In 2017, at the age of 38, I was experiencing cold and flu symptoms on an almost weekly basis. My sleep was disrupted by night sweats and debilitating headaches. I was having back-to-back sinus infections and colds, back aches, muscle aches, and severe fatigue. I had been to the doctor on several occasions to be told that I was likely experiencing what all new mothers experience. All my symptoms could be explained away by the fact that I had a 3-year old who was in daycare. It was obvious to the doctor that my son was bringing home all the various viruses going around. I was told that once he started school, things would settle down and I should not worry about the symptoms I was experiencing on an increasing basis.
A year later, I was experiencing all of the same symptoms with increasing severity and new symptoms were compounding. I was having muscle spasms, facial paralysis, numbness and muscle atrophy. I was so dizzy at times that I could barely walk. I would run into walls. I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs due to the excrutiating pain in my knees. My joints ached and popped with every movement. I wasn't sleeping well unless I was submerged in a tub of epsoms salts and water as hot as I could possibly stand. I was hiding out in the back seat of my pickup truck during my lunch breaks to rest my eyes and body. My body was failing, but no one knew what was wrong with me. I had already been given multiple wrong diagnoses and repeatedly told that what I was experiencing was psychosomatic.
In July of 2018, I remember barely being able to drive the 15-minutes home from work. Turning the steering wheel on my truck was incredibly difficult that I did not know how I could turn into my driveway. I made it inside the house with my son and laid down on our couch. The pain in my body was so severe that tears streamed down my face as I lay there trying hard to force my extremeties to move from their stiffened position. I couldn't all-out cry, because the heaving of my chest made my muscles burn with pain. I asked my then 4-year old son to dial the phone for help, because I could not stretch out my fingers to press the touch screen on my phone. In that moment, I thought my life was ending.
The next month I would finally get a diagnosis.
Finally, these debilitating symptoms had a name. I had Lyme disease. Though my primary care physician gave me the Doxycycline regiment, she was adamant that I find someone else to help me with symptoms that lingered after the 2 weeks of antibiotics did not resolve the majority of my symptoms.
That's when I found the Manna Institute and Dr. Larry Everhart. I believe Dr. Everhart is the reason I am alive today, and I will forever be greatful for his guidance, understanding, and continued work to shine the light on Lyme disease. It took nearly 3 years, a lot of tinctures, herbal supplements, vitamins, detoxing, resting and even some prescriptions, before my Lyme symptoms were put into, what I will call, remission. My body was forever altered, and I would continue to heal from chronic Epstein Barr virus and candida for the foreseeable future.
As time went on, I felt like I had been stuck on a plateau with my health journey. I wasn't able to lose weight. I was having hot flashes and severe pelvic pain, which was believed to be endometriosis, since I had suffered from it since my teenage years. In April of 2023, I was given Lupron Depot to treat the endometriosis. I suffered from severe side effects and by May, I was scheduled for a hysterectomy. An MRI, requested by my surgeon, showed a suspected cancerous tumor in my rectum. On July 5th, when I should have been having a hysterectomy, I underwent my first colonoscopy and was told I had a lime-size cancerous tumor that needed to be treated. With my history of Lyme disease I declined chemotherapy and radiation, knowing that both would further injure my body. Instead, I requested that a hysterectomy and the removal of any endometriosis be completed at the same time as my colon resection. My amazing surgoens, Dr. Kelly and Dr. Patabandala, performed laproscopic and robotic surgeries on my body August 15, 2023.
I've glossed over a lot of what happened during my time with cancer, because it all happened so fast, but what I can tell you is this. People believed I was actually suffering and took me seriously, because of the word cancer. Lyme disease was an incredibly lonely, excrutiating struggle, because I had to convince people that something was wrong with me. There was very limited support for undiagnosed Lyme patients, because we generally look fine on the outside. It was the war within my body that raged.
I think there is a silver lining in every experience, good or bad. Lyme disease may have weakened by body, but it gave me a voice and I've been advocating for myself and others ever since I've been healthy enough to do so. I am open about my experience and offer whatever help I can to those who think they may have Lyme.
Cancer gave me an even greater gift. I was off work for 12-weeks following my surgery. I was able to see my son off to school and be here when he arrived home to assist with homework. Once I was healed enough to cook, I was able to pack lunches and have dinner waiting when my husband and my son came home in the evenings. I had time to myself during the day to read and daydream and sit quietly while birds chirped and the wind softly rustled the trees. I could watch flowers grow and bloom. I witnessed nature in all her glory. As someone who has worked since the age of 16, I had not had more than 3-weeks away from any job at any time during the nearly 3 decades in the workforce.
I went back to work in October of 2023 to what others would consider a wonderful job, but all I could see, and feel, were stress and frustration. I was not fulfilling my purpose. I wasn't doing what I loved. I wasn't even doing what I liked. I wanted to be creative. I wanted to work on the farm, tailoring a job to suit my skills and abilities. I wanted to build a legacy. I wanted to start a farm market!
December 30, 2023, marked my last day as an employee. I gave myself a few months off to regain my mental and physical health, exploring a plethora of business ideas, career opportunities, and in July 2024, I established The Market at Gladman Farms.
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