Ocean
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3496
posted
Hey guys,
I know some of you may remember me...I used to post a lot when I was really sick with Lyme. I just wanted to let you know that I still think about all of you and I am going to be starting school to become a Family Nurse Pracitioner next summer...yes, I will then attend ILADS training and treat Lyme patients!!!!
I moved to Oregon and I love it here! I will have the opportunity to practice independently in Oregon and in the college classes I've been taking, I do talk about Lyme disease...most nurses know nothing about it (which isn't surprising the way the medical profession is hush hush regarding it).
I can't wait to get through with the program and have the opportunity to practice with Lyme patients. Every day I feel I get stronger physically, Lyme is so devastating to the body...
I am able to run 4 miles now and since my divorce (husband was cheating on me when I was very sick) I am a single momma to my 3 kids. Three years ago if someone told me these would be my circumstances, I would have passed out because I knew I couldn't have done it, I was so sick.
The past year I have maintained a weight in the 120's...I never thought I would not look thin and sick. I know that I could relapse (started to this spring), but I spent my late teens and all of my 20's sick...here in my 30's I am finding what being alive is really about and it's amazing. Just being able to drive a car is amazing (and not have a single panic attack!).
I just wanted to send some encouragement...I know how much Lyme sucks! I used to read stories of people being healed from Lyme and never knowing if I would be a "success" story. It was a long road, scary, but now...well worth it! Just keep on fighting this illness. From the time I got sick until I was diagnosed (13 years) and better...it was about 14.5 years of being sick. Just don't give up!
I will finish my Bachelor's degree in 8 weeks, the whole time I've been taking classes, my eyes are set on helping the Lyme community! Sometimes I watch Under Our Skin and my heart aches remembering past times and knowing there are so many people still suffering.
Thank you for the support you all provided in my darkest hours! You have NO IDEA how much your words were able to be a soothing balm on my heart...especially those of you that also had horrible, constant anxiety and panic attacks...you helped me just knowing I wasn't alone! I will never be able to sufficiently thank you for your love and support!!!
fflutterby
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 28081
posted
Ocean, thank you so much for posting this. I am so happy for you. I read your story last year when I was diagnosed and was very inspired back then...You give us all hope. May God continue to bless you. I am going through Babs treatment currently and hope sometimes slips away. I think your post is God's way of pushing me back over the line.
I am sure there are many of us who need to hear this today.
-------------------- Psalm 46 1 God is our refuge and strength Posts: 1367 | From North Jersey | Registered: Sep 2010
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Jane2904
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15917
posted
Thanks for posting Ocean!!
I am so happy you are doing well.
Your post gives me hope for our DD.
Posts: 1357 | From Massachusetts | Registered: Jun 2008
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Lymedin2010
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 34322
posted
Glad to hear you are on the right track. I know how much this has impacted those that are physically affected by the disease.
I know it has changed my life & I too would feel empty knowing what I now know and not doing something in this field.
Isn't Mandy Hughes, from Under Our Skin also going into nursing? No better people to be in this field than the ones that go through it.
Posts: 2087 | From NY | Registered: Oct 2011
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posted
I think I needed to hear about your success Ocean, because today is one of those days, when you feel all alone, the panic attacks don't stop and you wonder when, and if they will stop ever in your life.
I too hope and pray that one day I will be well enough to help others with lyme: )
Good Luck in school and I can't wait to hear of you opening a practice to help those in need:)
Posts: 200 | From Massachusetts | Registered: Apr 2007
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lyme in Putnam
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11561
posted
God bless, continue up the up road.
-------------------- He took u to it, He'll you through Posts: 2837 | From NE. | Registered: Apr 2007
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posted
Congrats on achieving so much despite such adversity! Thanks for going into the medical community to educate others as well. Best wishes,
Posts: 143 | From Louisville KY | Registered: May 2010
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Dogsandcats
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 28544
posted
How wonderful, so happy for you. You will a blessing to the Lyme community and anyone you care for.
Congratulations on finishing school. That is an accomplishment that is yours to hold forever!
-------------------- God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he'll be there.
Billy Graham Posts: 1967 | From California | Registered: Oct 2010
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posted
Thank you so SO much, Ocean, for taking the time to post!
It means the world to a lot of us knowing that hope is truly out there! Sometimes the pits of despair can be overwhelming!
Thanks again and much luck to you!
-------------------- ? date of bite/no rash 10/09 symptoms, 4/10 diagnosed, after 6 mos. ER visits, tons of docs/tests CDC+ 23/39/41/45/58/66/93 currently on oral plaquenil, doryx, rifampin, pyrazinamide, nystatin, numerous supplements Posts: 718 | From Pennsylvania | Registered: Jun 2010
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Ocean
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3496
posted
Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts! I know how awful Lyme is...honestly, I'd forgotten what it was like to feel healthy and now I am healthy as an adult as when I got sick I was 17 and in highschool, still living with my parents...I feel very very free. Even though I will have a symptom here or there, it is so much better! No one now would guess that I was sick or ever had been.
Just know that I am rooting for ALL of you and I am trying to get through school so I can be a voice and a healing hand for all of you!
posted
I have been having "one of those days" and reading your story has made me feel better. Thank you for the hope and for going into the "lyme" field. May you continue on the road to health.
-------------------- Down on her knees, she wept on the floor. This hopeless life, she wanted no more. Dead in the mind and cold to the bone, She opened her eyes and saw she was alone. ~Seether Posts: 427 | From Rhode Island | Registered: May 2011
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posted
Thanks for coming back and sharing, Ocean!! That's great news!!! I've been in remission for two years, but stick around here to moderate. Please drop in again sometime! Be sure to post in success stories at the top of general support!
