Abby's Lyme Disease Fundraiser
Donation protected
Friends & family, thank you for celebrating my birthday with me! If you want to celebrate my birthday, please do take some time to read why I'm setting up this fundraiser for a dear friend of mine, Abby Lottridge, and why it means the world to me and her and all of us who have Lyme.
As many of you know by now, I'm battling chronic Lyme Disease. But many of you may not have the context of what that even means, so before I share my friend's story, I want to give you some context as to what we're even dealing with here.
______________________
1. CONTEXT:
Lyme is an infectious & degenerative disease. A pandemic. And yet it's often denied by many traditional doctors today. Once we finally find a good doctor for Lyme, it can be extremely difficult to fight the disease given it often comes with co-infections and the longer it goes untreated, the more it grows like a spider's web into every system and organ of the body, including the nervous system, lymphatic system, cardiovascular system, respiratory system, musculoskeletal system, ect.
There's no one-size fits all treatment. Everyone responds to treatments differently and it can be years of trial & error to find something that helps us go into remission.
This disease has left people bedridden, paralyzed, and it has led to death. We are fighting for our lives and beyond thankful for the doctors who do everything in their power to help us heal.
But given chronic Lyme is not taken seriously by the majority of doctors and society at large, insurance mostly doesn't cover Lyme treatments & therapies. Many patients who finally find a great doctor & treatment plan have to quit treatment mid way due to having to pay out of pocket with no help from insurance.
______________________
2. ABBY'S STORY:
Abby has been battling chronic Lyme Disease, co-infections, and more since she was around 7 years old. She's 19 now. She was diagnosed at 11 and went from specialist to specialist for years to get help, but none of them helped and even misdiagnosed her. She finally found a great LLMD (lyme literate medical doctor) at 18 years old and has been on various treatment protocols with him since then.
She's currently working on getting a physical therapy degree and trying extremely hard with everything in her to keep up in school while battling this debilitating disease.
As the Lyme has progressed, it has become increasingly difficult for her to maintain a job and she recently had to quit. She is paying for her own apartment and Lyme treatment out of her savings now.
Lyme treatment can be thousands upon thousands of dollars and it can take years of treatment before going into remission. That's not even including the other therapies that help manage pain throughout treatment like physical therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic care, ect.
I wish none of us had to rely on fundraisers to afford our treatments & therapies, but that's not our current reality. Most of us have to rely on fundraisers to be able to afford treatment in the long term.
After all Abby's been through and finally found an amazing doctor who is able to give her a chance at remission and healing, it would be all kinds of wrong for her to have to pause or end treatment mid-way because the expenses of treatment are too much and Lyme is stealing away her ability to maintain jobs.
______________________
3. CLOSING THOUGHTS:
Abby is the type of person who is constantly pouring into others, constantly giving, constantly having everyone's backs in this chronic illness and Lyme community. She even has been a part of multiple fundraisers for other lymies and she's always making herself available for anyone who needs to talk about these diseases. She's always there for us.
She's the first person who shared her Lyme journey that made me feel deeply understood and not alone. Since then we've connected more through messaging and a support group she started. And that has helped my heart heal in so many ways.
I would LOVE for us to now pour into her and for whatever it is worth, help ease some of the insane financial burdens of paying for Lyme treatment. I'm starting the goal at $1,000, but honestly I would love to see us raise more since, as I've said, Lyme treatment is thousands of dollars over the course of years. [Update: just raised it to 2K! Let's keep it going!]
I love this girl with everything in me and it would mean the world to me that we could bless her back in the ways that she always blesses us in this Lyme community!!
Thank you, friends and family!
Much love!
As many of you know by now, I'm battling chronic Lyme Disease. But many of you may not have the context of what that even means, so before I share my friend's story, I want to give you some context as to what we're even dealing with here.
______________________
1. CONTEXT:
Lyme is an infectious & degenerative disease. A pandemic. And yet it's often denied by many traditional doctors today. Once we finally find a good doctor for Lyme, it can be extremely difficult to fight the disease given it often comes with co-infections and the longer it goes untreated, the more it grows like a spider's web into every system and organ of the body, including the nervous system, lymphatic system, cardiovascular system, respiratory system, musculoskeletal system, ect.
There's no one-size fits all treatment. Everyone responds to treatments differently and it can be years of trial & error to find something that helps us go into remission.
This disease has left people bedridden, paralyzed, and it has led to death. We are fighting for our lives and beyond thankful for the doctors who do everything in their power to help us heal.
But given chronic Lyme is not taken seriously by the majority of doctors and society at large, insurance mostly doesn't cover Lyme treatments & therapies. Many patients who finally find a great doctor & treatment plan have to quit treatment mid way due to having to pay out of pocket with no help from insurance.
______________________
2. ABBY'S STORY:
Abby has been battling chronic Lyme Disease, co-infections, and more since she was around 7 years old. She's 19 now. She was diagnosed at 11 and went from specialist to specialist for years to get help, but none of them helped and even misdiagnosed her. She finally found a great LLMD (lyme literate medical doctor) at 18 years old and has been on various treatment protocols with him since then.
She's currently working on getting a physical therapy degree and trying extremely hard with everything in her to keep up in school while battling this debilitating disease.
As the Lyme has progressed, it has become increasingly difficult for her to maintain a job and she recently had to quit. She is paying for her own apartment and Lyme treatment out of her savings now.
Lyme treatment can be thousands upon thousands of dollars and it can take years of treatment before going into remission. That's not even including the other therapies that help manage pain throughout treatment like physical therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic care, ect.
I wish none of us had to rely on fundraisers to afford our treatments & therapies, but that's not our current reality. Most of us have to rely on fundraisers to be able to afford treatment in the long term.
After all Abby's been through and finally found an amazing doctor who is able to give her a chance at remission and healing, it would be all kinds of wrong for her to have to pause or end treatment mid-way because the expenses of treatment are too much and Lyme is stealing away her ability to maintain jobs.
______________________
3. CLOSING THOUGHTS:
Abby is the type of person who is constantly pouring into others, constantly giving, constantly having everyone's backs in this chronic illness and Lyme community. She even has been a part of multiple fundraisers for other lymies and she's always making herself available for anyone who needs to talk about these diseases. She's always there for us.
She's the first person who shared her Lyme journey that made me feel deeply understood and not alone. Since then we've connected more through messaging and a support group she started. And that has helped my heart heal in so many ways.
I would LOVE for us to now pour into her and for whatever it is worth, help ease some of the insane financial burdens of paying for Lyme treatment. I'm starting the goal at $1,000, but honestly I would love to see us raise more since, as I've said, Lyme treatment is thousands of dollars over the course of years. [Update: just raised it to 2K! Let's keep it going!]
I love this girl with everything in me and it would mean the world to me that we could bless her back in the ways that she always blesses us in this Lyme community!!
Thank you, friends and family!
Much love!
Organizer and beneficiary
Christina Amy Guglielmon
Organizer
Bridgewater, NJ
Abby Lottridge
Beneficiary
