“Growing up as an overachiever academic, high-intense multi-sport athlete, I was naive to the journey that was ahead of me, filled with gaslighting and internalized ableism.”

“I am a congenital Lyme warrior. Like most of us, my symptoms were dismissed throughout childhood.”

“I went to my general practitioner and told her about the three tick bites and my symptoms; she saw no red circles or bulls-eye rash, and she dismissed my symptoms as stress because of my studies.”

“One of the hardest things about being chronically ill and living with Lyme disease is that most people find what you’re going through incomprehensible.”

“The neglect, isolation, and grief are tough. But what type of people does it take to be putting up with these crazy, debilitating symptoms? Very STRONG, amazing people. You may not feel that way, but trust me, you are.”

"I can survive this because I now know what's going on. This is it. This is Lyme. Continue to trust the process. Keep healing.”

“It started with a bite on my neck. I didn’t feel anything for thirty days, but I had really bad fatigue and would randomly fall asleep for hours.”

“I realized through my journey that we are not meant to do this alone and that laughter is the cheapest and most necessary medicine. We are in this together for the long run, GL! Don't stop believing -- you got it!”

"The only bite I remember going to the doctor for was classified as a spider bite. It didn’t look like a bullseye, so I was not given antibiotics for it.”

“From the beginning of this illness I felt like an alien took over my body. The very first signs were swollen tonsils, dizzy spells, extreme fatigue, an inability to process sound or light, and intense pain. And then the truly scary stuff began.”

“Like many Lyme disease patients, I never had a bullseye rash and I never saw a tick bite. For years, I was told my bloodwork was normal, while close friends and family thought I was either a hypochondriac, anorexic (from weighing 90 pounds), or just flat out crazy.”

“Lyme disease was the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with. However, there is no doubt, that getting Lyme disease, was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. You will get through this, and you will be better for it.”

"I never ‘looked’ sick. To feel so unwell, and to be dismissed by the people and doctors who are supposed to help you, was a traumatic experience.”

“Lyme is often viciously lonely; most people in our lives don’t understand how sick we are. I used to mourn the friendships and everyday joys I’d lost, but now I find gifts even on the darkest days.”

“I share my story to help raise awareness about late-stage Lyme. I did not know how devastating tick-borne illness was until I received my diagnosis and learned that treatment would be far more complicated than two weeks of Doxy.”

“This experience has made me understand the importance of taking action in my own health. I trusted, healed and learned that I was stronger than I thought.”