Jenny doesn't recall a tick bite. After spending her first 7 years in Iowa, Jenny moved to Connecticut where she lived until 1990. At that time, she moved to another CT town. She still lives there. Jenny has considered herself a very sickly person since she was about 5 years old. Her doctors informed her parents that she was just a child with a weakened immune system which caused her to be sickly. She had numerous bouts of pneumonia and strep throat. She also seemed to pick up everything that went around.
In her 7th grade year of school, Jenny began having gastrointestinal issues and missed months of school. After test after test, she was diagnosed with IBS and sent away. She continued to live with that diagnosis with the help of medications. In 1995, she was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and thus began Paxil for the next 12 years. She was unable to wean herself off of the Paxil until then because the withdrawls were so bad that she had to remain on them. Paxil also seemed to help control her IBS.
In 1997, Jenny gave birth to her son and later developed Ovarian Cysts and Endometriosis. In 2005, she was diagnosed with IC after having bladder issues. A mere two years later, a Rheumatologist diagnosed with her Fibromyalgia. After Jenny had Endometriosis surgery in October of 2008, things went downhill drastically. Within days, she was unable to stand alone. She had to hold onto walls, she lost her balance and had severe heart involvement. She could barely think due to the brain fog she experienced.
By this time, Jenny knew that there was something drastically wrong and began her quest on the internet. She continually came up with Lyme Disease, but was confused since she had continued to test negative for Lyme through all the years of testing. She found the nearest LLMD and was clinically diagnosed in November 2008. She has been on aggressive IV treatment since June with a very well known LLMD. She has been under his care since April of 2009.
Jenny also takes oral medications and supplements. As of this time, her LLMD plans to have her on IV until the spring. They will try to transition her strictly to oral medications at that point. Jenny was supposed to be off the IV by now, but she developed a PICC line infection and had to have her first line pulled. Now that she has her new line, she is continuing treatment.
The list of Jenny's symptoms are length. This biography would be remiss if I didn't include all of her symptoms. So in no particular order of intensity, Jenny's symptoms are as follows: dizziness, weakness in her legs, arms and hands, difficulty writing, dropping things, strange sensations in her throat and pain in her neck and throat. She experiences achiness in her lower back, difficult breathing where she feels as if she can't get enough air, blurry/fuzzy vision, shakiness and severe brain fog. Vibrations in her head, feeling of pressure and tingliness, headaches, exhaustion and insomnia also plague her. Jenny also has tightness in her throat and neck muscles, nausea, loss of appetite and extreme weight loss. Her hearing has changed and it now sounds like a tunnel. She sees spots and lines, is sensitive to light, noise and smells, is off balance and lightheaded. Jenny has oral thrust, heaviness in her head and body, heart racing even with low blood pressure and experiences burning under her skin sensations in her face, chest and arms. She isn't able to concentrate, has ringing in her ears, hot flashes, numbness and tingling in her face, arms, legs and tongue. Jenny is cold all the time, experiences dry coughs, anxiety, clammy feet and hands. Chills, heart palpitations, low grade fevers and shortness of breath are among Jenny's symptoms too. Overall, Jenny just doesn't feel well. She doesn't feel like doing anything, but lay down.
In addition to her own illness, Jenny has a 12 year old son who also has been diagnosed with Lyme Disease. Christian has been sick since the day he was born. He had terribly issues eating and couldn't keep anything down (including breast milk). Every time he would eat, he would get sick. At a mere 2 weeks old, he underwent an Endoscopy. The doctors speculated that his digestive tract was not fully developed and it appeared that he had acid reflux.
Christian continued to pick up every illness that went around which included pneumonia and many viral illnesses. His adenoids were removed in 2002 and 3 years later he had to have 1/2 of his thyroid removed because he had a large goiter. Over the past few years, he began developing severe night sweats, high fevers (which reached 105), dizziness, headaches and severe stomach upset. She went through every kind of specialist to find the cause of his problems including an Oncologist. In 2008, he had his tonsils removed because he had continual swollen glands. Each doctor could find nothing wrong and he was eventually diagnosed with Periodic Fever Syndrome. This past October 2009, Jenny took him to see the Dr. J in CT (the best pediatric Lyme Doctor). He was diagnosed with Lyme and Babesia. He is currently undergoing treatment.
Jenny's prayers are that God gives her family the strength to overcome such a terrible illness. She desires to come out on the other side of this healthier than they have ever been. She prays that God will bless them with wonderful health. She wants God to show her hope and help her keep the faith that they will overcome Lyme and company.
