PAINT MAY LYME GREEN

Hi My Name is Carisa Gorak and I have Lyme disease.
I’ve had Lyme disease since I’ve been 18 years of age. I went undiagnosed until 2007.
Yes, you are adding correctly that is 15 years of being undiagnosed with this disease!
I now have Chronic Lyme Disease and I am Totally Disabled because of this disease and I am 36 years old. I am a mother of 3, & married to a wonderful man! (He knew I was sick when he married me) We live in Wabasha, Minnesota. For those of you who do not know where Wabasha is, it is about 2 hours south of the Twin Cities.
(Wabasha is also known for the movies; "Grumpy Old Men" & "Grumpier Old Men")

>>Most people know me as @MNTwilightMom on Twitter

As most people know or if you don’t the Month of May is Lyme Awareness Month. ‘Paint May Green’ this month is so important to so many Lyme Suffers out there, this is how we speak about our Illness. We don’t speak out to gain attention to our selves or to gain sympathy because ‘WE’ don’t want that! Honestly ‘WE’ don’t want your sympathy; we want to share our stories with you, we what to teach you how to be safe outside and that ‘Lyme Disease’ is REAL! This Disease DOES EXIST! It affects thousands of lives everyday!
‘WE’ the people who suffer from Lyme disease Love the Month of May, because this is the Month that we can Scream & Shout! Share the “Good” with the “Bad” and tell everybody that “Lyme disease is out there and it’s REAL! This is our TIME!

Lyme disease...The Unspoken Truth; It Must be Heard!

Below is my story about my battle with Lyme disease…
 
My story started back in 2002 when I woke up one morning and I could not move. I had such pain radiating through my body that I could not move off my bed. I realized within a few min. that I could not feel my left leg; it tingled all the way down to my toes (as if it was asleep). This was very strange to me; I went to sleep the night before just fine w/o pain why did I wake up this way? What the heck happened while I was sleeping? The only good thing about this whole situation is that this day was my day off. I manage to crawl out of bed and slither my way to the bathtub and run some very hot water, thinking that this help. Somehow, I managed to get myself into the tub and lay in the hot water until I could at least feel my leg again. I could not even tell you how long that was.

I ended up calling my family doctor to see if I could get in to see him, because this was not normal, I couldn't even explain to the nurse what was happening or going on. I was able to get in to see him and all the normal tests were done, X-rays, MRI, CT-Scan, blood work, and the normal look over, push, poke, does this hurt, tell me what happened, stretch this way, and stretch that way. The entire normal exam that they all do, as I figured something would come back to tell me something but and everything came back normal! I sat there and cried! My doctor did believe me that I was in pain, so he gave me pain pills to help with the pain and inflammation that I had! Great, but it did not help; I was back in his office within a week!

This went on for the next 4 years, seeing other Doctors, “Specialist's”, being sent by "Specialists" to other "Specialist's", being sent to hospitals after hospitals. I live in Minnesota, so I even went to some of the "best hospitals" (in the world). I traveled across state lines and saw their "Specialists” and they sent me to their “Specialists”! I saw ones in certain fields that specialized in this field and that field! I can guarantee that I saw over 200 + doctors in my four years.

I was told many things by many “Doctors” and by many “Specialists” that I had the following; MS, Lupus, Lou Gehrig's Disease, Cancer of the Liver & Lungs, Kidney Failure, possible Tumor in my brain, Bi-Poplar, CFS, Fibro., CRPS, Dementia, Early stages of Alzheimer’s, Restless Leg Syndrome, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and my list goes on. I never knew if I was dieing or living!

On top of being told I had all these Disease's or Disorders I was also told by a variety of doctors and “Specialists” that I was, "Faking it", "Wanting Attention", "Trying to get Sympathy because I was a single mom w/ 2 kids", "Wanting to use our Welfare System, like all the other dead beats", I was even told that, "I'm just fine, to go out find a man, get married and live life", but this one is my favorite;  “You’re a very Pretty women, STOP feeling sorry for yourself, go out exercise, go out with your girlfriends, drink be happy, because NOTHING IS WRONG WITH YOU! YES, A DOCTOR TOLD ME THAT, STRAIGHT TO MY FACE!

