The most recent episode of New Amsterdam had a patient in the ER with headaches. The doctor spent hours with this woman and finally diagnosed her with Lyme disease. 

The head of the ER was upset the doctor spent so much time with one patient – she told him there are over 300,000 cases a year, so it should be easy to diagnose. The doctor explained that he needed to talk with her to understand her history – and it took him that long to learn she had spent time in a tick infested area. 

Thank you NA for raising awareness for Lyme disease! Yes, the CDC does say there are 300,000 new cases each year. But the real number is more likely 10x that number. 

Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose, and then it is difficult to treat. I was diagnosed 5 years ago. I had been bitten by ticks in 2006 – it took 8 years to get a diagnosis. And the treatment has been hard and complicated. 

I am in my 4th year of IV treatment. The damage is extensive and there are several co-infections and co-conditions we are treating as well. So the treatment changes every couple of months and we battle symptoms that change every day. 

Stanford did a study a few years ago that found over 50% of the ticks in every park in the Bay Area were infected with Lyme and other diseases. EVERY PARK! You don’t have to go hiking or hunting or to Idaho! It doesn’t matter where you live, you can be exposed to tickborne disease. 

Everything is so hard. Still. I couldn’t make dinner tonight because it took everything I had to get the vegetables out of the fridge. By the time I got a knife and a pan, I was done in and had to lay down. 

I beg you – if you have pain, neuro symptoms, flu in the summer, weird headaches, things doctors just can’t quite figure out – consider Lyme disease. Research. Come talk to me. But don’t just suffer. 

There is treatment. If it’s caught early, and it’s done right, Lyme disease can be curable.  

Keep raising awareness and keep talking about it. We will win this war.

God is still God.
God is still good.
To Him be the glory.