Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Oh, right! I have an imaginary illness! I keep forgetting.

I know I am not alone when I say that I sometimes wish I had Cancer instead of Lyme Disease/ Babesia.  And for those of you that read my blog who do not have a tick-borne disease, you must be thinking, "That chick doesn't know what she is talking about!  Cancer is terrible!  Why would she wish for that???"  Let me try to explain... If I had Cancer, not only would my treatment be covered by insurance, but my disease would be accepted by society!!!  Do you understand how HUGE that is???  Cancer is supported by EVERYONE!  People host fundraisers, 5K/Marathons, there are celebrity endorsers, the community embraces you.  What do you get when you have Lyme Disease???  People shun you, doctors tell you it is all in your head, the CDC and IDSA do not believe it is a chronic condition and therefore treatment is not covered by insurance.  To put it bluntly, unless you have Lyme Disease and understand what it is like, NO ONE GIVES A SHIT ABOUT YOU!  You may think, "she is being a tad dramatic.  It can't really be that bad."  I encourage you to go to the Lyme Disease support groups and hear the THOUSANDS of stories of patients whose families have turned their backs on them because, "Lyme Disease is not that serious and we are just being lazy."  I wish I was making this up.  I wish this was not the God awful truth.  Lyme Disease IS  just as devastating as Cancer if not worse because we receive NO support!



So, why am I ranting about this today?  It's not like I was just diagnosed.  I know that hand I was dealt and I am taking it day by day trying my hardest to fight the good fight with a positive attitude.  Well, let's just say a "family member" was just diagnosed with Cancer.  Of course, I felt terrible and wanted to know how to help. What blew me away was how the "family" responded to her diagnosis.  They immediately set up a fundraising website for her, they are hosting silent auctions, they have had "classes" specifically to raise money in her honor, and the list goes on.  Where was this "family" when I needed them?  I had to set up my OWN fundraising page for myself.  And let me take this time to say that I am forever grateful to EVERYONE that helped me.  My point is, I am left to feel that my disease it not as important or a serious as Cancer when that is NOT the case.  In fact, I would not be surprised if she is cured of her Cancer long before I am ever cured of my Babesia.  Please do not take this post out of context, I am no way bashing or belittling people with Cancer.  I am simply trying to stress that Lyme and its co-infections should receive the same recognition and support.  And with that being said, I will end with my "Make Margaritas" inspiration for today: 

1 comment:

  1. thank you for this post as I have been sick with Lyme's for a long time. It is a struggle to get my day to day things done. I try not to talk about how I feel because I don't want my family saying is that all you talk about. So I keep most of my pain to myself. My Doctor says I should be fine by now with all the meds he has given me, well I'm not. The pain, fatigue and brain fog is just as bad today as it was years ago.

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