Lyme Disease Sucks

Hello world,
We are the Spell Sisters and we are here asking you for your kind help to aid our dear sis, Rana, in her time of need. Rana was diagnosed with late stage Lyme disease and this is her story:


“Lyme disease is an invisible, silent struggle. I began my invisible struggle in October of 2018 when I was finally diagnosed with Lyme Disease after years of joint pain, shortness of breath, pressure in my lower chest,  palpitations, tinnitus, brain fog, and difficulty concentrating- among many other symptoms, too many to list. Like many others who suffer invisibly from Lyme, I do not know when I was bitten. I never had a rash, and the disease progressed until it was considered late-stage or “chronic” Lyme disease. 


When I was initially diagnosed, I was full of hope and relief. I had an ANSWER—relief. I had pushed to find this answer, my care provider had agreed to test me, but told me that it was highly unlikely that I had Lyme. Hope, there would be treatment and I would improve. I had foolishly believed that in a few months I would be feeling like my “old self”, the one who wasn’t chronically in pain and unable to take a full breath. 


In the almost year since that diagnosis, I have learned far more than any “non doctor” should know about this disease. I’ve learned that Lyme is complicated, and difficult to treat when it isn’t caught early. I’ve learned that us “Lymies” are on our own to shoulder the financial burden of treatment, insurance does not cover Lyme Literate Medical Doctors. I’ve invested time, money, and hope into treatments that have not brought any healing to my body—yet. 


Currently, our family faces a large financial burden, to pay off the numerous tests and specialists that I’ve seen since October. We also face a large financial burden for the continued visits to see a provider who I believe CAN help me. Just one visit with this provider is $700, any labs that she wants done are NOT included in this cost. I will see this doctor twice initially, the second visit to go over labs and develop my treatment plan is $600. These visits are not covered by insurance, it’s also highly likely the treatments will also not be covered. After that, I will see this doctor quarterly. 


As a family, we were saddened to learn that our daughter tested positively for the same bands as I did. Likely, this was transmitted congenitally. She will need to be carefully treated by a Lyme literate doctor with experience treating pediatric Lyme. Hopefully, her treatments will be less extensive.”


Rana is a deeply private person, especially about how this disease impacts her life. She is never one to ask for help, so as her friends, we feel responsible to ask for her.  We are sharing to shed light on Lyme, to ask for prayer and for you to join in our hope for healing. If you feel so lead, we welcome you to contribute financially to help alleviate the financial burden and stress that Rana is facing. We also deeply appreciate your thoughts and prayers. 


Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,
The Spell Sisters