MY LIFE WITH LYME DISEASE

On April 14th 2012, little did I know that my life would change forever. It was opening day of Spring Turkey Season and I was so excited to get out and hunt my favorite bird. I was standing in my friend’s yard, talking with them about where I was going to hunt. A few minutes later I looked down and saw ticks crawling all over pants. I freaked out like I always do and brushed them off while I was hopping up and down. Yes, I hate ticks!!! After getting them off me, I had no other thoughts about them. I hunted all day with no luck but I was feeling great on how the
day went as I returned home.

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That night I took all the precautions one should when hunting in the springtime. I woke up the next morning and I was off and running again. That night I returned home and once again took all the precautions one should, except for this time I noticed a small lump on the back of my thigh and FREAKED OUT!!! I pulled it off, looked at it and said Oh
Crap you’ve got to be kidding me. Little did I know that the tick was completely buried under my skin. When I pulled it off, my skin came with it. OUCH!!!! I patched it up with an antibiotic cream and went to bed. The next morning I got up and wasn’t feeling to well. I actually felt I had come down with the flu. I was running a 103 fever, had aches and
pains in every part of my body. I was like this for 2 days. Then I started to feel a little better so what did I do? I dragged myself outta bed, got dressed and back out I went. One week after being bit I noticed a red, spider-vein ring around the bite. It was swollen and it just plain hurt.  But again, I ignored it.

 

I continued to fish and hunt for the next 3 weeks while everyday feeling like something wasn’t right. I had severe fatigue, fevers, aches and groin pain. I refused to listen to a friend who kept telling me maybe you should go to the Doctor. I kept saying I can’t afford to go, I’ll be Okay.  After a couple days I posted on Facebook what the bite looked
like and asked does anyone know what this could be? Boy did I get a lot of answers. It scared me enough to make me go to the doctor. The doctor looked at the bite and said I believe you have Lyme disease. I asked what it was and was it curable. The doctor replied, the antibiotics I’m prescribing should cure it. So I took them for fourteen days. All this
time I was still out fishing and hunting. I thought I was bullet-proof.

 

When my season was finished, I returned to California for some much needed rest. Well I thought rest is what I needed. After being there about 2 months I started to develop symptoms that actually concerned me. My bite would come back and swell. It was so painful. I was still getting fevers and had severe fatigue. New symptoms started to appear like headaches, hot flashes, lymph node pain, joint, severe groin and neck pain. I knew at this point I was in trouble. I went to the doctor and she suggested blood tests. A few days later the blood test came back and I tested positive for Lyme disease. The doctor prescribed antibiotics. Keep in mind this was now about 3 months after being bit.

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My Fall season was quickly upon me. Still feeling all my symptoms and all the excruciating pain, I flew back to North Dakota to fish and hunt. The moment I got off the plane, my friend and I drove straight to the
lake for a week. All I could think about was fishing. The pain had suddenly disappeared and I felt so good for the first time in 3 months. I finally realized that fishing and hunting was my medicine and I knew I needed them to survive. With help from a couple friends and a lot of Inspiring text messages, I was able to continue to fish and hunt for
three and half months. I hunted swan, turkeys, cranes, pheasants, ducks, geese and deer. And somehow fit in a whole lot of fishing.

 

I felt so alive when I was out there but the moment I stopped I felt like I was dying. The symptoms started getting worse and more appeared. I found myself not wanting to get out of bed and do what I truly loved. I wanted to give up. I was so angry at myself for letting this happen. I just laid there and cried. By this time my season was coming to an end. I headed back to California to visit my family and rest before my Ice Fishing Season started. I was in California for about a month when I started trying new alternative medicines, I was hopeful. But then, I started to develop even more symptoms. I wouldn’t pay any attention to them and once again I thought I was bullet-proof.

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I hopped on a plane and went to Minnesota to start my fishing season, I was so excited to get out on the ice that I put all my pains aside. I was there a week and taking a lot of new pills, all the while I was so sick but wouldn’t tell anyone. I had too many people depending on me and I had a job to do, so I sucked it up.  When finished in Minnesota, I flew to Texas to rest and get some open water fishing in. I quickly realized I was out of energy and my health
was on a downward spiral. I started getting pains in my chest with a feeling like someone was punching me in my arm. I was also having problems with my vision but would tell no one just how bad it was.

 

I was in Texas a month, then headed back to Minnesota to continue my ice fishing season. I was so sick but once again I knew I had a job to do and I wasn’t about to let down the people who gave me this great
opportunity.

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I finished out my season and headed back to California. Since I’ve been back all my symptoms have come back and a few new ones have appeared. I now have dizziness, shortness of breath and some kidney pain. The days seem so long and the nights feel even longer. I can’t get any relief and there seems to be no hope for me. I think the hardest
thing that I’ve had to realize is that there are people around me who care but don’t know what to do for me. I feel like I’m in this alone which is a very empty feeling. Through all of this pain and roller-coaster of emotions, I have found that I am a very strong, determined and passionate woman. One who will not be beaten down by Lyme disease
or any other disease. I will continue to stay strong and go after all of my hopes and dreams, because when you lose those you die inside. I for one will not sit here and die. I have had this disease only for 12 months
and it seems like a life time. I’m now starting a new journey, one that I am not alone in. I‘m off to Minnesota once again, this time to get treatment so I can start to live a wonderful life.

“I wasn’t born in the outdoors, I was born to be in the outdoors”

 

Kristilee Christensen

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