I was at a certain hospital waiting for hours to see this "specialist", (he was suppose to the best in the world) and my appointment was @ 8:00 and I finally got in around 12:00pm to see him and when I did, I walked into his office, he looked at me, looked at my chart and said, "You are fine, your tests are fine, stop faking, your healthy as a horse!" You look great; I wish I looked as great as you, so leave my office, so I can see "some real people who are "REALLY SICK" and "REALLY NEED MY HELP" because YOU ARE NOT 1 of THEM"!! He got up from his chair, opened up his office door and left me sitting there in his office by myself, his nurse came in and said, "Ok you are done now, you must leave!" (Now this happened at our "famous #1 hospital in MN) It cost me $12.00 to park there and that is what I got for my whole day there....NOTHING!

After that wonderful visit, I was became depressed and started to doubt myself I stopped seeing doctors and “Specialists” for about 1 year. I thought, "Maybe I was imagining all these symptoms, all my pain, maybe I'm making myself sick!" But within that year, I became worse! My pain never went away, my symptoms never went away, and I became very sick...worse than before!

Than one day it hit me....I realized that I needed to find someone, somebody to believe me and I needed to find someone fast or I was going to die! And let me tell you something...I thought and felt like I was going to die! What would happen to my kids, where would they go? If not for me than I have to do it for my kids! So once again, my journey started to find that miracle doctor who would just listen to me and hear me! That is all I wanted, was that too much to ask?

Well as it is said, ‘A miracle will happen when you least expect it!’ I happen to be watching a Television show that evening, it was, "Mystery Diagnosis" having watched it in the past I knew what it was about, but this one was a new show! This 1 show saved my life and opened doors for me...it was on Lyme disease. They had a story on this one show about a young girl who could have been me! SHE WAS ME...I WAS HER...I Started to cry (I hardly cry at TV Show’s) This young girl had everything that I had. It was like at a looking glass and seeing myself through it, but it was on TV!

I live in Minnesota, and ticks are everywhere! How dumb can I be? Is it really that easy? Why hadn't all those "DUCS" (Doctors and Specialists) thought about Lyme disease? They are not much better than me, for not thinking of doing a Lyme test on me! I cried through that whole story, it was a turning point for me! A door opened up and said, "Walk in, this is your time!"

I called my doctor the very next morning, but I could not get in until the end of the week. That whole week I was the happiest I had been in 4 years, thinking this is going to be easy! Go in get the blood test done, get the results back, get medication and I’m cured!
Boy was I fooled! (Laughing) When I went in to my appointment telling my doctor what I saw on Monday night on TV and what I wanted him to test me for, he basically laughed right in my face! I could not believe it, 1 min. I am on cloud 9, the next I am right back were I started! After about 30 min. of being in his office and refusing to leave until he performed the Lyme test, he agreed to do it. But to my disbelief, it came back "NEGATIVE"! I was in total shock, I did not understand, how could that be! I had all the symptoms and signs of having Lyme disease, how can this 1 simple blood test come back NEGATIVE! My doctor looked at me and said, I told you it was a waste of time!” I walked out of his office and cried all the way home!

I called his nurse back and asked for a repeated test, my doctor would not do another one for another 2 weeks! I was very angry I hung up the phone and cried! I was just shattered; I thought that this was my answer to everything!
NOTE: I ended up having 8 Lyme disease tests done and they all came back NEGATIVE.

That’s when I started my own battle. My battle against Doctors and Specialist’s! If they were not going to help, I’m going to help myself! The HELL with them!

That was the day I started my own search for a LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Doctor) and my own Lyme disease database for myself. I wanted to know everything about this disease. So, when I went back for another blood test, I had all my ducks in order and I had facts in hand! I was going to be prepared this time and I was not going to take no crap from anybody! Especially from a doctor or a Specialist who thought he knew more than me! I didn't care how long he went to school for, how much he thought he knew more than me, it didn't matter, because I was going to have proof that I had this Disease and they were going to listen!!! I wasn’t going to leave anyone’s office until they did what I wanted!

Well, lets just say all my research, papers in hand, documented proof that I showed these ‘DUC’S” (Doctor’s & Specialist’s) and check-off list of symptoms, did not un-nerve
them one bit or there decision at all! I still couldn’t find a “DUC” who would test me again for Lyme disease or even believe me that I had it! These "DUC’S" were stubborn one’s and I was getting nowhere with them; but I’ve fought so hard for so many years, my skin was getting tougher! I was learning how to fight harder and I wasn’t fighting nice, anymore! Every new office that I went to and if I didn’t succeed with that “DUC” I went to another and another and I did this for about another 6 months until I found me an Angel!

About 2 months after seeing that last "DUC", I ran into an old neighbor of mine, and she was telling me about a Dr. that she works for who is a "DO" (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) that she woks for. She told me to give him a try, he does treat a couple Lyme Patients, and maybe he can help me. He is really good, she stated! After all this time, I had my doubts about all "DUCS" but hell what did I have to loose! Nothing right!

