lemons and limes

I love a clean house...and I love it smelling yummy too.  So that's why in a store, I love opening up candle top after candle top and smelling a scent that takes me back to all things Christmas, Thanksgiving, a fireplace crackling out it's warmth and loved ones cozied up drinking something decadent.  It's instant happy in my heart!  I love good smells (love good perfume too- the expensive kind.  I could totally be a stalker at the Macy's counter, looking completely interested in any and all samples they give out.  I love samples too, but that's another post and I won't rabbit-trail ;-)

Today was a bit of a hard treatment day on one of my kiddo's.  I came home and cleaned (did the normal daily vacuuming because I have a HUGE hairy dog that I feel too bad to keep outside when the temperatures dip...even though he is pretty much an arctic dog) and cleaned the kitchen mayhem we left in our flurry to get out the door to IV's today.  I came across a few sad looking lemons and limes that were neglected after coming home from costco.  It's hard for me to go through a whole bag in time.  So, I thought I would share what I sometimes do when my lemons are almost bad....and my day was a little bad....and I need some tangible happy in my house.

I found a recipe for this years ago that I think was a knock-off Williams & Sonoma scent.  I don't remember all the ingredients, so I might have tweaked it by memory after all this time, but I still love making it and I thought I would share it.  It's super easy, it will smell like glory and you might even have all the ingredients on hand.

I don't always have limes on hand, so sometimes I use only lemons, only limes or even oranges are wonderful.  For this medium size pot, I cut up two limes and two lemons.  IT's easy, and already it looks happy.  Something about the colors and the smell is just FRESH!  Like a new beginning.  (Sometimes we need to hit the re-set button in our day.  But I am still looking for that "easy button" that Staples has mocked me with.)  

I put these into the pot and filled it 3/4 of the way with water.  

Then you add in more fun.  Grab a small bunch of cloves, two cinnamon sticks (I broke each stick in half), three to four bay leaves and throw them in with the citrus.  It will start to look like a seriously yummy brine...brings you right back to Thanksgiving!  Be creative and add whatever you have on hand.  I have used fresh snipped rosemary springs, a handful of dried lavender buds, or even a few drops of essential oil.  But this is the basic version and it's amazing as-is.

Place the saucepan on the stove and bring it to a simmer.  It will start to smell so cozy as the spices heat up.  As the day wears on be sure to watch it on your stove.  I have added water to it several times through out the day and it still is full of scent.  You will know when it's all done and you can't add any more water because the cinnamon sticks will be all swelled up and the citrus will look how you feel at the end of the day with Lyme.  (It's a great visual aid that needs no words.) 

On that note (smile) sometimes I can feel a bit like that lemon all shriveled up.  I look around and wonder if we will ever be out of this season, I see other peoples seasons that I would rather be in and I fail to see how this broken journey could be useful for anything but being a dark blip on the story line of life.  I know the Truth- it's written on my heart.  The Lord will never leave us or forsake us.  I know my Savior, and I know He lives.  But I can't help but think that living those truths- when I don't feel like it, when prayer doesn't get answered, when I just want to sit and be sour- is a bit like picking up that shriveled lemon and seeing use in it.  The Lord sees use in me- in each of my children and my husband that I love so dearly who are on this journey with me.  He sees beauty because of what HE can make out of all that is old...something NEW.  But I have to be willing.  I have to let him peer into the dark corners of my heart and offer to Him all that I am ashamed of, all that I am afraid of and all that I cannot fix on my own.  I have to trust that my God is bigger than the enemy and that He has a master plan that I can't comprehend.  As Ann Voskamp might say, (her newest book is really good)...I have to be willing to be split apart like that lemon- broken, but not forsaken.    

I don't know why it has shocked me so much that life is just...hard.  Jesus was talking about his Crucifixion when he said in John 12:24, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."  This is the concept of sowing...making something new.  That which was once beautiful, blossomed and then died..leaving behind a seed.  That which has been all used up and looks dead, will be buried and spring forth fruit again.  

