My Journey with Chronic Illness

Featured Image from Unsplash.com; Photo Credit: Annie Spratt

Saturday, December 27, 2025

Another grey day, in a string of grey days, with nothing of significance to note. We have settled in to the rhythm of winter and so has Mother Nature. I say that, and then remember that the weather forecast for tomorrow is nothing of the sort. The daytime high is expected to be 70°F with a low of 25°F. Incredibly unseasonable weather for this time of year, not to mention that temperature swing is just crazytown.

In anticipation of the new year, I can feel myself preparing, vague plans taking shape in the back of my mind. I am itching to set up my new planner/journal and to turn the first page of the new wall calendar (cute cat illustrations, of course! Link HERE if you’re curious). So many aspects of my life have been put on hold, patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for spring of 2026.

Why that year in particular? Next week marks the beginning of my last round of antibiotics and thus, I will finally complete my long-term treatment for tick-borne illness. It is a huge moment in terms of my wellness journey. So for me, this coming spring will mean so much more than it normally would. It is the start of a new chapter in my life, the end of the proverbial tunnel, after a long and arduous battle with a chronic disease.

Story Time

Would you like to hear my story? Where do I even begin?

The year is 2020, we are in the midst of the pandemic. I had been dealing with slowly worsening symptoms for years, never really knowing what was wrong, not believing it was serious enough to be diagnosed by a doctor. It was around this time that everyone in my immediate family (mom, dad, and sister) were diagnosed with Lyme disease. After finding this out, it dawned on me that if they all have it, there is no way I don’t have it too (not to mention a lot of our symptoms matched and we lived in the same town for ~30 years).

This realization was a large and scary pill to swallow. I was hesitant to do anything about it, as it felt overwhelming and daunting. The treatment was expensive, since it wasn’t covered by health insurance (and my husband had just lost his job due to Covid shutdowns). Going to the same specialist as my family meant getting on an airplane (my family lives in Connecticut, I currently live 900 miles away in Ohio). Meanwhile, I was dealing with fatigue and burnout, among other things. The stress from the pandemic on top of everything else made the idea of traveling feel way too difficult. So instead, I opted to do Tele-Medicine with a local specialist.

Seeing the Lyme Specialist

This plan only got me so far and by September of 2020, I decided that I couldn’t avoid it any longer, I had to go home (get all the blood work done, see what was actually going on). Filled with anxiety over traveling, I booked my plane tickets and made the appointment. Before leaving, I completed a blood test kit and sent it off to the lab. That way I’d have solid answers once I spoke with the doctor.

Travel plans rarely go smoothly, and of course, this time was no exception. On the day of, my first flight was cancelled due to tornado warnings, so I got to hike across CVG airport two days in a row (the last thing I needed as someone who was ill). While traveling is taxing and I was quite tired upon arrival, it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I had worried it might be. The day finally came for my appointment with the tick-borne specialist doctor and the news I received was quite shocking.

He says to me, “you get the award for the patient with the highest infection load,” (paraphrasing). The doctor was amazed that I was able to travel and walk in his office door unassisted. (What?! Unassisted? My brain didn’t know what to do with this information. How could it be THAT bad?) As it turned out, I had 17 different tick-borne infections, including the notorious Lyme disease. To be honest, at the time, I don’t think I really grasped the situation, this was just my “normal”. I will spare you the grueling details of my experiences over the next five years.

However, it would be an understatement to say it has been a very long and difficult road (imagine the swamp from The Neverending Story). I don’t know how many times I felt like giving up on the treatment, or that I wasn’t making any progress, or worse still, that I would be trapped forever living as a shadow of my former self. The grief of this loss has been tremendous.

Nearly everything of significance in my life, aside from absolute necessities, had been put on hold. I was completely dependent on my husband and my family (they have been so incredibly supportive and understanding, I wouldn’t be where I am today without them). I could not work, sometimes I could barely manage the dishes, it was like someone had put a handicap on my life.

What’s Next…

Fast forward to the present. I am happy to say that at my last blood test, I had cleared most of the infections, including Lyme disease, with only three remaining out of the original seventeen. Over the past several years, I have gone through two sessions of long-term antibiotic treatment. Both have been incredibly difficult but also hugely successful. The second of which, as I mentioned, will be completed in a weeks time.

Celebrations are in order (yay!), but there is a ways to go yet (I will require a significant recovery period) and this blog is part of that. Writing has become my creative outlet of choice, although I hope to return to painting and drawing eventually (You can see my inactive art Instagram account HERE). Reconnecting with nature is another piece in the restorative puzzle, helping me find gratitude and beauty even on the hardest days. While I have learned so much in this process, I am ready for a fresh start in the coming year. Here’s to new beginnings! Wishing you health and happiness in 2026!

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or medical professional. This post is not meant to contain any medical advice. I am simply sharing from my personal experience. If you think you may have tick-borne illness please contact a medical specialist.