Help Andrea Win her Battle vs. Lyme Disease

My name is Andrea Waked and I am a survivor of Lyme Disease. I am asking you on my behalf that you take a few minutes to read about my five year journey in dealing with this misdiagnosed and devastating disease. This disease has left me feeling as if I’m slowly dying through my pain. I have created this GoFundMe in hopes to get funding to cover costs for my expensive treatments.

My journey started five years ago. After going on a Girl Scout trip in 2017 to Yosemite National Park to clean up trash that was left behind, over the span of a few days. I woke up with a very swollen face and many symptoms that pointed to a bug bite. I started having mild symptoms a few months after, but my doctors assured me that my symptoms were normal. As my symptoms progressed over the years, I have seen countless doctors from UCLA and Stanford that all assured me that I was healthy and it was all in my head. The amount of pain I felt from not getting help from the medical system here in the United States left me traumatized. My mother and I had to go to a different country in order to accelerate the diagnosis process, but with no guidance it was truly stressful and frustrating. For the past five years, my life has been purely revolved around doctor appointments, blood tests, and therapies, with extreme symptoms of crippling exhaustion, cognitive issues, and chronic pain every single time I breathed, moved, and lived. No doctor believed me when I would describe my symptoms. Four years ago I tested positive for Lyme Disease but was told by doctors that it was not enough to prove that I had the disease even though all the symptoms were present. With help from an uncle who is a doctor, I recently received blood test results, confirming I have had Lyme Disease. After being undiagnosed with Lyme Disease for five years, I’m just starting to get answers and proper treatment for my pain. With my doctors still in denial, I am done living in sickness, I want to live life outside of hospitals and doctor offices. If I had received treatment at that moment, four years ago, my symptoms would not be extremely advanced and I would have the ability to live a normal and pain free life.

To add to the situation, this put a financial strain on my mother. These past few years have been extremely hard for my family and I mentally, financially, and even emotionally. Living with an invisible disease killed me from the inside out as something so easy as getting out of bed or simply breathing was far too painful. I can not remember the last time I felt no pain, I want to know what that feels like again. This illness has ruined my life completely but I have not let that get in the way of wanting to become someone in life. No matter how big or little an action I complete is, all of these actions are huge wins in my book as this illness is truly debilitating and any action is done with all the effort I have in me. But I am tired of being sick and fighting for a basic need. Throughout high school I have been able to not only keep up with my studies and maintain good grades but I created and ran my own jewelry business, was the team manager for the football team, started modeling, and even secured a place in enrollment at Baylor University’s Nursing Program (with scholarships), to help those who have suffered like I have. Achievements such as creating a business or modeling have been done in order to pay for my own education, but at times where I get too sick, it is hard to keep up with everything in life. I just want the chance to be able to chase my dreams, all while being healthy and pain free. I don’t want to have to dream about being healthy, I want it to become a reality where I won’t struggle to get out of bed or do daily tasks. No matter the level of pain I feel while doing each of these actions, I do it for my family and the people that have supported me through this journey.

Lyme Disease is a tick-borne illness and is very stealthy and hard to treat, especially since I have had this disease for a very long time. My treatment will include a combination of strong and aggressive therapies, antibiotics, supplements and herbs, and a strict diet to destroy the disease. These treatments are not covered by insurance. Treatments alone are known to cost a big number. I hope to raise enough money to receive my treatment before starting college so I am able to put all my focus into my studies and be a change for the people that feel unheard and unhelped. All proceeds will go to affording my treatment, anything and everything is well appreciated. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

With so much love,

Andrea Waked