I was just talking with my pastors wife last night about the book, The Broken Way, about life, and about a quote I heard in a sermon years ago that stuck with me.  

"YOU NEVER REAP IN THE SAME SEASON THAT YOU SOW."

If you are in a season of hardship, of pain...of sowing- do so faithfully as unto Christ.  Some times on the hard days (parenting anyone?!) it's good to remember that.  Sowing seed is hard work.  It takes dedication to sow seed in our children, in our hearts and continue to persevere in whatever you are striving for, even when you see NO VISIBLE PROOF THAT IT WILL BEAR FRUIT.  Those times when you are a used up lemon, sitting on the shelf of life...trust.  That is what I am working on doing this week.  (And I will be making the recipe a few more times this week, using up all my lemons and limes!)  

  

treatment: week nine & ten

For those of you with Lyme who have been following my protocol, I am behind posting but we are still plugging along with treatment!  I am currently halfway through week 11, so this will bring my treatment log up to date.  I am combining weeks nine and ten because we didn't do IV's week nine due to travel plans and then winter weather delays.  I don't have a ton of information to add....

We did however celebrate the re-introduction to eggs and chicken week nine!  It sounds silly, but when you have eliminated such common foods from your diet, it's a party when you add them back in!  We did allergy testing and found that four out of five us us were showing reactions to eggs and chicken, so we did the GAPS diet for a month and did not go back on the eggs and chicken for FOUR LONG MONTHS.  I am a girl that loves protein for breakfast, so I love being able to have eggs again.  (So do my kids.  And it makes cooking a lot less challenging!)

Week Nine:
DAY ONE
I feel more energy and "awakeness" than before and notice that I can stand for longer periods of time without feeling like I will fall over feeling breathless.  I have noticed some heart palpitations but that could be due to thyroid balance or even hormonal issues (will be checking those labs again in a few weeks).

DAY TWO
(We were out of town and I didn't log my symptoms)

DAY THREE
Today would normally be IV day because we did not go in on Monday, but the weather had other plans- SNOW!  All my kids were home from school and even if we could leave, I am not sure my car would have gotten back up our steep driveway.  It was a wonderful day off!

On days like these, I rely on liposomal vitmin C!  It's amazing stuff, and I highly recommend researching the benefits of liposomal form.  I took 16 grams orally.

Physically I felt tired today but not terrible...mentally and emotionally feeling motivated to get more stuff done in a day than one person can handle.  I am totally making up for the days during the summer months that I couldn't do much!

DAY FOUR
I literally just realized at 1:00 this afternoon that it's supposed to be ozone/bionic day!  I have been in vacation mode after missing IV's...but here we go, back at it.  Today feeling some head pressure, eye pain and a bit foggy today.

(normal info for ozone...400 RI, one hour HBOT followed by bionic.  I did add a rickettsia nosode today as well.)

On a funny note...I went to go refill my thyroid medication (I take 90 mg armour daily) and realized that for the past month I have been taking my cortisol (5 mg dose) instead of my thyroid (the pills are the same size and same size bottle from the same pharmacy) !  I kept feeling like my clothing was getting a little tight...wasn't panicking yet but I had just told my sister-in-law that I felt like treatment was making me pork out!  Needless to say I totally snickered at myself and became very consistent in my thyroid dosing.  This could be why I had heart-palpitations too, LOL.

DAY FIVE
No IV again today- Dr. was sick, but the weather brought snow and ice again anyways!  It was a liposomal C day, 28 grams total.

DAY SIX
Knee pain.

DAY SEVEN
Still noticing chronic knee and joint pain.  (Like I have mentioned in the past though, mentally I am thinking!!! So thankful to have a brain back- not that I don't have my moments, but I feel like I am living in reality now, as opposed to times previous when it truly felt like living color was not reality- I was so loopy that it felt like a dream.  Health is a blessing I will never take for granted again.  Praising God.)




