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Help Olivia Fight Lyme

My name is Olivia Bach Ponce. I have Lyme disease and I need your help to finish my treatments and get well enough to take the Texas Bar Exam.


WHAT IS LYME?
Lyme is a spirochete bacteria most often contracted through tick bite. This bacteria is capable of infiltrating nearly every system of the body and too often does not reveal signs of infection until many years later (as in my case). At this stage, Lyme has affected nearly every system and my current ailments are as follows:
 
inflammation of the brain and spinal cord
extreme nerve pain
auto-immune disease (immune system attacks itself)
flu-like symptoms
migraine headaches and neck stiffness
intermittent pain in tendons, muscles, and joints
constant dislocation of ribs
irregular heartbeat
episodes of dizziness and shortness of breath
short-term memory loss
extreme photo sensitivity
severe food allergies
 G.I. complications (leaky-gut)
extensive adrenal and hormone dysfunction

WHAT I NEED
Due to the peculiarity of my illness at this stage, the only treatments that offer any hope of success are considered “alternative” and are not covered by insurance.  The good news is that I found a M.D. who specializes in Lyme and immunology who is only three hours from me in Clearwater, FL. This doctor has an 85% rate of success with patients like me! The bad news is that the 12 weeks of treatments cost roughly $35,000. My husband and I, along with my immediate family and many who have already donated, were able to cover the first 6 weeks of treatments, the funds already raised on here and my last bit of credit have allowed me to continue treatments for now. 
 
THE GOAL
I need to raise the remaining $13,000 so that I can finish treatments, be reunited with my husband, attempt to take the Texas bar exam in July, and pursue the mission God has put on my heart to fight human trafficking.  


Please consider financially supporting me and praying for me, AND PLEASE SHARE THIS ON SOCIAL MEDIA!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
 
Sincerely,

 Olivia and Mario Ponce

“But we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5.






Additional bio on how I got Lyme:
I can’t recall being bitten by a tick or a mosquito. I never had a rash or a fever. What I do know is that between the ages of 13-23, I visited countless doctors, trying to figure out what was wrong with me. The “issue” that I struggled to describe to these doctors began as a combination of insomnia, adrenal fatigue, stomach pains, and food allergies. After five years of competing as a triathlete, and in my senior year of college, I began to have heart palpitations when running and asthma-like attacks while swimming. And so, I went to see doctors again. The cardiologist, pulmonary specialist, and endocrinologist ran their tests, every single one somehow concluding that I was a portrait of health. Discouraged, I was left feeling hopeless; maybe it really was all in my head. I quit triathlons and took a short sabbatical from school. 

After a traumatic event occurred in the fall of 2014, my symptoms began to change and increase. Now there was brain fog, flu-like symptoms, extreme fatigue, and neck and joint pain. The Lyme had been dormant in my body for an estimated ten years, but the severe trauma activated the bacteria, making it possible for a blood test to finally identify it. During this time, I also began to learn about the horrors of sex trafficking, both internationally and domestic. I grew up in Texas, and Houston continues to be a top city for trafficking in the U.S. I became determined to do something about this tragic epidemic. After much prayer and wise counsel, law school seemed like the most effective way for me to enter the fray of fighting human trafficking. But I needed to get healthier.
 
After 12 months of combination therapy (antibiotics and alternative immune boosting methods), I was just barely healthy enough to attempt law school. In August of 2016, I moved from Texas to Florida to begin school. The first 2.5 years of school were difficult. Somehow (aka by God’s grace), despite continued health struggles, I managed to maintain a decent G.P.A. During my second year I was able to participate in the Human Trafficking clinic at my law school; there, my classmates and I helped victims from our own community seek restoration, documentation, and justice.

But then, the stress of school, combined with the still present Lyme, culminated in a rather significant physical crash this past November. I had to resign from my legal internship and take an “incomplete” in some of my fall courses. My school has been incredible throughout this, allowing classes to be recorded and doing there best to help me graduate on time. Now in my final semester of school, I have had to begin significant medical treatments to regain my health and try to eradicate this disease once and for all. I don’t know the “why” of this process, but I do know the “why” for my perseverance and hope, Jesus Christ!


Thank you for reading this far!





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Donations 

  • Sam Hammontree
    • $20 
    • 5 yrs
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Fundraising team (2)

Olivia Ponce
Organizer
Raised $2,760 from 42 donations
Naples, FL
Mario Ponce
Team member
Raised $280 from 7 donations
This team raised $4,335 from 58 other donations.

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