My Lyme Healing Story: Empowerment Rising! (PART 2)
May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and as such, I'm sharing parts of my own story throughout May. 
 
In case you missed it, here's PART 1 of my Lyme (healing) story: https://adelecole.com/blog/33562/my-lyme-healing-story-how-it-all-started
 
 
We pick up today with Part 2 of my Lyme healing story. This is the crazy part, where I’m not really getting proper Lyme treatment, but yet, I start to find my healing path through all kinds of twists and turns. 
 
So I had just gotten an actual Lyme diagnosis and just finished a month of oral antibiotics with NO (or minimal) improvements. Now my gut was wrecked, I wasn’t “better” magically, and my well-meaning family doc turfed me off to specialists to help manage my symptoms.
 
Ultimately, this next phase of my journey led to a laundry list of diagnoses, mostly autoimmune and rheumatological. They included (but certainly weren’t limited to): fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, psoriasis and eczema, psoriatic arthritis, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, patella femoral syndrome, headaches and migraines, Raynaud’s phenomenon, mental health issues, and I was being worked up for vasovagal issues and irritable bowel syndrome. All of this was NEW to me and prominent in about a 2-year time span. 
 
What’s interesting about these many diagnoses is that they brought some amount of relief to me, as well as a sense of ownership of my health in a very good way. See, as I was still sick - though no longer fully bed-ridden - I mustered up the energy to take my health into my own hands to a degree. I was still a child but found myself researching, asking questions, and figuring out some diagnoses that seemed to “fit the bill” for my deterioration in health that I couldn’t seem to overcome.
 
My mom was also a key player and example to me during this time, as she too was linking arms with family friends with medical training and learning about advocacy herself, in order to better help me. All-in-all, with what we both learned, I was able to work with my Rheumatologist and family doctor to start getting some diagnoses on the table that made sense (or so I thought!) with what I was physically experiencing. 
 
None of us realized that Lyme and coinfection were the main culprits in all that I was experiencing. 
 
Even though these other diagnoses weren’t really on the right track or ACTUAL answers for my health problems/needs, getting to this point had taught me valuable lessons about empowerment and advocacy that I would carry with me into adulthood. 
 
In the meantime, we moved forward the best we could, looking now for alternative answers for symptom management and improved quality of life. Across my mom’s path came some VERY timely answers - two main vehicles for healing that got me to a functional place for the first time in nearly 3 years. 
 
  1. Myofasical release. This form of bodywork requires specialized training and we happened to find one of the best practitioners who lived right near us. (We are still friends to this day, in fact.) She changed my entire life in the first session I had at the age of 15 (20 years ago now). I left that session feeling a sense of healing. In fact, the first words out of my mouth to my mom were, “I can breathe again.” I was getting oxygen and healing throughout my body - something I hadn’t experienced for years and didn’t even realize it! When my mom saw how alive I looked after my first session, she burst into tears. That’s how drastic this treatment was for me. Over the years, my provider also incorporated craniosacral and lymphatic drainage therapies into my sessions, and I continued to see her until she retired, 20 years after my very first session. I will continue this type of healing treatment for life. 
 
  1. Homeopathy and holistic care. When I say we left no stone unturned, we really did try not to! So we landed on trying an MD who turned homeopath and boy did this pay off! While he wasn’t a Lyme Literate Provider, he was the first provider to look at my WHOLE self and WHOLE health picture. His investigation and lifestyle recommendations, along with select homeopathy and repairing deficiencies and “missing links” in my health started to impart healing into my day-to-day life. In fact, it was this experience directly that opened my mind to the possibilities of gut healing, diet as medicine, and alternative medicine in general. This is a mindset I have taken with me ever since, even though my carrier as a registered nurse. 
 
So even though my Lyme wasn’t DIRECTLY being addressed at this point in my healing, I was learning valuable healing lessons and experiencing the truth about healing, despite not fully “getting” it yet at this point - that healing is multi-faceted, never linear, and definitely about the WHOLE person. 

Stay tuned for PART 3 coming next week, where I take the lessons I’ve been learning in my young years as I move into adulthood and see what lay ahead for my career, relationships, and life. 



 
While you're waiting to hear more of my journey, join the best holistic Lyme healing community out there right here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lymeyandcrunchy
 
ANNNND check this out!!
 
*NEW* and rolling out this month - hop into Design Your Holistic Lyme Healing Blueprint if you're ready to upgrade your healing. My super-solution program will cover the steps *I* myself took combined with other proven healing tools to get you to your healing goals while saving time, energy, and even money too! All of this while you are tapping into your empowerment and peace. 
Limited Founding Member spots available at 40% off!

0 Comments

Leave a Comment

Meet Adele

 
          Half my lifetime ago I was expecting to be permanently disabled or even dead at a young age unless I found a way back to hope and health. As a result of a mystery illness, I was nearly bed-ridden as a teenager. Sometimes I had to CRAWL up the 7 steps to my bedroom to get to bed because I couldn’t walk that far. I HAD to nap every single day. I was in *constant* burning, aching pain throughout my body and experienced exhaustion and brain fog so bad I could barely communicate. I had quit all sports, babysitting and other jobs. My ambitions, successes, sense of self, and LIFE were slipping through my fingers. I had been misdiagnosed with autoimmune conditions for years only to finally discover that Lyme disease and co-infections were the primary culprit of my medical mysteries. At the time of my diagnosis, I was spiraling into depression, helplessness, and hopelessness.  I had no idea where this journey would take me, but I could not see a light at the end of it, and that was just plain scary.
 
          My mom took me to many doctors, but none specialized in Lyme and tick borne illnesses. They all treated the symptoms I was having as best as they could, but I was still getting slowly worse, or having side effects from medications I was being put on. So my mom and I sought alternative options out of desperation. Homeopathy, diet changes, proper supplements, and rest finally started to lead me into healing and the fog started to lift. During that time, myofascial release from a certified massage therapist was one of the most helpful modalities I tried. She used essential oils too, and that was officially my first introduction to their power. All of these alternative options helped me survive, start to thrive, and begin the next leg of my journey: becoming a nurse. I thrived in a career that combined science, research, and helping others through their suffering and health goals. In my young adult years, I finally had the opportunity to continue my treatment and health journey with a Lyme specialist, which has helped me heal more fully than I ever would have thought possible 10yrs ago. 

          I knew that as I got married, started a family, and was working on healing my body, I had some big goals: 1) to be there for my family and to be able to care for them fully and 2) to have a non-toxic home and life in order to live our best lives. My cousin shared with me some of her journey, which had similarities to my own. She was using some things I was already curious about, including essential oils and specialized supplements. I was HOOKED after the first sample I tried! I could now clearly visualize the next steps of my healing journey - hope had returned!
              
          Now, I have endless hope. I can LIVE LIFE. This is the healthiest I’ve truly been since about age 14 and I’m thriving! I’ve been able to advocate for my own 4 babies, 3 of whom have ended up with Lyme too. I’m dedicated to using my nursing background and love of education in combination with appreciation for functional medicine and alternative therapies to help everyone I can. My hope is renewed. I am empowered and equipped. I’m enjoying and embracing the journey and want to help YOU to be able to have all of that too!

          If you're ready to link arms with me and walk this journey together, please reach out! I'd LOVE to hear from you!


**Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional here to diagnose, treat, cure, or otherwise influence your medical journey outside of the guidance of a medical professional. Please find a doctor you trust and discuss any medical concerns or treatments with them. Also, please know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases through my site at no extra cost to you.

Contact

Copyrights © 2025 held by respective copyright holders, including Wellness with Adele.