Week Ten

DAY ONE
ozone/bionic day...400 RI, one hour HBOT, bionic same settings as previous.  I am noticing knee and hip pain, but also a really sore neck like I slept wrong on it.

DAY TWO
IV day- vitamin C, homeopathics, methylated B's, sodium bicarbonate, glutathione push at the end.

DAY THREE
I am supplementing with liposomal vitamin C on days that are not either IV or ozone days.  I took 12 grams today.

DAY FOUR
ozone/bionic day- same settings.  Physically am noticing shooting pain in my legs and tired feet.  Not horrible or debilitating, just feel very fatigued.  I am wondering if having a week off of IV vitamins is catching up with me, or if it is just herxing.  I am thankful that it's not a tired that comes with that inner "shaky" feeling that I used to have.

DAY FIVE
IV day...20 grams C (we alternate 15 gram doses with 20 gram doses) with the typical vitamin mix.  Not all of my B's were methylated today, due to some shipping issues getting the methylated form in, and though I prefer to have methylated (look up MTHFR issues) I am hoping that the non-methylated will not be an issue.

(Even when you take Vitamin B in pill form, a methylated version is preferred.  Research says that up to 50% of the population has an issue with this, and it can cause a myriad of health consequences.  Individuals with Lyme are especially prone to issues with this, as an under-methylation issue causes an inability to detox correctly.  It could be a whole other blog post that I will not get into- if you are curious, google it- it's fascinating.)

DAY SIX
woke up feeling ill- ran errands and felt that familiar shaky, breathless, faint feeling pushing a cart loaded down at Costco.  (UGH)

DAY SEVEN
Feeling better today.  Was wondering if I was getting the flu yesterday- sore all over, fatigued and head-ache but no sore throat so I am thinking maybe herx.  I also emailed my Dr. to see if anything in the IV could have caused such a yucky decline.  I felt pretty exhausted and dizzy sitting in the pew at church.

Went home to do ozone/bionic with the normal settings and nosodes previously listed.  Fell asleep at 4:00 until 7:30, then went to bed again at 10:30.

I talked to my Dr. and he said it is possible that it was too much nutrients in too little solution, and was actually dehydrating to my body, so we will make sure to do the big bag of saline, even though it takes longer to drip.  (By Monday, the very next day, I felt like whatever the issue was had worked through my system.  We will also always do methylated B's.)

lessons from 2016

I have written and re-written this post, not sure if I should hit "publish" or not.  Half of it has accidentally been erased and then edited to no end.  I finally decided to share, in the hopes that it might make its way to someone who needs to re-direct their perspective like I needed to this January 2017.    So...here it goes.

The start of a new year always finds me contemplative...it's like a fresh sheet of paper, and I wonder and plan for what's going to fill it.  I also reflect on the one previous, I ask myself, "Did my last year count for anything eternal?"  My boys are another year older, and time only seems to go by faster- did their mommy treasure it enough?

I have come to realize that no matter how hard I try the previous year, I am still left in reflection, yearning for more as my heart permeates in a mixture of awe and sorrow at life.  I am once again reminded of how precious these days are and that they are fleeting.  And I cannot call them into perfection like I long to do.  I make my idealistic lists and goals, and I reflect on the year I lived that will forever be history.  I found myself longing this year for something undefinable as I remembered the year past.  It was almost like I bid 2016 good-bye with a swift kick in the rear, bidding it to leave and welcoming better times in 2017.  I sat before the Lord and laid out my humaness before him, all of my "not enough."  I cry tears because of the road he has called us to walk, and that it has affected every part of our lives.  It is a road easier than what He has called many others to walk, and there is so much blessing even in the struggle.  Our lives are a sticky mess of love and crazy, laughter and anger, a lot of "not enough"...and hearts that love each other so much that they sometimes overflow with all the anger a fierce love can bring.  This is who we are.  Less than perfect.

