The Freedom Song of the Jigsaw Girl

Thank you so much for your kind words! I had a friend who went through treatment for Lyme in the 2000s, and I remember thinking that I could never do such an aggressive treatment. I said as much to her when I started law school, since I knew at that time that I had almost identical symptoms to what she had even if I had not been diagnosed with Lyme. I said, "I can't have Lyme, I couldn't go through treatment and law school." But oddly enough that is exactly what I am doing. My symptoms got exponentially worse during the first year of law school (stress being a factor that causes flares and weakens an already compromised immune system). I was seeing the same doctor she had seen for Lyme, but he must have gone through some mid-life crisis and decided he didn't want anymore Lyme patients. He didn't even test me for Lyme, barely looked at my medical records I brought with me, and just went with the treatment my pre-law school doc had given me for my fibromyalgia (what I thought I had). When things got worse and I finally got in to see him (a nightmare in and of itself), he basically patted me on the head and told me law school was tough, see you in four months. I never went back to his office. I gritted my teeth and got through the end of the year, and then went in hunt of a new doctor. I found the doc I'm seeing for Lyme through the National Fibromyalgia Association website. Thankfully, Dr. Carr gets that I have to be able to stay in school to get through treatment (no school, no money, no insurance). It would be much harder to hold a job and go through treatment (as one friend of mine is doing). My school has been remarkably understanding and helpful for the most part as well. I am currently living in a place where I already had a good support network of heart family. I am also developing an amazing network of friends on dreamwidth. So I have many blessings to count. :)