This is just a little insight into who i am and how the Lord can use a painful situation.

My Testimony of faith! 

What would you do if one day you woke up in your own bed, in your own room and really felt scared b/c you had no clue where you were…OR..

You suddenly have so much pain in your chest you think you’re about to die of a heart attack only to find that the pain is migrating all over your body?....OR…

You are so sick that you can’t keep a thing in your stomach and you are slowly starving and the doctor can’t find out why?....OR…

You wake with a migraine, the worst headache you’ve ever had that does not go away for a year and a half and then comes and goes without warning?

What would you do if ‘just like that’ you were going blind and you found yourself in total darkness when you least expected it?.... OR…

Your body temperature would not rise above 94* and your heart started to race out of control and there was no quick fix or little pill to take it all away?

What would you do?  Who would you ‘be’ around someone else who goes through this?

This is just a little bit of what Lyme disease feels like when it decides what your physical day will look like.

Would you be able to ‘Let Go’ and trust the Lord?   

In Psalm 34: 4-5 David said:  “I sought the Lord, and He answered me, He delivered me from all my fears.  Those who look at him are radiant, their faces are never covered with shame.”

Hi!  My name is Heather and I am Christ’s child. 

I would like to share with you what I have gone through and how the Lord has used me and taught me, with the hope that it will encourage and inspire you in whatever you battle and to encourage your faith.

I have Chronic Disseminated Late Stage (that means spread throughout) Lyme disease and have struggled physically in many ways for many years because of it.  

In a strange way I have been blessed with Lyme disease. 

Lyme is a tough disease, especially when it has been mis-diagnosed for years, which mine was, even though we tried to find out what was wrong in my body and were referred to doctor after doctor, specialist after specialist.  Late Lyme is not a ‘known’ disease, although it should be. 

Lyme is a bacterial infection that causes lots of swelling that causes pain that affects all parts of your body.  Scientists have discovered live Lyme spirochete in the white-footed deer mouse, deer tick, dog tick, mosquito and horsefly.  Research is underway to help us know about whether some of these actually transmit Lyme.  It is known to be transmitted through the mouse and deer tick and science is unfolding with the others.  Or your Mom- meaning if your mom has Lyme disease and you are still in her womb, can pass the Lyme bacteria through her placenta or after you are born, through mommy’s milk to baby. 

Because of my clinical history and my labs, my doctors believe that I was most likely born with Lyme, although, I have had a few tick bites over the years beginning when I was little.  Three were imbedded in my head at age 5, 8 and 10.  Mom and Dad found them and removed them, but they could have been infected with the Lyme.

What I do know is that only through Jesus Christ could I have made it as far as I have.  He has brought people into my life to encourage me and He is always with me.  I know I can turn to Him for strength and also share with Him the joys.

If I had to do it all over again – go through the incredible pain I now know – and all that is still being impacted, I probably would.

I have matured spiritually SO much.  I have been able to share my love and hope with new friends who are also going through the same thing I am, all over the United States.

My family serves the Lord by sharing our experience with physicians and educating those who ask about tick-borne diseases and by ministering to Lyme families who find themselves where we once were – in need of answers, proper medical treatment and encouragement in their suffering.

If you or any friend is struggling with something very painful, I hope my testimony will encourage you and help prepare you for what the Lord calls you to.  The writers of both Hebrews and Thessalonians tell us that we, who say we are believers, are to encourage one another and build each other up, so that none of us becomes hardened to sin b/c of the deceitfulness this world tries to confuse us about.

In other words, we are to come alongside and remind each other of God’s promises to us, to support each other and to recognize when another has been asked to suffer for Christ, so that we can stay strong in our walk.

Although I have found encouragement in what I am going through, I really hope that future kids will not have to go through the long pain and suffering.   The most difficult part for me to handle right now is re-entering into life.  God had so many plans for me that were different from what I had thought.  I had no choice but to step back from most of life b/c I was suffering.   Thankfully, I am beginning to have some better days.

I can’t even fully explain how it feels to try and re-enter into a world where my friends have changed and people have moved on with their lives.   It’s kind of like one of those movies where someone has been asleep for years and they wake up and it’s a culture shock.  For me, it’s a physical and emotional shock.  Spiritually, it’s a new test.  By God’s grace, I will transition.  He is already encouraging me through a couple of friends and I feel He has channeled me into a way I can live and serve Him.

You see, my Lyme went undetected for years and years.  Doctors were not prepared to test and diagnose me properly based on my symptoms because they are not completely trained to ‘catch’ Lyme - mainly b/c of a lot of politics (you can talk to my parents about that!).   

So thousands of people, including kids like me are getting very sick.  I had all kinds of symptoms that are now known to be part of Late Stage Lyme and even though the tests are not 100% reliable, mine all keep coming back positive meaning I have it.   Many doctors missed my Lyme and it crossed my blood brain barrier causing Neuro Lyme.  It has also caused damage to some of my organs, muscles, tendons and brain.