I somehow think that one day I will get to the end of a year and be able to pat myself on the back and say, "Job well done, Liz!"  But do any of us feel that way when we look deep within?  I am not talking about self-loathing or a depressive line of thought...but does anyone else ever look around wonder what the heck happened?  Do any of us have things perfect, things we wouldn't change, or am I the only one that doesn't live a pinterest perfect life?   What do we do when we live with less-than-ideal situations, hurts that are deep and unrelenting, or things out of our control?  Do any of us feel like we pressed hard enough into Christ' presence on a daily basis and pursued Him like it was our single focus?  The older I get, the more I think that "not enough" is a chronic human condition that persists no matter how we strive to sparkle and shine on the outside.

I come up empty on these points not to show that I am a failure, or that any of us are really...but because left to my own measuring stick...I will always fail.  I realize that in my perfectionist tendencies, I keep reaching for some deep-down satisfaction I could posses if only I had a magic wand to fix a few things.  But this year, I want it to be different...

I think that the places where dreams fall empty is the very place God is asking me to offer up surrender to Him.  The prayers I have been praying...still praying...the hopes in my heart, the wounds in the deep places where the Lord sees into- my failures and all the "not enough" moments I have as a wife and mother, friend and loved one...those I will give to God.  He will hold all my humanness with a sacred love that only a Savior could posses.

I sit and grieve over a Lyme diagnosis for my children, but God sees His glory.  I want to see with His eyes instead of wishing for something different.  Though these days are hard, I know that God has a purpose in all of it.  Today, as I was sitting and reflecting, submitting all my bossy commands to God on how He could "fix" things for me...I heard Him ask me what I thought He wanted my boys to learn in this season, through this "less-than-ideal" situation.  He asked me to sit down and get comfortable in the "not enough" and look to Him for the treasure past what I thought would satiate me.  Instead of seeing all that we did not have in this season of sickness and struggle, He wants me to see what He is chiseling into us...Him.  We can be filled with Him.  He is our enough. In all the ways that our current situation is not what I ever planned on it being...in all the ways that Lyme has creeped into our life and scrambled our plans....I can lay down my "not enough" and let Him re-write our story.

At some point I will write a little about my boy's symptoms they have had...even so, their journey with Lyme is their own to share someday.  I will say that they are strong, and this road has made my mommy heart raw watching their hearts grow through trial.  So I wrote down these lessons for them....the ones that I will see as a blessing that God is giving, instead of seeing it as a curse. So, here I will write what my heart longs for...and I what I believe God has entrusted our family with.  It does not look flashy...it feels very broken.  It is easy to write, and harder to live.  But instead of being busy "fixing" I want to work on relinquishing to God control...letting Him be all our "enough."

Dear Eli, Wyatt and Ben...this is what your Mama longs for you to know and learn well in this season that God has us in.

1. God is in the good, and God is in the bad.  He has not left us, though we walk through trouble.  Never let the evil of this world skew your perspective of God.  We can never answer the "why's" of life; the deep searing pain of losses you have not yet suffered will cause you to doubt the understanding and justice of it all someday.  But when life makes no sense and the troubles of this world seem unbearable, remember the God you serve.  He longs not for spirituality that set us on the heights for people to adore- but he longs for us to fight for what He fights for..."to loose the chains of injustice and untie the chords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free...share your food with the hungry and provide the poor wanderer with shelter- when you see the naked, clothe him, and do not turn away from your own flesh and blood...and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard...then you will call and the LORD will answer, you will cry for help and he will say: Here I am." Isaiah 58:6-9 (abbreviated)  He sees the needy and He fights for them, even if you cannot perceive it from your current perspective.

2. Our satisfaction does not rest upon earthly comforts and joys.  It is unseen, eternal and can be obtained even in impossible struggle and pain.  It is in these seasons that the miracle of Christ in us can shine the brightest- in the dark places.  Earthly comforts are a blessing, but the times when God calls us to walk amidst suffering is the time that He longs for a deeper planting to take root.  It's in these times that we remember there is a finish line unseen by human eyes.

