDA) is a non-profit corporation acting as the central voice for all tick-borne disease issues

 

Greetings Friends,

 

As many of you may now know, I was diagnosed with Late Stage Lyme Disease in July of last year. This past February I made the difficult decision to leave work and stay at home on disability. You can actually read my story at www.lemminlyme.blogspot.com But that is not why I am writing you today...

 

Since my diagnosis I have spent over $13,000 in treatment and that includes my new insurance that is covering a percentage! It has eaten up my savings and stripped me of much more. I recently sold my furniture in order to pay for the last couple of co-pays. 

 

Fortunately, there are some wonderfully kind and generous people out in the world and they have agreed to help me with a fundraiser to help me pay for the cost of treatment (NOT personal living expenses). Here is how strangers have helped me and how you can help me too.

 

 

1) Cathleen Gardner Pascuzzi is a Scentsy sales rep. She has set up a fundraiser for me and will be giving my medical fund a portion of the sales. If you would like to help out in that way, I would really appreciate it. You simply go to www.cathleenpascuzzi.scentsy.us and click "join this party" next to where my name is. From there you can find out what exactly these products are and browse the catalog and add things to your shopping cart. 

 

2) I have set up a fundraising page on www.indiegogo.com/help-me-beat-lyme and that is a pretty cut and dry situation. You can give anywhere from $1 to a few hundred. No amount is too small. In return, I will mail you a lyme awareness ribbon as a token of my appreciation.

 

3) www.cafepress.com/lemminlyme is a store where you can purchase Lyme awareness products like travel mugs, steel water bottles, iPhone cases, t-shirts and more. 

 

 

Obviously asking friends and strangers to help me financially for medical costs is not something I imagined I would ever do. However, it has gotten to the point where I can not do this alone and truly need some support. If you could please help me by donating (even $1 will help) and then sharing this email with your social networks as well as your social circle in real life - I think I would have a real chance to beat this thing and go back to living a healthy happy life. 

 

Thank you so much for listening and for your help.

 

Peace, 

 

Kat

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When my aunt's beloved feline died, she prayed to see her pet again in heaven. Did this cat have nine lives?

BY: Arnold Fine

 

Aunt Faye and her cat Sophie were inseparable. In fact, though Aunt Faye never had any children, Sophie was like a child to her.

I have to admit that the cat was amazing. Sophie always knew when Aunt Faye wasn't feeling well. In fact, Sophie even knew when Aunt Faye's feet were cold at night. Because that cat would snuggle up at her feet in bed, Aunt Faye used to call Sophie her "bed warmer." My aunt was sort of hard of hearing, so when anyone came to the door of her apartment, Sophie ran to the door to alert her.

 

Good old Sophie the cat was getting on in years. My aunt would call me from time to time to ask me to drive Sophie and her to the veterinarian. In fact, I think she took better care of Sophie than herself. If Aunt Faye didn't feel well, she wouldn't go to the doctor; she would just take an aspirin. But should Sophie sneeze or cough with a hairball in her throat, we were on our way to the vet almost immediately.

So it came as a bit of a shock when Aunt Faye called me crying hysterically  "Sophie is dead! My little Sophie is dead!"

Between sobs, Aunt Faye explained, "You know I don't sleep so good at night. So the doctor gave me some sleeping pills. I didn't like the way they smelled so he told me to put a drop of vanilla extract into the bottle to make the pills taste like candy. So this morning when I was cooking in the kitchen, Sophie got into my bedroom and accidentally knocked over my bottle of sleeping pills. They must have smelled good to her because she ate almost every last one of them. The empty bottle was on the floor next to her."

Aunt Faye was still crying uncontrollably. "You know how long my Sophie and I have been together?" Not even waiting for my answer she said, "We've been together for twelve years. Yesterday, I even bought her a new cat food. They said this cat food was softer for older cats...her teeth have started to fall out like mine. Do you know how much Sophie meant to me?"

I sympathized with her.

"Now what can I do?" she sobbed.

"I'm so sorry, Aunt Faye, there isn't much you can do. Put Sophie's body in a paper bag, and place it in the garbage can in the basement. The sanitation department will take her away."

"What?" she screamed. "My Sophie in a garbage can? She was like my child. Since your uncle passed away, she's been my closest friend for all these years. I can't just put her in the garbage!"

"Okay," I said. "I'm working very late tonight so I won't be able to get over to your house. However, if you'll feel better about it, take a taxi to your veterinarian and ask him to have Sophie taken to the animal cemetery. I'll provide the money for the plot and the burial."

The tears continued. "Will I be able to visit her from time to time?"

"Sure. I'll take you to the pet cemetery any time you want to go."

"How can I take Sophie to the vet? Her carrying case fell apart a few years ago."

"Put her in your old suitcase. It's not too big and Sophie will fit perfectly."

"Will there be a funeral?"

"No, dear. The vet calls the people from the pet cemetery. They'll put Sophie in a little casket and take her to the cemetery."

"Okay," she muttered with a broken heart. "It will be dignified?" she asked.

"Yes, it will," I said.

That was it. I felt bad for her, but there was nothing more I could do.

About six o'clock that evening, Aunt Faye called me at my office. "Arnold, I have something to tell you." Strangely, I sensed excitement in her voice.

"Did you go to the vet?" I asked.

"I did just like you said. I put Sophie in my suitcase. I was standing by the bus stop waiting for a cab, so I figured, Why spend money for a taxi when I could certainly take the bus? So I put the suitcase down next to me and started to look into my purse to see if I had the exact change. While I was looking in my pocketbook, some teenage boys came up behind me. One threw me to the ground and grabbed my suitcase with Sophie inside!"

"Oh no, Aunt Faye! Did you get hurt?"

"Just a few scratches. Nothing serious. I yelled for the police, but nobody came. So what could I do? I figured this was the way my relationship with Sophie was supposed to end. So I went home."

"I don't believe this!" I said, trying to hold back my laughter. "Can you imagine the expression on those kids' faces when they opened the suitcase and found a dead cat?"

She started to laugh. Aunt Faye was actually laughing!

"Wait, wait -- that's only part of the story. Sophie came home! She really wasn't dead! I only thought she was dead because she was lying so still when I found her in the bathroom this morning. Being jostled back and forth in that suitcase must have finally roused her. When I got back to the house, she was waiting at my door!

"Arnold, thank you for all your help. I prayed for Sophie to enter heaven, and she came back to me."

The next time I went to visit Aunt Faye, she had a little sign on her front door that read, "This is heaven."