Today was a very rough day. I got there and had blood drawn at a company called Quest. It went very smoothly. She got blood on the first stick, which for me is unheard of! My veins roll and collapse and have always been a problem. This blood is just to check normal stuff, CBC panel.

I got upstairs to Infusio about 9:00. Hollis (the nurse that does all of the IVs) got me settled in my chair and the torture began. What was supposed to happen was for him to get a good big vein. My blood would travel up to this cup (for lack of a better word) , mix with ozone, which is O3, then travel back down and into my bloodstream. This was to take place twelve times on twelve different levels. Well, we would find a vein the blood would flow, then almost immediately stop. Lyme has made my blood so thick. We would almost get to the cup and it would quit and we would try another vein. After seven veins, we got a vein that filled the cup enough to start the ozone, then a clot stopped it from traveling back to my bloodstream. By then Hollis and I both were worn out. It had taken two hours. I was so tensed up, I felt like I’d been in a wreck. So Hollis put the ozone in with an IV, not mixing with my blood, which doesn’t work as well. He said my blood was so “dirty” and the ozone IV would help clean it up and make it better for another try next week. I still have the needle in my hand from Monday but it wouldn’t work either. It’s just very uncomfortable.

I also got a Myer’s cocktail, which isn’t nearly as much fun as it sounds. It’s minerals, vitamins, and acids. It bypasses the digestive system, which allows them to get in the bloodstream quicker.

I got my daily thymus injection and was free to go.

That’s all the technical stuff but I’d love to talk about the people I have met. Sue, from here, went through the clinic in June. She is one of my biggest cheerleaders. She had Lyme for years, even gave her daughter Lyme in utero. Her daughter had to quit college her last semester because she had neurological Lyme and could not read or write papers. She’s well now, finished college at Vassar and is doing great. Sue is at the end of six months and feels great. She came in for a booster and will be through Friday. She has gotten her life back.

Then there’s the ballerina who had to give up her career because of Lyme and has a daughter with her that has it. I’ve never seen such quilt in these mothers who gave their children this awful thing at birth. Of course it’s not their fault cause then they didn’t know such a thing could happen. But the look in their eyes is sorrow. This disease has become pandemic and the diseases one tick can give you is extraordinary!! Borrelia, Erlichia, Babesia, Bartonella, and Microplasmas. They sound strange because they are. They are all horrible.

I think about all these people, walking around with Lyme and they don’t even know what’s wrong with them and then there are the people who know, but can’t afford it. Something’s gotta give. The CDC has got to recognize this disease as chronic before insurance will pay.

Hooked to my first infusion. I’ve had the pep talk by Yvonne. She did a great job because I almost believe! I met a mother and son from Atlanta. She brought him here because her best friend was cured of Lyme here. I started crying. I am so afraid to hope. I’m so afraid not to hope. My emotions are right on the surface, which surprises me. I did not expect this.

Of course, my veins are collapsing. Had to call in the pro, Hollis. My rock star, Dr Philip Battiade came in and gave a good talk. Everyone wanted a selfie with him. I can almost taste the hope when he walks in. He’s not hard to look at either! 😂

I’m on my fifth IV. I’ve had a pressure point massage and a laser treatment in a machine that looks like a tanning bed.

Henry Earl is going through every step with me and after hearing all the horror stories of Lyme from other patients, we are both kind of amazed I’ve made it this far! So many people have lost their lives to this crap, never knowing what was wrong. I’m considering myself lucky right now.

I’m trying to pack for my trip to the clinic, oscillating between hope and downright despair. I have tried so many things to get rid of this disease. The pict line for a year has been the most dramatic. I felt so good for a year afterwards, just to be plunged back into the Lyme world once again. This Dr’s approach is very different than anything I’ve experienced. The thing that’s hard to explain to people is this: I’ve been cured of LYME for a long time. Doxycycline takes care of that. BUT what most people don’t know is that Lyme is just a minor part of a tick bite. I also have had malaria twice, I have babeseosis, I have bartonella, and I’m getting ready to find out how many other diseases. This Dr says it should be called tick borne diseases. This clinic specializes in cancer, but the English born Dr, who lives in Germany got interested in Lyme because Germany has more Lyme disease per capita than anywhere in the world. Now he’s the leading expert. He cured Kelly Osborne. I’m hopeful.

i got a message about three weeks ago from a friend in Memphis. Her friend’s daughter had just died from a tick borne disease. She was sixteen. They will actually hook me up to a diagnostic machine at this clinic to see what internal organs have been damaged. That’s really frightening.

And I’ve never said anything about this but I’ve had Lyme disease for ten years. My supporters have been my husband, my son, my daughter in law, and my friends, my dear friends. Norma, of course, has had her own very sad journey. But as far as my brothers go, I’ve not received ONE phone call….in TEN years! To say that is hurtful is an understatement. But, as my niece, Kate says, C’est la vie. So thank all of you who have been through this long, painful, journey with me.

I have been reading blogs of people who have been to this clinic and it has helped me prepare for what is coming. If my blog helps even one other person, so much the better.

See y’all in California!!

As some of you know, my Lyme disease has returned with a vengeance. I was scheduled to go to Germany in February to get stem cell replacement. Instead last week, I got an exciting call from the Infusio Clinic telling me they had opened a new clinic in Beverly Hills. Same Dr, same procedure, closer. So I guess we’re loading up the truck and moving to Bev…er….ly……..Hills that is. We’re leaving on October 15. Sometimes I think I must be crazy to keep trying. I assure you this is my last attempt. I just want to be me again. Anyway, this is the latest technology so it ought to be an interesting journey. You’re welcome to tag along.