Thursday, July 14, 2011

A Tiny Victory


Please take a moment to visit Heather's blog over at Today I feel Exceptionally...and read her post about having to go to the ER.

Having to go to the emergency room is a huge fear for most of us with Lyme disease. The vast majority of doctors treat us like lepers when they find out we have Lyme disease, especially when they hear the number of medications we have to take. Lyme disease is as controversial as AIDS was in the 80s.

This is the first time I've ever heard of someone with Lyme having a positive experience at the ER (well, as positive as possible for being in the emergency room!), and I think it serves as a wonderful reminder that, even though it isn't the normal to have a doctor sympathetic to the diagnosis of Lyme, there are still amazing doctors out there who won't give up on us for having a disease that doesn't follow a textbook norm.

Heather's post feels like a tiny victory for those of us with Lyme disease. We have been bullied and verbally abused by the medical community for so long, we come to expect it. Heather's post shows us that that doesn't have to happen. Having a disease so excruciating that the number one cause of death is suicide is quite enough for us to swallow; having to deal with being treated like an outcast because doctors don't understand this disease is downright appalling, yet remains a sad realty for those of us Lyme disease.

Thank you Heather, for sharing this victory with us in the Lyme community. And here's to hoping Heather is feeling much, much better soon!

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