I made an appointment to go see this "DUC" and my first appointment was 3 hours long, WOW!!! I was impressed…so far!
He took notes, listened, and even took my research papers that I brought in w/ me on Lyme disease. It explained and showed why I knew I had Lyme disease; by this time I knew I had Chronic Lyme Disease. It has been 4.5 years since my first symptoms appeared and I have been on NO MEDICATIONS, except pain meds.

By this time, it was about the middle April of 2007. I was re-married since October of 2005, to a great guy who married me regardless of my unknown illness. (Even though we both knew what I had) I have 2 children; he has 1, so together we have 3. We have moved, bought a house and I am finally on the right path, with the right Doctor (He is NOT a DUC, he is my Angel!) and hopefully we can start getting the answers to what "we" already knew!

My new doctor tested me for Lyme disease in June of 2007, and sent away the lab tests to Igenx and guesses what? They came back POSITIVE!!!! They were so positive that he has never seen such high numbers before on a Lyme Test! I know that does not sound good, but I was so happy, I cried and I don’t mean a soft cry; I cried hard!
Not that the test was positive, but that my fight was over! I've been fighting for 4.5 years, and my 5-year mark was coming up for a diagnosis of what was wrong with me! Doctors and Specialists have been telling me that I was crazy, "ME" thinking that I'm crazy, family members thinking that I'm just making things up, others looking at me and thinking, "what's wrong w/ her, she looks fine, she doesn't look sick!"

I am sick! I may look fine, but I am NOT!
And guess what…It’s NOT IN MY HEAD!!!

They started treatment in August of 2007 w/ a Pic-Line, but that only lasted until November because of blood clots, than they inserted a port within the right side of my chest.

I have been on 5 different kinds of IV medications because my body has built of immunity to the medications and has stopped working. I have to be on a nausea medication because the IV medication makes me very sick that I cannot keep food down. I do IV meds. 5 days a week for 2.5 hours a week.

Within the last 3 months, I have noticed my hair is falling out; I have had cists removed from both of my eyes twice now. Lyme disease has been gracious enough to affect my body in all ways possible... My speech, train of thought, remembering, standing, walking, working inside or outside the home, normal day to day duties (Housework) and these are just a few listed.

My LLMD thinks I may have a Co-Infection, maybe 2, tested, came back positive! This just means that I get sick easier and my immune system is completely shot. I’ll try to give you a short version of what a Co-Infection is. Co-Infections are created when the Lyme disease, creates another disease within your body. Lyme disease has turned into Full Chronic Lyme Disease w/ Neuro Lyme Disease. This means I now have slight brain damage that affects certain areas of my brain. I had to realize that last winter I needed a cane to help me walk because I couldn’t walk by myself with assistance...35 (at the time) years old and I walk with a cane! (That killed me when I had to use it for the first time; I cried the whole entire time)

My Disability finally went through this February, had to hire an attorney last fall to help me fight, I could not take my case any farther w/o one. When I went to court for my final hearing to hear if the judge decided for me or against me this is what the judge said to
me, "This is the worse case of Lyme Disease he has ever seen in his 6 years of doing Disability Cases, and he hopes that soon, very soon that a cure or our doctors wake up and realize that this Disease is Real and that it is affecting our young and old people today!" He apologized for the suffering that I had to endure and the fight that I had to go through just to get diagnosed, he said, "that shouldn't happen in the 20th Century and with today's medicine and research!" Inside I was jumping up and down!

Update:
As of today, May 2, 2010 I am on no medications because my body has rejected the last medications that I was on because of an illness that I had about 1 month ago. So as of right now my Doctor and I are working on a plan to come up with a new Medication plan for me. I’ve been without Lyme Disease Medication for about 1 moth now and it’s been a long road. My mornings are rough and my nights are rougher. The pain varies on the weather; on how cold or how warm it is… I go in to see my doctor every month for my monthly checkups and every 6 months to have my Lungs, Kidneys, and have MRI’s and a CT-Scan done to make sure everything is still in working order…

Thank you for letting me share my story with you..
If you have any question please don’t hesitate to ask…

Remember, Do not Ever Give Up!!

Lyme disease...The Unspoken Truth; It Must be Heard!

