The Silver Lyming

Sandy and her husband Maurice are no strangers to the diseases ticks can infect us with. They were both infected with Lyme/TBI, and like so many others, are not particularly sure where they contracted it. Sandy thinks they may have been bit when they would take long strolls int he woods and grassy fields where they used to live but they never became acutely ill, it was more of a gradual onset of illness. Maurice wound up getting a pacemaker in 2015 for an incredibly low heart rate. He would literally fall asleep while doing activities. Sandy had both knees replaced. Looking back at these health events, she feels it was most likely from the Lyme/TBI, but they have no proof of this. Through talking to other people, she has learned the very same thing happened to others and they were able to point her in the right direction for holistic treatment. They understood that the standard testing is very unreliable, and it failed Sandy, but she was able to get help from her holistic practitioner. They both treated for a year and were able to eliminate the Lyme from their bodies. They both have made vast improvements with their health. Sandy is still healing digestive issues. She has made adjustments to her nutritional intake plan and that has made a world of difference. She also values exercise and moving her body and she embraces various methods to meditate. These combined with holistic medicine have worked much better for her than Western medicine. I applaud Sandy for always asking questions, learning new ways to support her body, and trying new things to make adjustments. She has always been very good about that since the day I met her in the in-person Lyme support group I used to run. That is one lesson this illness has taught me (and I think almost everyone else who has it) that we MUST BE OUR OWN BEST ADVOCATES. No one else is going to do it for you. YOU MUST TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR OWN LIFE. We have so much power we are not aware of to heal ourselves. It is POSSIBLE.

Patrick's story started with him finding a "bruise" on his chest and he did not think twice about it. Shortly thereafter, he began having health issues and he began trying to figure out what was wrong with him. He saw between 30-35 doctors and had NO answers for the that started going wrong in his body. They kept telling him it was "stress" which worried him because he is an airline pilot, and those types of challenges make one ineligible to fly. Finally, someone pointed him in the direction of Lyme/TBI. He had already begun missing a lot of work, and once he started treating his Lyme and coinfections, he began herxing and ultimately had to stop working. For the next five years, he tried working with doctors, but turned to self-research. (I would like to mention that many Lyme patients are forced into becoming their own best advocate and research person because the traditional medical treatments do not always work.) Patrick realized that the antibiotics were not working for him so he looked at other contributing factors to his immune system not functioning properly such as exposure to heavy metals and mold, but these were dead ends. He did have a cavitation that the dentist kept telling him was not bad until he forced the issue by saying he would pay for surgery himself to have it done. (Patrick is the third guest I have had talk about cavitations so please take this seriously. Given this is only episode 11, that is a relatively high percentage of people. I never even heard of them before, so I am glad they are talking about them.) Once the dentist got in there, he realized it was much worse than what the Xray had been showing. That did help him with his healing but was not the final thing to get him better. He used disulphiram which is very hard on the body, and he does not necessarily recommend it without fully understanding the ramifications of its use. Even after that, he was still not 100%. Then he came across brain retraining again as someone introduced him to it a number of years earlier but did not explain it well which left an unfavorable impression on him. He began listening to Joe Dispenza and made drastic improvements with his health once he started practicing his techniques. Patrick has made a full recovery and is back to flying in the skies. He feels strongly about finding a doctor who is willing to get to the root of your illness, getting rid of fear, and protecting your energy, He made some tough choices during his healing journey such as removing toxic people from his life. This is never easy but can be imperative to your healing. Take a listen to his full story and leave a comment if it resonates with you.