The brain part means that I have some short term memory loss and cognitive impairment (which means I forget a lot of things and I am not able to function at the ‘norm’ when I reach overload).  My treatment is beginning to help with this.

 We were treating my Lyme with both medications and natural antibiotics; but, my body had a severe reaction to the antibiotics and other medication.  My brain swelled, I ended up in the hospital and I was going blind. 

So, my team of doctors had to stop the medications.  I am now on all natural herbal antibiotics, an IV a couple times a month to replenish my nutrients and we are rebuilding my immune system to give my body a chance to fight back.  I have a team of specialists from CT to Wash DC and Lancaster and a whole lot of physical therapies.

Soooo…. that’s a lot of information.

Ephesians 6:12 says “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”.  Okay, what does that mean?  Well, my sickness is not about physical struggles, even though it is very real.  It’s about God preparing me and using me as a tool to witness to others.  If I would look at it like “Satan’s trying to get me down – I’m never going to get it right – I just need to give up”, I would be like Job’s friends not searching for the Lord in all of it.  This is spiritual warfare!!!

He is preparing me for something I cannot even imagine.

Even though I am in this battle, Lyme disease is not my identity.  I appreciate when others take a great interest in what I am going through and not just the disease; but the person who has it.  I have learned to turn my heart and spirit to God.

I went through many stages. 

First, I had to learn to accept what I was given to carry.  I did not deny what was going on, but I knew I couldn’t fix it.  Then, I started to realize that it was taking over my body, my muscles and my brain.  I had to work almost 5 X harder to remember things or keep up with my school work and ballet/dance team.   

But, through all of these problems, I kept trusting the Lord and asking Him to continue to be my best friend. 

For quite awhile, I was a little frustrated at life – okay – A LOT! 

I am having to give up some of my hopes and plans.  I had hoped to attend college at Belhaven in Jackson, Mississippi to compete for a part in the Christian Ballet Troupe called Ballet Magnificat.  I had been interviewed by the producer and invited to come when they visited Grove City College a couple of years ago.  But, the Lord led me in a different direction b/c I would be unable to travel away to school.  I have also thought I could serve as a ballet/dance teacher or produce and choreograph my own worship team.  Lately, I feel the Lord is leading me to use my ballet training for Him or my love for fashion design.   I look forward to seeing how He will do that.

I am re-conditioning slowly as my team of doctors helps us rebuild my immune system.  There are alot of setbacks and painful days and nights.  I do not sleep well, so that keeps me feeling exhausted.  But, my docs are working to help with each part of what by body needs and one by one we are chipping it away.

Many times I cried out to the Lord in frustration or even tried to solve it myself and you know where that will get you!

But, you know….through all of this I have learned to look for opportunities to share with others along my walk and share my hope and faith with people of all faiths and cultures.  I have met so many awesome people from all over the world.  We respect each other and care about where we have come from.  I have ben blessed with some amazing friendship all over.

1 Timothy 4:12 says:  “Don’t let anyone look down on you b/c you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”  

When people ask me questions about Lyme disease, which I don’t mind, they often do not know what to say.  It can be hard to describe what Lyme disease is like; but I try to give word pictures to help them understand. 

Some do not understand which I get; some doubt and some really care and are truly interested in what I am going through and would like me to help them know what to look for. 

But all are being nice and usually say “Well, you look good” or  “But you don’t look sick”.  I often describe that we look fine on the outside, but the Lyme is eating away at our insides.  Thankfully, my identity is not in Lyme.  It is in my faith. 

Ask me anything about that and I can tell you!

So, what would you do if you found yourself or had a friend nearby who suddenly found their selves suffering?  Would you be ready to “Let Go” and trade in your sorrows for trust and guidance?  Could you help someone else if they were the ones called into the fire?  Habakkuk 3:19 says:  “The Lord God gives me my strength.  He makes me like a deer, which does not stumble.  He leads me safely on the steep mountains.”  

You or a friend or a loved one may not be suffering from Lyme disease, but, you may be suffering in another way.  This is God’s promise to us to reassure us that God is walking with us. 

Psalm 32:8  “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”

Harriet Beecher Stowe said “Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn”.   I’m going to win my battle against Lyme disease; b/c “I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward to Jesus.  I’m off and running and I’m not turning back.”            ( Philippians 4:13)

I am glad to be here with you today.   I would like to thank my family, friends, mentors and special ones who walked with me during the years I was part of their lives.  Thank you if you prayed for me and encouraged me.  You have been a part of my testimony.  I thank you for blessing me. 

This is my favorite quote from Pamela Reeve –

“Faith is realizing that I am useful to God, not in spite of my scars, but because of them”.