Winter is always hard. Christmas is over - it’s New Years Eve - and I am still expecting myself to do more than I am realistically able. My low back is flaring up. I have multiple structural issues which become a serious problem when there is inflammation. Every movement hurts. Coughing hurts. Laughing hurts. Sometimes…
Pain
PAIN is one of the hardest symptoms to explain - mainly because it’s not a single symptom. Pain happens in lots of places for lots of reasons and with differing degrees of severity and duration. When you have an acute injury to a specific body part, doctors ask you to describe your pain (achy, dull,…
Update: Sept 2025
To be honest, it’s been a struggle to write because it’s hard to come up with words for where I am, where my family is. If I look back over the years since I first became disabled on July 10, 2013, I see huge progress. Back then I was bed bound most of every day,…
Choosing Joy
Someone told me that it seems like our life is really great. It stopped me in my tracks. No, our life is not really great. It’s really hard. It’s really stressful. It is often really lonely and really painful. My husband and I work really hard to choose joy every day. We seek adventure (because…
THIS is Lyme+
Last night, my husband and I celebrated our 13th anniversary in Monterey. We walked down Cannery Row, shot lasers at treasure chests in an underground cavern, and had dinner at a fabulously quaint vegetarian and gluten free restaurant (a rare find) where two musicians played guitar and sang as if they were having a jam…
Grain Free Pizza Crust
MAKES ONE 10-12” PIZZA Dry Ingredients: 3/4 c almond flour 2 tbsp coconut flour 2 tbsp geeen banana flour 1 tbsp flax meal 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp garlic powder Wet Ingredients: 1 egg 1/4 c plain yogurt 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp acv Directions: I’m preheat oven to 400°…
No/Bake Peanut Butter Brownie Bars
Line and 8x8 pan with parchment paper. Bottom Layer: 1 cup oats, ½ cup raw cashews, ½ cup raw pecans, ¼ cup canned coconut cream (chilled), ¼ cup cacao, 3 Tbsp maple syrup, 1 Tbsp vanilla, ½ tsp sea salt In a small blender, blend together the oats, cashews, & pecans until you reach a…
Hard Fought, Hard Felt, Been Through Hell Hallelujah
My family has been going through some hard times right now. And me personally, I’m physically exhausted, emotionally tanked, mentally fried. It would be easy at times to just be overtaken by negativity and sink into a pool of depression and hopelessness. It’s times like these when I really have to fight to find goodness,…
Toxins & Chronic Illness Forum: Notes from Dr. Harris’ Presentation
Dr. Steven Harris is one of the worlds leading Lyme & tickborne disease doctors and has been my doctor for 11 years. In 1975, there was an outbreak of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in children in Lyme Connecticut. A young rheumatologist, Alan Steere, went to visit and determined it was the result of a viral infection.…
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
“Increased your perspective on what’s going on in your body.” Dr. Eric Gordon We think of traumatic brain injuries (TBI’s) as something that happens to football players and war veterans. But did you know that they also happen when there is a traumatic event such as abuse, rape, and even chronic sickness? Acute Inflammation: A natural,…
PhilippiJoy 