Overcoming a Mysterious Chronic Disease – Kim's Story

Here’s Kim’s Story

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The Transcript

Disclaimer: Transcripts are prepared by a transcription service. Refer to full video above for exact wording.

Well you know, I had a typical childhood. I mean, we weren’t, we were lower, lower-class family Latinos living in Bushwick, Brooklyn. That’s where we grew up. And then I went to college to study computer information systems, and then I changed majors to become a teacher. I met my husband and we had a great marriage. We tried, we didn’t want to get pregnant right away because we wanted to first become established. We don’t wanna do the same things my parents did, want to give our kids a better opportunity. So we both went to college. We graduated from college, we then became professionals. We, he got a job at the museum. I became a teacher and you’re not with escalating to that ladder. And, you know, we were living great. But then we were like, okay, now it’s time to have a child.

So we tried to get pregnant. We struggled to get pregnant, but we ended up getting pregnant. And once I gave birth that that’s when it all started. That’s, that’s where my journey started. I just remember feeling really weak and sick. And I remember maybe like a few days later I got a fever and I got like flu-like symptoms. I was really sick. I had a fever, I was shaking. I got like a rash all over my body. I went to the doctor and he said, maybe it’s a urinary tract infection. So he gave me antibiotics. And he, and I felt better seven days later, but I was feeling weird symptoms.

I gave birth, June 24th. By September 1st, I was just like really sick. Like I would wake up and I will wake up busy and spinning and vertigo. And my mom was like, maybe you’re not eating enough. You know, maybe you’re, you know, you’re just, you just gave birth. So everything was attributed to that. I ended up going to the emergency room, like almost every other day, because it was just like, they didn’t know, I didn’t know what was going on.

And so then I remember going to my general doctor and he thanked God for him. Thank God for him. I feel like God put so many people in my journey that helped me. And so he gave me the Western Blot and then at the back, there was like, you have Lyme disease. So you just have to let it go its course. I took the three weeks medicine and I did feel better for about a week then after that I was worse than ever. I mean, I couldn’t at that point, every, it was just like, you’re living a nightmare inside of your body. No one can understand what you’re feeling and they’re looking at you like you’re crazy. That’s why everyone made me feel like it was postpartum depression. I’m like, I’m not depressed. I’m happy to be a mother. I’m happy. I want to like, I don’t, I’m not, that’s not it. From September till February.

I actually went to various doctors because I kept getting worse and I just needed, I went, I had a doctor in Connecticut. I had a doctor in New Jersey. I went to Pennsylvania. I mean, I went everywhere. So by December I actually got the worst. I got really sick. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even use the bathroom anymore by myself. My husband had to, my mom and my dad my husband, they would help me. I couldn’t even hold my son. I got really bad. And I had to stop working at that point. But thank God for my job. They were also very understanding. But that was really hard cause I was just in pain. And at that point, you get to a point where your family is frustrated too, because it’s like, they don’t know what’s going on with you. And the doctor said that you should be fine, that it’s in your head. That it’s, you’re going to get better. That is not as bad as I’m making it be.

Everyone made me feel like it was postpartum depression. I’m like, I’m not depressed. I’m happy to be a mother.”

So, at that point I’m doing research online and I’m trying to find people who have been here. And I remember what Dianne told me. She said, it’s gonna get expensive, Kim, but you are gonna get better and believe that and trust in that. And don’t think about the money because when you have your life back, it’s, there’s no price on your life. It’s definitely not a light switch. It’s a slow progression. I would say it took me a year to get to feel like, Oh, I’m myself again. You honestly don’t even notice when you’re getting better. It happens so slowly. But you start feeling better throughout the treatment you do, but don’t get discouraged if you’re not feeling a hundred percent because you might get a treatment and you’re feeling stuff happening. And you’re like, Whoa. And I remember I would get scared. Cause I was like, Oh my gosh, I don’t feel as good as yesterday.

What is this? So it’s definitely a little bit of like ups and downs, but it slowly starts to level off. It does. I mean, your body is, went through something traumatic. So I do think that like, it’s nothing scary. It’s not being that you’re gonna feel. I don’t think I ever felt like worse than when I was sick during the treatment. Now I’m having so much fun. I mean, I’m just enjoying, like I can’t sit still anymore. My family they’re like in awe, cause I’m like, I can now I go to work. I go to the gym afterwards.

I’m enjoying life again. And I have a new appreciation for it. Like now I’m like, babe, let’s go, let’s go to the Bronx zoo. Let’s go here. Let’s do that. Let’s go. I can’t stay still anymore. I’m just grateful that I have a special, like, I have a genuine love for you guys because you were, you, you are, you guys are sincere and loving and calmed me down at my craziest moments. And it just, it just worked. I just, for me, it’s like, this is the place you will have to go to and you can trust it. So it’s definitely nothing hard, nothing crazy. It’s, it’s gentle. I want to say gentle, it’s a gentle treatment. You’re going to feel stuff your body’s going to be shaken up, but slowly it starts to level off and then you feel great again. And that’s how I feel. I feel great.

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