Lisa's LYME Lifeline!
Donation protected
My name is Lisa, and I have Chronic Lyme Disease (CLD). My grueling journey with Lyme and co-infections has been the toughest battle of my life. I've been ill for 15 years now, and what I have lost because of this disease makes my heart and spirit cry. Before that tiny tick bit me and changed my life, I was a thriving, healthy person, a lifelong athlete and outdoor enthusiast. A photographer and artist who adores countless genres of music and so much more. One never expects their life to change overnight, which is why we should all live life to the fullest, every single day!
My career was in Sports Medicine / Sports Physical Therapy. I worked for many years with athletes from high school age through Division I University athletics, as well as professional and Olympic athletes. I never imagined that it would all go away.
When I became too ill and too weak to work with big, strong athletes, I switched gears and began my final working days with adults with acquired disabilities. This was at the Cabrillo College Stroke & Disability Center in Santa Cruz, CA. Working with the disabled population was a huge gift for me, as it showed me how the human body can adapt, amazingly, and still be quite ABLED in many ways. I sure miss working with these beautiful warriors.
Chronic Lyme Disease is one of the most complex diseases to treat, and it is engulfed in political turmoil which keeps us from getting treatment paid for. No insurance company in America pays for treatment.
But because CLD is complex for many conventional western doctors to diagnose, it often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. It took 7 years for me to get the correct diagnosis! This is not uncommon.
My immediate needs are two-fold: my health is in a downward spiral like a plane that's lost both engines. Additionally, I've been homeless for 18 months. I do have a temporary roof over my head, but the person I'm sharing a tiny room with is an abusive alcoholic. The ongoing fright of this has compounded my health issues and I have no chance of improving or having peace until I find safe housing. I NEED A LIFELINE!
Donations would help me escape the bad living situation and also help me to start some much-needed treatment. CLD kills people, many by suicide and others by failure of the body's organs. There is no cure for CLD, but treatment can help improve health quite a lot.
My needs are immediate! I can't stress that enough.
Compounding things are another condition that I have called Upper Airway Obstruction, basically not having a fully open airway. My tongue doesn’t function properly, affecting my ability to breathe and swallow normally, which caused the collapse of the arches in my mouth and obstructed my airway. Obstructed airway from improper tongue position causes a major lack of oxygen
throughout the entire body. This lack of oxygen has created a domino effect which has made everything worse, not to mention how frightening it is.
Growing up, sports and recreational activities (cycling, camping, hiking, backpacking, etc.) were a huge part of my life. They defined me in many ways, a gift that I never took for granted (thanks, dad)! Losing the ability to use my body as a healthy person has been the greatest challenge of my life. The physical, mental and emotional changes that come with CLD are torturous.
I'm deeply grateful for the loving, kind, generous people in my community and in this world. Any support you can give will help me escape my horrible living situation, my most immediate need. And when I am in a safe place, I can begin to seek treatment for complex health issues, which I haven't had in over 2 years.
Having the means to improve my health means everything to me. My goal is to once again thrive in this life, because life is good!
Thank you so very much. Blessings and peace to all of you...
My career was in Sports Medicine / Sports Physical Therapy. I worked for many years with athletes from high school age through Division I University athletics, as well as professional and Olympic athletes. I never imagined that it would all go away.
When I became too ill and too weak to work with big, strong athletes, I switched gears and began my final working days with adults with acquired disabilities. This was at the Cabrillo College Stroke & Disability Center in Santa Cruz, CA. Working with the disabled population was a huge gift for me, as it showed me how the human body can adapt, amazingly, and still be quite ABLED in many ways. I sure miss working with these beautiful warriors.
Chronic Lyme Disease is one of the most complex diseases to treat, and it is engulfed in political turmoil which keeps us from getting treatment paid for. No insurance company in America pays for treatment.
But because CLD is complex for many conventional western doctors to diagnose, it often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. It took 7 years for me to get the correct diagnosis! This is not uncommon.
My immediate needs are two-fold: my health is in a downward spiral like a plane that's lost both engines. Additionally, I've been homeless for 18 months. I do have a temporary roof over my head, but the person I'm sharing a tiny room with is an abusive alcoholic. The ongoing fright of this has compounded my health issues and I have no chance of improving or having peace until I find safe housing. I NEED A LIFELINE!
Donations would help me escape the bad living situation and also help me to start some much-needed treatment. CLD kills people, many by suicide and others by failure of the body's organs. There is no cure for CLD, but treatment can help improve health quite a lot.
My needs are immediate! I can't stress that enough.
Compounding things are another condition that I have called Upper Airway Obstruction, basically not having a fully open airway. My tongue doesn’t function properly, affecting my ability to breathe and swallow normally, which caused the collapse of the arches in my mouth and obstructed my airway. Obstructed airway from improper tongue position causes a major lack of oxygen
throughout the entire body. This lack of oxygen has created a domino effect which has made everything worse, not to mention how frightening it is.
Growing up, sports and recreational activities (cycling, camping, hiking, backpacking, etc.) were a huge part of my life. They defined me in many ways, a gift that I never took for granted (thanks, dad)! Losing the ability to use my body as a healthy person has been the greatest challenge of my life. The physical, mental and emotional changes that come with CLD are torturous.
I'm deeply grateful for the loving, kind, generous people in my community and in this world. Any support you can give will help me escape my horrible living situation, my most immediate need. And when I am in a safe place, I can begin to seek treatment for complex health issues, which I haven't had in over 2 years.
Having the means to improve my health means everything to me. My goal is to once again thrive in this life, because life is good!
Thank you so very much. Blessings and peace to all of you...
Organizer
Lisa Palacio
Organizer
Santa Cruz, CA