Lyme Email To Dr. Oz and Oprah

I received this email from a friend who knew I had Lyme disease.

"Dear members of Lyme Disease Awareness,

This past month, Dr. Mehmet Oz (from Oprah and Friends) interviewed Andy A.
Wilson, the director of the Lyme disease documentary, "Under Our Skin" (www.underourskin.com). Dr. Oz is just beginning to learn about Lyme and he is asking for our help.

During this interview Dr. Oz issued the Lyme community a challenge to prove
we have a voice. He made a point of mentioning that he is interested in the
number of responses he receives...Lets make it a number he cannot ignore!

There are more than 3,800 members in this group alone - imagine if we ALL
took the time to send just one email?!

To listen to the full interview:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/51988431783ad036/

To email Dr. Oz:
link here

Please take 5 minutes to write Dr. Oz and tell him your story, or your loved
one/friends story! Dr. Oz is especially interested in those who have been
cured, however, he's still learning and we need to educate him that even
those of us who have not been cured are helped by long term antibiotics and
that more research is needed so that we can find a lasting cure.

The chance of having our story, told on The Oprah Show is monumental and
this is a challenge we can't afford to ignore!

Thank you!

-The Lyme Disease Awareness Administrators"

Here is what I wrote:

"I understand you are interested in stories from the Lyme community. I can understand your emphasis on those cured. Most who suffer with Lyme are so severely sick that to relate to someone in the midst of the illness only gives them more validity to staying ill. Prior to the diagnoses, I had been diagnosed with early Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Plausible MS, etc. My family and I were on a wild rollercoaster ride. However, even during the deepest possible downward swings, I would take pride in accomplishment...I felt grateful for the little things, such as, being able to make my kid's lunches, and being able to walk to the bathroom on my own. The diagnoses was inspired through the prayer of my church and my family. Once diagnosed and confirmed, I was put on an intense regimen of Doxycycline 2 x daily for 5 months. It's amazing to me what I can accomplish! I was diagnosed last October (2007) after being in a wheel chair during our family trip to Disneyland. Today, I have graduated in our city's CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), the Legislative V.P. in the PTA at the elementary school, in charge of the school Knowledge Bowl program (http://harvestknowledge09.blogspot.com), have been blogging since my diagnoses (http://issuesoncall.blogspot.com), and etc. Paramount to wellness success is getting outside of yourself and back into the functioning's of the world around you. By doing this, I have had mile markers to reach. By reaching those mile markers I have learned that I can reach further. From each mile marker I reach I receive a more positive sense of self and learn more about my talents and abilities. Most important is having a great support system. My husband is the best on the planet! My children are gold! Without the support system I have, I would not be the person I am today!"

If you have Lyme, please share your story so that the word can get out. Your story will have to be consolidated to 2000 characters (spaces included), so to lessen the frustration, you may want to type it in Word before submitting it.