I am excited to release this milestone episode #10! These are so much fun for me to make, and this episode is no different. I have known Allyssa for quite some time now. She and I met back when I was first diagnosed with Lyme and worked on a few things together. She gave a talk on nutrition to my support group when I ran it in-person AND we had kicked around the idea of doing this podcast together. Timing was just not quite right but we remained friends and I have SO enjoyed watching her grow her business, Biohacking Bombshell in the meantime. Allyssa has learned so much about healing and helping others and is such a great resource of information if you are not familiar with her. I always remember her story and applaud her for her bravery in healing. She went so far as to have her breast implants removed to regain her health and I want that to be known by other women who are potentially struggling to regain their health. If you have breast implants and Lyme/TBI and are not getting well no matter what you try, consider an explant. Allyssa's began growing mold, which is supposed to not happen, but it contributed to her health issues. She now runs a clinic to help those struggling with chronic health challenges having regained her health. If you are interested in contacting her, you can find you on any of the social media channels under her name Allyssa LaScala and the Biohacking Bombshell. Her website is biohackingbombshell.com. Allyssa will have her patients work on getting their drainage pathways open, removing parasites and environmental toxins, and nervous system regulation. We discuss the importance of giving yourself a good foundation, clean air, food, and water, and a good night sleep. One of the things I appreciate most about Allyssa's healing journey is her committed connection to God. She makes it very clear that she would not be here without God's love and grace. I couldn't agree more. Surviving and healing from Lyme definitely takes God's strength. Please like and share this episode so that others may find comfort in these healing stories.

Amber Gordon is the host of The Sacred Leadership Podcast (which is fantastic so please take a listen) and is no stranger to healing her body. She has overcome a lot of physical adversity starting from birth and is flourishing with not only her health, but with her purpose in life. This may be in fact her Silver Lyming from her decades long journey with Lyme/TBI, that she has found her life purpose. What a beautiful gift. Because of her experience with Lyme/TBI, Amber's career path was greatly shaped towards helping those with chronic illness and is now evolving to be a coach and resource to those looking to follow their soul's passions and use their chronic illness to potentially help them with their business. She is SO knowledgeable as her background is in family and medical therapy, as well as her own experience with chronic illness, to help develop these challenges into something incredibly beautiful. I love this episode because Amber touches on some really important issues like what it was like being a teenager with undiagnosed Lyme/TBI and how it affected her mood, making her much more depressed, anxious, and extremely tired...she was not just a moody teenager:/, some of the losses people with Lyme endure like not being able to work or get out of bed or drive, not being able to finish school, how antibiotics did not work for her, , her bad experience with Gardasil, and how her apartment was infested with ticks! My absolute worst nightmare, save being dropped in the middle of a field. Her major shift came when she had a change in her thoughts, like many other guests I have had. I cannot stress enough the importance of the need to go deep within and contend with the spiritual and emotional aspects of dis-ease to truly heal. It is not just physical, and she is another amazing example of this. Amber's story is certainly one that will stick with me forever. I am incredibly grateful to be able to share it with you. If you are interested in checking out Amber further, you can find her on ig at letgo.and.lead, FB under Amber Gordon, and you can schedule a session with her at bit.ly/AmberLinks

Louis is not exactly sure when he contracted Lyme/TBI, but he suspects it was when he was at a picnic and wondered off the trail. He was laying on the ground enjoying the outdoors and feels that is when he was bit. His symptoms started about a week later with flu-like symptoms and muscle pain in his back. (I wonder if the pain in his back was the area where he got bit, but clearly, we will never know:/) His symptoms progressed so rapidly he was hospitalized for 4-5 days. Gratefully he has made a full recovery with the exception of ongoing joint pain, but hearing his story is a reminder that Lyme/TBI comes in many forms, some drastic enough to hospitalize someone and even result in death. We cover some of the basics of Lyme and the challenges encountered by those struggling with Lyme/TBI. Louis has a great suggestion: if you are struggling with unanswered health challenges, get tested for Lyme/TBI. I will add in that the standard two-tier testing is only about 50-65% accurate so do not rely solely on the Western Blot and ELISA results. Igenex.com is a trusted lab in the Lyme community. *Louis is sadly not available via video for this interview, but his story is important to share.

