"A woman with her health has many dreams.  A woman without her health has only one."
                                       -Author unknown 

Hello, my name is Marina.  I'm age 31 and on Go Fund Me because I need your help.  I have had 17 years of daily disabling migraines and other mental and physical symptoms with no known root cause - until now.  I was diagnosed in December of 2017 with Chronic Lyme Disease (C.L.D).  I have always known something more was wrong with me than the countless doctors could explain.  I feel relieved to finally know what I am fighting and that I have a direction to go with treatment.  Unfortunately, almost all Chronic Lyme treatment isn't covered by insurance. 

It feels like there’s an electrical storm in my brain and body all of the time.  I have constant brain fog and difficulties processing information I hear and see.  When pain is especially bad, I have trouble speaking coherently and I feel as if my mind is short circuiting. This makes me feel incompetent and embarrassed.  On a pain scale of 1-10, my average pain is 5 to 7, even with medication. I feel as if I’m always outrunning a train.   The train is the physical and emotional pain. 

As I do positive things like exercise or get a massage from a physical therapist, I gain more distance between myself and the train.   As difficulties with daily life such as driving a car or grocery shopping wear on me, the distance between the train and me gets short and panic grows.  At times, it’s been hard to want to keep living with the burden of pain with no end in sight.

I am much more than my diagnosis.   I’m a mother to a beautiful 2 ½ year old daughter named Rowyn.  She is my motivator for getting better.  I cannot parent her effectively without daily help from family.  She deserves a happy and healthy mother and I am determined to be that for her.



I'm a curious person with a passion for learning.  I like to dance and play music.  I care about the state of the world and try to be a positive influence on my environment.  The silver lining of having 17 years of daily pain is that I am learning a great deal about managing pain while also creating a life worth living.    After conquering Chronic Lyme Disease, I plan to help people dealing with chronic pain and mental illness by being a voice of encouragement and offering resources for others.  



It’s a full time job to mentally and physically deal with the pain, but I fight like hell.   My friends, family and practitioners have acknowledged me many times for my perseverance and for taking an active role in educating myself to get better.  I am always eager to learn what else I can add to my toolbox to live as balanced a life as possible.   Most importantly, I strive to show up for my daughter as a healthy role model and caregiver.  

 I began working with a Chronic Lyme specialist in February of 2018.   She has been treating C.L.D for over 10 years, has had C.L.D. herself, and has treated many people with my symptom profile successfully.   I am optimistic about my future for the first time in many years!  

Treating C.L.D is stubborn and tricky because there is so much that we don't know.  Treatment and recovery times are different for everyone.   My specialist hopes treatment will be somewhere between 18-24 months, but it is difficult to know when I will be symptom-free.   She and I have noticed improvements in just eight weeks.  I am more calm and feel more at ease in my body, despite the pain levels being  the same.  This gives me hope that I'll be free from this nightmare existence someday in the not-too-distant future.

My Dad paid for the first two visits, but I will be unable to continue treatment if I don't get financial help.  Due to the severity of my symptoms, I have been unable to maintain regular employment.  As a result, I have been living on an extremely limited Social Security Disability income since 2013.

Treatment of C.L.D. and management of symptoms costs between $350-$650 a month, depending on the stage of treatment I am in and how soon my symptoms become manageable.  I am asking for $10,000 by averaging monthly treatment as $500 for 20 months.  I am humbled by asking for help, but I have no other options at this point.   Please help me by making a donation of any amount, even $5. If you cannot donate, please  share my story with friends and family.

There are millions of people with undiagnosed or misdiagnosed Chronic Lyme Disease that never get better.   With your help, I plan to be one of the success stories.  I will post updates as I continue my healing journey.  Thank you for your help and consideration.