Kat’s Story
Kat, Healing Non-Linearly and Rebuilding Strength
“At 15 years old, my life changed almost overnight. I went from a high-functioning student and multiple-sport athlete to someone who could barely get through a day. School became impossible. The sports that once defined me disappeared from my life. Even simple social situations felt overwhelming as my world slowly became smaller and smaller. And it all started with a simple tremor in my hand.
For two years, my family and I searched for answers — moving from specialist to specialist, enduring test after test, hoping someone could explain what was happening to my body.
At 17, I was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease and Bartonella. The next two years were filled with aggressive treatments — multiple antibiotics at once — and while they were meant to help, they came with their own consequences, including severe candidiasis and a body pushed far beyond its limits.
Still, I fought to reclaim pieces of my life. Slowly, patiently, I rebuilt my strength. That determination led me back to the field — earning a spot on my college’s women’s soccer team and becoming a starting player my freshman year. For a moment, it felt like I had found my way back.
But at 19, everything came crashing down again when years of antibiotic treatment led to severe toxicity. I found myself sitting in the office of the doctor who thankfully still cares for me today, desperate for answers once more. At my second appointment, after beginning a more holistic path forward, he paused, looked at me, and said simply, “It’s nice to meet you.”
In that moment, something shifted. For the first time in years, I felt like myself again — like the real version of me had finally come back to the surface.
The decade that followed was anything but simple. Healing from Lyme is rarely a straight line. There were seasons of progress and seasons of regression. I navigated new challenges — mold exposure, gut health imbalances, and the unpredictable nature of a disease that constantly evolves. I lived in three different states, learning to adapt, rebuild, and begin again more times than I can count. There were moments of deep frustration, grief for the life I once had, and anger at a body that seemed to betray me. But there were also quiet victories — the kind only someone who has fought chronic illness truly understands.
Then this past year, something changed again. The anger that had lived in my body for so long finally softened, replaced by a sense of clarity about the future I wanted to build. Instead of focusing on what Lyme had taken, I began focusing on what I could reclaim.
So I signed up for my first half marathon — not just as a race, but as a declaration that strength can be rebuilt. And I launched a business born from my own journey, dedicated to supporting other chronic illness warriors and their caregivers as they navigate the complex path of healing.
Because if Lyme has taught me anything, it’s this: healing isn’t about returning to who you were before. It’s about discovering the strength to become someone new.”
Stories reflect the experiences and perspectives of the individuals featured and are not intended as medical advice.