In this episode, I am lucky enough to interview my friend Kelly Lewis. Kelly knows very well what Lyme/TBI do to someone after his own first-hand encounter with it. He was able to figure out somewhat early on that he had Lyme, although it took a little effort, especially because he did not get the standard rash right away. To remind you, only 35% of people get the standard bullseye rash so that is not a failsafe way to determine if you've been bitten. If you do get a bullseye rash however, you do not need blood work to confirm you have Lyme as the rash is proof positive. Gratefully he began treatment right away and was starting to feel better, when he got hit with Covid. That really did a number on him and shortly thereafter, he was diagnosed with cancer. In his own words, the symptoms from Lyme were far worse than the symptoms from cancer. If he had not gotten the cancer diagnosis, he would be advocating more for Lyme, but since his is now healing from cancer, his focus is in that space. Kelly acknowledges that the Lyme potentially masked his symptoms of cancer and delayed his diagnosis. Because the Lyme made him so tired, and not feeling right, he ignored some other symptoms which ultimately became hard to ignore, causing him to get additional testing leading to his cancer diagnosis. He encourages people who aren't feeling well to keep going to their doctors until you get the right answer. "Survive and thrive" has become his new motto as well as telling people he loves them frequently, as you never know when your last moment will be. His company is doing better than ever which he attributes to this attitude. Kelly is not letting any sickness slow him down. He is using it to push him to go faster because he, like us all, doesn't know how much time he has left. He has written one book, "Rheingold: Born Fatima", and is journaling his experience with cancer to turn into gis second book. Currently Kelly is undergoing stem cell treatment which should hopefully fix everything. You can follow him on and cheer him on during his fight on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kellylewis25... In his free time, super hero Kelly also does his best to raise awareness around the violence that takes place against women such as rape, incest, FGM, and trafficking. Please check out his site, mydaughtersteam.com, to learn more about how you can help him on this mission. Thank you Kelly for all you do. I wish you health, wealth, peace, and abundance. The world needs more people like you. Thank you for your bravery!

In this episode, I interview my friend Jim Lannom. We met on Facebook because of Lyme and I am grateful for his friendship and support. Like many of us, Jim is not 100% certain when he contracted Lyme/TBI, but he suspects it may have been when he was clearing land for a friend in TX a number of years ago. In the spring of 2017, symptoms really began to intensify for Jim after starting to work third shift. That can take a toll on someone's health, especially because it is bypassing the body's natural circadian rhythm and detoxification schedule. Jim kept getting sick with flu like symptoms over and over again to the point where his doctor was getting concerned because he was sick so many times. He got tested for mono and got over that, and then two days later, he got a horrible strep infection. This continued for some time until he finally was diagnosed with Lyme. He was given a short course of antibiotics, but ultimately was taken off of them by his infectious disease doctor, because he was supposedly on them for too long. During this time period, I would also like to make mention that Jim healed himself from Type 2 diabetes through diet and exercise. That alone is a HUGE victory, let alone fixing himself from Lyme/TBI. Jim ultimately was forced into treating himself with the helpnof an FDNP because he was not getting anywhere with western medicine and the financial cost was getting to be too much. He has had a lot of spiritual awakenings and insight to help him heal. I appreciate his outlook on "having fun with healing" which is important in not letting things get too heavy. I know that can be hard when you don't feel well though. This episode is packed with healing nuggets like playing a military game against it and like me, Jim was successful in seeing the organism inside him and talking to it. When you are healing, it is important to try things that may sound crazy to healthy people like talking to your sickness. But remember, it is a living organism too. Sickness is evil, and it is our responsibility to get it out of us and replace it with good according to Jim. Take a listen and let us know what you think. Don't forget to like and subscribe if you find this episode valuable so others can find it too. Hope gives others the courage to heal💚🙏🏼 #thesilverlyming #lymedisease #healed #healing #tickbornediseases #lymediseaseawareness #Lyme #annedesjardins