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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Thank you for posting your wonderfully inspiring story!!! I'm in remission too and know others can achieve the same with the right team, tools, support and lifestyle.
I sent you a pm and look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you for coming back to give us your wonderful news. You are an inspiration.
Sending you congratulatory high fives!!!!
Posts: 118 | From Here | Registered: Sep 2008
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Ocean
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3496
posted
Thank you all so very much! I truly appreciate your sweet words! I recognize some of you from my years on Lyme.net and Sixgoofykids, I know we'd pm'd a few times back then, glad to hear you are still doing well too, and good job with moderating the forums!!!
I will definitely post from time to time...I wish you all health in your journey.
posted
I love reading stories like this! Thanks for sharing.
Posts: 323 | From Michigan | Registered: Sep 2006
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Ocean,
That's fantastic. Glad to hear how your resiliency and perseverance has served you well.
As for starting your training for a Family Nurse Practitioner, that's great, too.
Glad you love Oregon. It is a beautiful state but the lyme politics are fierce, indeed. As you know, though, the Oregon Medical Board is very hostile towards lyme patients and anyone who tried to help them.
There is not one LLMD here and the few who have tried to openly treat chronic lyme have been lost their licenses or restricted to only treat in the ER, and banned from even discussing lyme.
Even a couple of the LL NDs who have diagnosed lyme and reported it have been called by state authorities and asked to reverse the diagnosis. Really.
I'm not sure what licensing board you will be under and if that is governed by the Oregon Medical Board, you might want to know that before you start your training.
You may be licensed to practice independently in your own clinic, but if licensed under the Oregon Medical Board, they can still prevent you from treating (chronic) lyme patients and may insist on following only the IDSA protocol.
There might be another avenue so that you'd not be under that board.
For instance, naturopathic doctors in Oregon are not under the MD's medical board and that is how the NDs can treat lyme.
Now, it may be that you'd be working in the physical office of a LL ND, etc. But, if you can figure out how to set up on advance some way to actually have the choice to treat lyme, that would be splendid.
The insurance industry in Oregon is also a big obstacle for treatment.
Glad to hear you'll be attending ILADS conferences, too.
My guess is that you've already found OLDN but, if not, be sure to connect with them.
If you've not already been able to do so, you might want to connect with the FOUNDER of this group. She is a wealth of information, history, perspective and ideas regarding lyme and Oregon.
I sure hope you can meet her. She is in Bend. [Oregon Lyme Disease Network - Main Number Theresa 541-312-3081]
===========================
Portland, Oregon Lyme Support Group
November 13 meeting.
Dr. ********* [from across the river, in Vancouver, WA] will be our guest speaker at the November meeting, and will be sharing highlights from the recent LDA (Lyme Disease Association) Conference that was held earlier this month in Philadelphia.
No recording devices are allowed at this meeting, so you will want to come if at all possible.
As a reminder, please do not wear perfume or cologne at the meeting. Many individuals with Lyme also deal with chemical sensitivities.
Please note the different meeting time, 2:30-4:30pm.
Location: Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital, 1040 NW 22nd Ave, Portland
(First Floor Auditorium) which is across the street from the Hospital's main entrance.
There is a parking garage behind this building where you can park and a doorway in the garage on the first level that connects to the building. We will be meeting in the auditorium on the first floor. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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dmc
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5102
posted
Wow, wonderful to hear of your amazing life changes.
Blessings like hugs & smiles are contagious so posting here is definately necessary for others to keep positive.
Congratulations on you success in school. You & your family should be very proud.
Posts: 2675 | From ct, usa | Registered: Jan 2004
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Ocean
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3496
posted
Thanks so much guys!
Keebler,I would be licensed under the Oregon Board of Nursing. Not the medical board. I figure I will cross that bridge when it comes...if necessary, I could always get my Washington License and practice in Washington state, as I know there are a couple of Lyme practitioners there (mostly Seattle I've heard). It's so sad that the environment is so political...in some ways it seems that the East coast is better...at least there are some laws for LLMD's! I will definitely be careful...It's sad that this is the climate though!
Thank you all for your sweet replies and I hope that you improve with this awful disease!!!
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Ocean, glad to hear you will be under a different licensing board and hope the head of that is not a twin of the Oregon Medical Board or OHSU's powers that be.
While most of the really good LLMDs are in Seattle, there is one LLMD, just across the river from Portland, in Vancouver, WA.
I can't speak to his abilities but he'll be talking at that meeting noted in a post above if you want to get a sense of his approach & demeanor, etc.
Along the way, I do hope you can stay in touch with the OLDN founder.
A few months ago, in committee, someone not with the OLDN introduced a water-downed bill to allow doctors to treat (but still not really very aggressively) . . .
While this particular bill was far from perfect, still, the state legislators took the advice of the IDSA doctors here and said "well, the experts tell us there is no lyme problem here." The bill was tabled.
So, even the legislators are not engaged enough to do proper research and really get a correct picture. They go with the IDSA and the IDSA wields the power here.
Yes, it's sad about the climate and it requires careful maneuvering but I am SO VERY GLAD to hear of your plans. We need people like you.
I think, quietly, as more professionals become educated, we will see a change in the weather.
Best of luck in your studies.
============== By the way, your mailbox is full. You must have had some good replies from your good news.
Enjoy Autumn. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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sammy
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13952
posted
Congratulations Ocean!
I'm so happy to hear that you are doing well I wish you the best of luck as you continue your education to become and LL NP.
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
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posted
I needed to see this tonight! thank you. So happy for you!
-------------------- Psalm 119:50 My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. Posts: 292 | From Heaven | Registered: Jan 2011
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posted
I had a rough weekend and also needed to see this tonight! Ocean I wish you much good luck! We need more people like you!
Posts: 256 | From long island, new york | Registered: Feb 2008
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