My new Hero Lyme Mom ~ Overcoming paralysis

When I saw the length of the video and started watching it, I was going to share it saying you should at least watch the beginning of this if not the whole thing.  But you should DEFINITELY watch the whole thing.  Or save it to watch it all, and at least watch the start of it now so you see why you NEED to watch it.

This is one of my favorite lyme inspiration stories now.  I'm humbled by her amazing attitude (though giving myself the due acknowledgement, as per my last blog post, of some of my emotional responses to things being lyme-symptom-based to a far greater extent than attitude-based and reminding myself of the dangers of comparisons).  She is just simply amazing.

37 YEAR OLD MOM BATTLES NECK DOWN PARALYSIS WITH REHABILITATION

From YouTube:

Published on Jul 29, 2013

37 year old Kelly Downing gradually lost feeling in her legs and then woke up one day unable to move any part of her body below her neck. Kelly was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease and no longer able to live her active life as a special education teacher, Tough Mudder, and active mom. Kelly's doctor sent her to Kindred Transitional Care and Rehabilitation Greenbriar in Nashua, NH to see if rehabilitation therapy could give her another chance at healing and recovery. This story, with video of Kelly during her therapy takes place from December of 2012 through March of 2013.

And some of Kelly's words from the video:

"That feeling of being hugged and that feeling of being able to give a hug is absolutely not of this earth.....My kids had tears, but they also had a look of such pride.  And between the hug and the pride, I went, what more am I gonna be able to do?"

Other links I could find:

Kelly's blog: 50 Shades of Lyme

Kelly's Heroes: A group that formed to support Kelley (accepts donations to help with her care)

Nashua Telegraph Article

Rehab video on youtube with text intro by Kelly

ILADS LymeWall: Power of Us Campaign


Important side note (especially if you *think* you might have lyme):

In addition to the inspiration this clip provides, it's a good reminder of the importance of the following words (which changed my life by leading to my diagnosis, and as with Kelly I first heard from a friend of a friend)

LYME. LITERATE. DOCTOR.

All the doctors out there that treat lyme are heroes.  They save lives and they give us back our lives.  These doctors risk a lot to treat us effectively, because they have to work counter to state and federal treatment guidelines to be effective, at great professional/legal/financial risk.  But in doing so they give us back our lives like the physical therapists did for Kelly in this video.  No one can give us back the years we lose to misdiagnosis and to infection, and none of us will ever be the same, but for so many moms, you give us back whatever is left of our kids' childhood and all that is left of our lives as functioning people, to whatever extent that is possible for each of us.