Episode 5, another beautiful story of healing🙏🏼💚 Josh and I connected initially in 2021 through social media. I was well into my healing process and Josh was still very sick. I can remember Josh reaching out for help or with questions about how to get better, and me feeling awful after because I could not make him better and he was struggling terribly. Now Josh and I are both healthy and living our lives again. Josh started The Healing Dudes with his friend and business partner, Joe Cusamano, after they began to heal together. I love their story about how they encouraged each other to "get busy living or get busy dying" (quote from Shawshank Redemption). Josh and Joe use 4 pillars to help facilitate healing: 1. Nutrition 2. Movement 3. Meditation/neuroplasticity 4. Facing fears Josh also discusses the importance of connecting with others (which seems to be a recurring theme in these interviews). In their classes on healing, they connect participants with partners to help with accountability and not feeling so alone, which I think is brilliant. Josh's story is slightly different from others in that he SAW the tick that bit him and infected him with Lyme and TBI. He began experiencing multiple symptoms but was never properly diagnosed/treated for early-stage Lyme. He ultimately lost the ability to work. He wound up in a wheelchair and lost the ability to use anything from the waist down due to neuropathy. If we are able to catch and diagnose Lyme early, 70% of people will have no lingering effects. Those of us who go a long time, usually become very sick as the infections disseminate throughout our entire being. He has overcome a lot and has also done a lot of advocacy work along the way. Josh has a family and his children never really knew what it was like to have a father that was not sick, which was hard for Josh to accept. His wife took on a lot more than she should have to help support them and this was also hard for him to accept. He feels so much better now that he can contribute to his family and participate in their activities. He has done his past to disassociate from sickness at all, and now is struggling to not over, commit himself, because he feels well enough to do things again. Josh truly values the importance of showing up for yourself consistently and getting better. There are so many things we can do along the way and each little piece helps to put the whole thing back in place. He will always be a healing being on a healing journey which is beautiful, because we always make ourselves the priority if that is the attitude we embrace. I am so grateful to have met Josh and to be WITNESSING his healing and return from Zombie Land. Drop a comment below to let me know what you think of his story and don't forget to like and follow of you find this helpful. If you are interested in contacting Josh, check him out on ig at The Healing Dudes or on Facebook under Josh Cutler💚

I love this episode, and not just because I remembered to start recording directly at the beginning. I am learning:) Ellen is someone I met through the Lyme community when people found out I was looking for people who have healed. What a beautiful person! I feel I have found another kindred spirit. Ellen was very sick with Lyme and tick-born illness and has chosen to use that experience as something good by writing and producing a musical, "Lyme Disease: The Musical" (https://lymediseasethemusical.com/) and has created a catchy song to help remind others to do a daily tick check of their body called "Pay Attention (For Lyme Disease Prevention) which won FOUR awards of Merit, two at Accolade Global Film Competition and two at Best Shorts Competition. "Lyme Disease: The Musical" premiered at the Let Live Theater in Los Angeles as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival in June 2022. It was nominated for two Robby Awards and five Broadway World Los Angeles Awards, including Best New Play or Musical. The production will be available for online viewing in early 2023. The show runs about 75 minutes and is recommended for ages 18+ due to coarse language. I had no idea about this before interviewing Ellen. I only knew she was a super star because she healed herself from Lyme and tick-born illness. Ellen grew up in central PA and is not sure when she contracted Lyme, but she had weird issues her whole life. She does know that in 2014 she had a major emotional trigger with the death of her brother-in-law that made her well-aware that something was very wrong with her medically. She searched and searched, and no one believed her that it could be Lyme because she now lives in CA, and it is much less known about there. She finally got a referral to a family doctor that was three hours away and while she was in so much pain and it was very difficult to get there, she still went because she was assured that she would leave with answers. This is where she finally got diagnosed with Lyme and she was able to get herself close to remission, when another major emotional trauma occurred when her friend passed away. She wound up in a wheelchair at one point through her sickness and had to put much on hold to contend with the Lyme and tick-born illness. She went to some very dark places like many of us do with chronic Lyme and acknowledges that this illness has one of the highest suicide rates. Ellen (and I) ask that you do not consider this as an option. Your life can completely change and you can get better. Do NOT give up! She is living proof you can heal. Do your best to connect with others with chronic illness so you have a support system that understands what you are going through. Ellen has accomplished so much in her life, and I know she is incredibly grateful to be healthy again. I am incredibly grateful she is healthy and whole and here to share her story, that she can create and produce award winning plays and songs, and that she can simply ENJOY her life again. She has found the Silver Lyming from her experience and we know it is possible for others to do the same. YOU CAN HEAL. #thesilverlyming #healed #healing #lymedisease #tickbornedisease #findthegood #lyme #annedesjardins #ellenthompson #lymediseasethemusical