Adria vs. Lyme

Adria  was misdiagnosed for approximately 4 years. Symptoms were mild in the beginning. We chalked it up to stress from Nursing School. She worked hard and graduated with Honors. We expected the symptoms to clear up now that she was out of college and into her dream job as a Registed Nurse. She loves helping people, she always has. She spent every summer at Camp Fitch, taking care of campers with special needs. She touched the lives of so many people and it brought her so much happiness. She was born to be a nurse, we didn't understand why she was having such a hardtime in her new career. She would curl up on her kitchen floor, in her scrubs, sobbing, not wanting to go into work. Her anxiety was out of control. Her thoughts seems scattered. She couldn't sleep. We thought it was because of her constant switch between day and night shift. If she could just get some sleep then she would feel better. She took a medical leave of absence from work. She still couldn't sleep, getting about 2 hours a night. She had physical pain that was getting worse. She saw multiple doctors, each giving her a different diagnosis and different medications but nothing worked.

She used to be happy, healthy and radiant. She was now broken. Physically, mentally and heavily medicated.She was getting worse everytime I saw her. She would tell me she was OK, while tears were streaming down her face. She tried to be strong, everyone kept telling her to hold on and that it would get better. Her medical leave was over and she was worse than she was before. She was not able to return to work.  After spending a weekend away with her, it was obvious that something was very wrong and that drastic mesaures needed to be taken. She was losing her grip on reality. She was unstable and becoming manic. More doctors, more medication changes. After 6 days in the hospital we had a new misdiagnosis of Schizophrenia. We wouldn't accept that. My mom and I would discuss options. Try to play doctor, write out her symptoms, search online, trying to piece together this mystery puzzle.

I remember getting the call from my mom, I was laying in bed and she was crying on the other end. "She has Lyme Disease". My mom finally put the pieces of the puzzle together. I looked up the symptoms of Lyme. Adria had every.single.one. Fatigue, headache, rash, night sweats, muscle pain, joint pain, sleep issues, neuropathy, depression, chest pain, anxiety, memory loss and more. All those summers she spent helping those in need, she was bit by countless ticks. It all made sense, but the diagnosis was too late. She had lost her job. She was unable to take care of herself, let alone patients. She lost her home, unable to pay the bills without a job. Relationships were falling apart too, crumbling under the pressure and stress of this prolonged situation. She started a 30 day round of antibiotics that cost her $15. And just like that, her symptoms started to clear up.

Unfortunately the $15 "cure" came after $7,000 worth of hospital stays, testing, unnecessary medications and incorrect diagnosis. It was also temporary.  Her symptoms are all coming back.  She was referred to an Infectious Disease specialist for more testing. She is waiting to start a more aggressive, IV antibiotic protocal and other possible treatments to fight this bacteria that contiues to linger inside. Her medical bills are being sent to collections as she is still unable to return to work. The bills are adding stress to an already bad situation.

100% of donations will go towards her medical bills.

#LymeTheWholeTime