3. God has a purpose for you TODAY - whether it finds you in the storm, in the glorious sun or somewhere in between.  His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are beyond ours.  THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE, let us REJOICE and be GLAD in it.  He is the ancient of days and the end of the story will always tell of Gods boundless love for you.

4. Don't ever be too high to stoop to the needy and don't shy away at the ugly.  Strive to see with the Saviors eyes, and judge others by that standard alone.  We rarely know the entire story with a single glance.

5. Be exactly who God created you to be- when you are alone or in a crowd.  Times of trouble can often find you in quiet places, times of aloneness.  It is in these places that strength of character is forged.  Turn to Christ for filling , instead of rushing around seeking from others what only Jesus can give.  Build strong and true relationships, yes.  This is God's beautiful gift to us.  But when He calls you to stand alone, stand strong.  He is always by your side.

6.  Pray.  Pray often, pray hard.  Don't ever be a stranger to prayer.  Pray when you don't want to, when you think it's pointless, when you are angry, sad, numb..when it feels like they bounce against a wall and echo in a silent room, straight back to a cold heart.  Pray.  Press on.  This is the battle, precious one.  It's not the one I ever imagined fighting, but this is the very heart of the battle.  This is when it matters most.  You will not perceive when the ice begins to thaw, but mercy upon mercy, one day you will realize that light has broken forth. You will have pursued Christ in the darkness and words -pleas for help- were found upon your lips, beckoning to the Holy One. There is no greater fullness than the presence of Christ...like Hagar in the wilderness to now "see the One who sees me."  Don't lose courage.  Pray, precious child.

7.  And lastly...this season has taught you how to see the hurting.  The physical pain you go through, the sickness you have had to face, will make you less afraid when peer into the eyes of the broken.  Some things cannot be explained, so God calls us to walk through them, to live it, breathe it, become it - never to be wasted, for out of the comfort the Lord has given you, so you must comfort others. What can be viewed as a trial is actually sacred wisdom if you turn loose your heart to the Great Shepherd.

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which CHRIST JESUS took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in 

Christ Jesus."  

Philippians 3:12-14

treatment: week eight

This post comes on the same day as the update on week seven because I am late posting!  Week eight starts on Christmas day. :-)

DAY ONE
ozone treamtment; 400 RI followed by one hour in hyperbaric.  Bionic use at 10 points, 11.77, 330 seconds, 100%.  This week I added in a nosode for mycoplasma.  There are many different strains of mycoplamsa, the one I tested postive for being mycoplamsma pnemonia.  There is also a mycoplamsa fermentens incognitus that I was not tested for, along with another common one.  Most people infected with Lyme also have their own unique concoction of co-infections to go along with Lyme and muddy the waters.  It is important to see a LLMD that will understand co-infections and diagnose you accurately.  It has a lot to do with how you heal, detox and herx upon treatment of Lyme.

Mycoplasma is the most common co-infection of Lyme.  It can cause so many of the same symptoms as Lyme, so that's why I wanted to tackle it head-on.  Many of the treatments I am already doing will help to combat mycoplasma, but the bionic has nosodes for all kinds of co-infections and I am thankful to take advantage of the added treatment option.  As with the burgdorferi and babesia nosode, this mycoplamsa nosode was ordered from Germany, maker of the Bionic 880.

Today I feel so tired from three days of celebrating Christmas and almost fell asleep in the hyperbaric chamber.  It was a wonderful day of memories tucked away in my heart and by the end of the day my body felt heavy and groggy.  Rest is in order for a few days :-)

DAY TWO
No treatment today (usually IV day) and everyone is tired, but we have all escaped the flu bug going around with our family and friends.  I feel very sore all over in my muscles, mild head-ache, exhausted, and my eyes feel painful.  It does not feel like a herx, I know that I pushed for a week straight and my body is just complaining.

