Take Back My Life

My name is Briana Beaver, and I'm taking back my life!

I have been overcoming extreme and extraordinary obstacles since my birth. An hour after I was born, I died. I was resuscitated, but the event left me with permanent brain damage, resulting in Cerebral Palsy. When I was 9 years old, I mysteriously started to experience health problems that included gastrointestinal, pulmonary, metabolic, and neurological symptoms.

But I never let this stop me. I pursued my passions, and did my best to live a normal life. I graduated high school in 3 years, and in 2011 I graduated from Chico State, Summa Cum Laude, with a degree in Sociology. It was then that my health became even worse.

The pain became horrifically intense. I had extreme sensory overload, so that every stimulus - sight, sound, and smell - everything caused pain. I was so mysteriously debilitated that I was unable to eat or drink. By summer 2012 I was in Stanford Hospital, wasted away to 75 lbs. The pain was so torturous that I welcomed the thought of death.

In December of 2014, my medical mystery was finally given a name: Lyme Disease. Since then, I have undergone an extremely expensive battery of treatments, none of which are covered by insurance. I have improved, but I’m still incredibly medically fragile. I’m currently unable to read for more than 10 minutes at a time, and can’t use a computer or TV for any length at all. I had to dictate this message because I’m unable to write it myself. However, I desperately needed to share how deeply I’m committed to moving forward. It’s time for me to FINALLY take back my life!

My family is organizing the Take Back My Life campaign to help pay for the extremely expensive treatments Briana direly needs, but isn’t covered by insurance.


For more information on my journey to health, 'LIKE' the TBML Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Take-Back-My-Life/617450741719036?

To better understand the devastating and debilitating symptoms of Lyme Disease, please visit www.lymedisease.org/