My name is Codie and I am 45 years old. I was diagnosed with Lyme disease five years ago. Here is my background with Lyme disease: On 6/16/2020 I went to urgent care due to what I thought was a spider bite on my chest. I was mis-diagnosed with shingles and was sent home with medication to get rid of the shingles. I was still experiencing symptoms of severe joint pain, fevers, and fatigue and was not getting better. I went back to the doctor several times with no resolution. Finally on 9/3/2020 the doctor tested me for Lyme Disease, which came back positive. I was then put on Doxycycline. I knew nothing about Lyme Disease at this time and did my own research to better educate myself. On 9/10/2020 I lost my vision and was hospitalized for one week while further testing was conducted. During my week being in the hospital not able to see anything or have anyone with me since this was during the COVID pandemic, I felt so alone and discouraged. I was unable to see my five year old son or my husband during the entire time I was there and just wanted to go home. They would not discharge me since they still couldn’t find a reason as to why I couldn’t see and had lost my vision. After the sixth day I was crying and felt so alone, I didn’t care about a diagnosis, I just wanted to be with my family. At that time a doctor told me if I couldn’t control my emotions they would be admitting me for a psychiatric evaluation. I did my best to hold it together so they would discharge me. If I left without getting discharged my insurance would not cover anything! Finally after a second positive Western Blot test came back, they confirmed my Lyme Disease again on 9/21/2020. I’m not sure why they needed two positive tests, but they did. My vision was not completely back, but they finally discharged me the next day. They started me on Amoxicillin for 21 days since they thought the doxycycline may have caused my vision loss. The fevers, fatigue, and severe joint pain in my legs persisted. My final treatment was on 10/12/2020. The infectious disease doctor put me on IV Ceftriaxone for 28 days. Symptoms still persisted and were ongoing. I saw the infectious disease doctor again on 3/20/2021. The ID Doctor refused to see me anymore. He would not test for co-infections and said this was out of his scope of expertise and referred me to Mayo Clinic and told me to just wait on them to contact me. After a couple months, Mayo finally contacted me and said they were not treating Lyme patients at this time and could not help me. I really felt hopeless that I couldn’t find a doctor to help me. My fevers were the worse part because they would come on out of no where and make it difficult for me to think and function. When you get a 101-102 temperature suddenly without warning it’s very scary, especially if you are driving or caring for your children. I was unable to drive a lot for over a year. I still get the fevers, but not as often or as bad, thank God! My primary doctor has been treating me for the symptoms with medication, however nothing further can be done. The most effective treatment for me was my faith in God. Doctors were not able to help me and I could not afford expensive treatments that I was not sure would work, so I began to pray and have faith in God to help me. I did try and detox by making myself sweat through exercise. It was very painful in the beginning, but the more I would sweat the better I would feel. I started taking a good probiotic daily which helped as well. The last couple years my symptoms have improved to the point where I am now able to be more active. I do however have permanent damage in both my knees that cannot be reversed due to a late diagnosis and treatment of Lyme Disease. I’ve had surgery on both knees and need total knee replacements since the cartilage is so severely damaged. I’ve went to three ortho doctors to be told the same thing. I play pickleball regularly and try my best to be active and work through the pain for the time being since I’m not mentally ready to have both my knees replaced. Pickleball has helped me become more active and the social interactions with people I have met has helped me tremendously, not just physically but mentally as well. We need better early stage diagnosis and treatment options. I believe doctors don’t have enough knowledge about Lyme Disease to treat patients accurately. Lyme disease symptoms vary from person to person which makes diagnosis difficult for doctors. I don’t want anyone to go through what I did and feel like there are no other possible treatment options or to have a doctor make them feel like they are crazy. I have been fortunate enough to have the support of my family, and not feel like I have to go through this alone. However, there are many that don’t have this. Many people resort to expensive treatments that are not covered under insurance, which may or may not work. I believe that our Healthcare system can do better than this. As I mentioned earlier, I do still get fevers, but not nearly as bad as they were. I have really good days and then some that are not so good. I do my best to keep my faith in God to help me each day! I’m also so thankful for my family and friends that have helped me and continue to help me through this difficult journey.