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere. It is transmitted to humans by the bite of a infected tick. Early symptoms may include fever, headache, fatigue, depression and a characteristic circular skin rash called erythema migrans.
(not everybody will get a rash, aka @MNTwilightMom never got a rash)
Left untreated, this disease can affect the joints, heart, and the central nervous system.
In most cases, the infection and its symptoms are eliminated by antibiotics, especially if the illness is treated early. But even if antibiotics are given in the early stages of Lyme disease symptoms can still recur after treatment. Late, delayed, or inadequate treatment can lead to the more serious symptoms, which can be disabling and difficult to treat. Some groups have argued that "chronic" Lyme disease is responsible for a range of medically unexplained symptoms beyond the recognized symptoms of late Lyme disease and that additional, long-term antibiotic treatments are needed. Most ‘expert groups’ including the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Academy of Neurology, have found that existing scientific evidence does not support a role for Borrelia nor ongoing antibiotic treatment in such cases. However, the subject is controversial, with some doctors, patient advocacy groups, and politicians continuing to argue that long-term treatment is beneficial.

This dispute has led to legal action over treatment guidelines, as well as harassment and death threats made against physicians who will not acknowledge "chronic" Lyme disease as a legitimate diagnosis.
The symptoms are:
Lyme disease can affect multiple body systems and produce a range of symptoms. Not all patients with Lyme disease will have all symptoms, and many of the symptoms are not specific to Lyme disease but can occur with other diseases as well. The incubation period from infection to the onset of symptoms is usually one to two weeks, but can be much shorter (days), or much longer (months to years). Symptoms most often occur from May through September, because the nymphal stage of the tick is responsible for most cases. But in recent years they are finding out that ticks are coming out earlier and staying longer. They are finding out that this so called ‘uncubation period’ really doesn’t exist anymore.

CALDA http://lymedisease.org/
Research Testing Lab for Lyme disease & Other Tick Borne Disease’s
http://igenex.com/Website/
>>Article Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease

Candice Accola isn’t the only cast member of TVD to support Charity campaigns, here are a few other campaigns where at least one of the cast members of TVD was involved.

Sarah Canning, Zack Roerig and Nina Dobrev ‘Go Green’
Sarah Canning, Zack Roerig and Nina Dobrev gives us 5 ways to increase ‘Our Green’
1) Always use dishes to reduce waste
2) Use a sake bottle and refill it instead of buying bottles of water all the time. Reduce water by closing the tab while you are brushing your theeth.
3) Recycle clothing. There is an organization called "Donate my dress" after your prom night you mostly won't use the dress anymore. That association makes sure that people who can't afford to buy a dress still can go to the prom night with one of those dresses.
>>Take a look at http://www.donatemydress.org/
4) Shop local, so you don't have to take your car and waste gas.
5) Use alternate transport like buses, walking or carpooling...

Starve a Vampire, give Blood
Three big hits came together for this Campaign:
TVD, Twilight and True Blood.
The purpose was to encourage the fans to donate their blood to the American Red Cross between the 1th of March and the 14th of March.

Donating blood can save a lot of lives, so don’t forget, this doesn’t has to be a one time action, you can give blood every three months and help save lives! We know you would rather offer your blood to Damon or Stefan Salvatore, but they ask you to please donate it to the Red Cross.

Katherina Graham for Children Mending hearts
Katherina Graham aka Bonnie Bennett has auctioned her voice to record the voice mail message of the highest bidder. The highest bidder would also take Home a Cast-Signed Poster from "Vampire Diaries".
The estimated value collected here is $ 1,200,00 donated to Children
>>Link for all information & website http://www.charitybuzz.com/causes/479/catalog_items/204521

Children Mending Hearts
There is a way to help children that live in conflict zones and at-risk children in America. They educate, empower and encourage children, they give them a voice, inspire them to a sense of empathy and desire for peace.
>>Website to Mending Hearts (http://www.childrenmendinghearts.org)

Ian Somerhalder for Love Letters to the South
Ian Somerhalder participated to ‘Love Letters to the South‘. This is a book full of photographs and vows that pay tribute to all those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
This charitable book gives all proceeds to The American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity.
This book is a book of hope, dreams, encouragement and support, for those who lost so much during Hurricane Katrina. The book is also full of pictures of the artists and vows they wrote for the affected people.

Ian Cares about Animals
These are both links that @iansomerhalder posted on twitter these last few weeks. They both are links for animals. The one is a website (See below) and the second one is a video made by Ian himself of puppy's that need to be adopted as soon as possible.

Ian even tweeted this:
Re* If someone adopts a pup I'll meet you in Piedmont Park to play with the dog! You really have to want and be able to care for the animal though (These are his exact words from twitter)
So if you are able to and like dogs and know you can take care of one, go get one… I would love to but I live in Europe…
>> Website http://www.newleash.org/