I had an awesome visit today with Dr. Alex Egerter who is new to Gordon Medical (where I see Dr. Harris). He did lots of amazing things and I’m super excited about his addition to GM and to my care team. Dr. Harris had me see Dr. Alex to get what’s called Stellate Ganglion Block.…
Work
I haven’t written much about work. It’s an important topic but probably one that hits me the hardest. I feel like that’s the ultimate indicator of health - whether or not I can return to work. I get a taste of other things in my life. We have a tandem kayak that we take out…
Endive Salad
Whisk: 5 tbsp rice vinegar 1/2 cup olive oil (or hemp) 2 tbsp Dijon mustard 1 garlic clove Chop 6 heads of California endive and toss in dressing. Divid equally on 4 plates and top each with: 1 rip pear (core, quarter, cut into thin strips) 1 Tbsp blue or goat cheese 1 tbsp roasted…
Thank You for Caring
I receive recommendations all the time for products, therapies and protocols in the hopes something may help me. I very rarely try those recommendations - and I want people to understand why. I used to think doctors had the answers. They didn’t. Then I thought some alternative program would be the thing. Those did not…
Get Off the Mat
I’ve been reading Jeremy Renner’s book “My Next Breath”. I love his spirit and drive. I love his love for his family and friends. I love that he’s a fighter. BUT… I started to feel stuck in my own head because there’s a difference between what he went through and what we (lymies) go through.…
Struggling to Get Through the Day
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…
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,…
PhilippiJoy 