DAY THREE
Today was IV day...15 grams vitamin C plus Glutathione push at the end as ususal.  Even though I am so tired this week, I was still able to be outside doing some needed maintenance, organizing and some wood stacking.  My muscles were shaking by the end of my task and I felt sick to my stomach but I totally conquered!  I laid down the rest of the day (did the normal dinner/dishes) and recovered a lot by the end of the evening.  It is so nice to be capable again.

DAY FOUR
Ozone/Bionic day...400 RI followed by one hour in the hyperbaric chamber.  borellia, babesia and mycoplasma nosode at 100% power, 330 seconds, 11.77 hz.

Physically I am feeling very tired.  I pushed it too hard the last few days but the organization and clean was totally worth it.  I feel like my whole body did burn-out with weights (maybe my glycogen stores are not good, or maybe I burned through days worth of the little amount of cortisol I make?! LOL!).  I am mentally clear and can remember more things in my short-term memory.  The amount of peace that alone brings me is such a blessing...to remember a date past the moment it is spoken in the conversation....to go about my day and a few hours later be able to recall what I am supposed to write in my calendar without the panic that I have to do it RIGHT NOW or I won't remember AT ALL.  I know I pushed it too hard these past few days, because I could, and I won't continue to do that because I know my body needs to give it all it's got to heal.  But it felt so perfectly rebellious toward Lyme that I loved every aching minute.  I am getting better!!!! It's a slow process, but I am!!!!

DAY FIVE
IV day today- rested today.

DAY SIX
Still feeling physically tired and achy with some knee pain but mentally haven't declined and still feeling no cloud of depression.

DAY SEVEN
We would usually have today off, but I did treatment a day early due to scheduling.  Ozone 400 RI followed by one hour in the hyperbaric chamber.  Bionic 880 at 10 points, 11.77 hz, 100% power, 330 seconds.  Still feeling some pesky knee pain but energy output is amazing.  I packed up myself and my family for a one night trip out of town and did not have to sleep or drop flat afterwards.

For those of you who have battled debilitating fatigue, you know that just the thought of getting up to do something like that makes you cringe.  I am so incredibly humbled and thankful to be getting better.  I know that it won't be with the snap of my fingers that I am well, and I have a long ways to go.  But I can look back on the recent summer months and realize that I am not the person I was then.  I was physically a shell of who I am now, and totally desperate but not realizing how bad it really was.  Days and weeks went on and I kept thinking that the next week would be better.  The first week in May was the last time I was able to be out on a run.  I went to the doctor again after being loopy-tired for a week after and found out my cortisol was almost non-existent.  Exercise was not recommended.  Months went by without exercise other than daily household tasks.  The one time I went for a long walk it was at a women's retreat and it put me in bed for two days after.  That was right before treatment started.  It's all somehow a blur, and I feel like the Lord caught me graciously right as I began to descend at a shocking rate.

I am so grateful for the people and the doctors He put in my life to be my strength and give me hope when I needed it so badly, and to validate my symptoms in black and white on the lab results I received.  To tell me I wasn't crazy, and yes, I was sick and No, I was not a weak person, or a whiner.  I am so grateful that I have a husband who is sticking with me and sacrificing so much of his time, our finances and his heart in walking alongside me in this valley.  This treatment is working on a cellular level to help my body fight Lyme, and blast it right out of my body.  When I realize all these things, I feel my heart full to bursting at the glory of it.  I am getting life back, and it is a beautiful time to start a new year.  To God be the glory and all the thanks of my heart.  My prayers are many that He uses this treatment to heal my family completely.

This man has walked through the fire with me.  We are the last to say that it's been fifteen years of perfect, but all the broken and joys alike makes us love each other more.  Who else knows our own crazy as well as each other?  (And who else can make me laugh when all I want to do is act snarky?   It's so annoying...) :-)   I love you lots, Levi!

treatment: week seven

This will be a very quick update on week seven treatment and symptoms.  For those of you following along week to week, you will see a marked improvement in my energy levels and less pain all around.  It is such a wonderful feeling to have hope of climbing out of illness after years of battling what I thought was just adrenal fatigue and hypothyroid issues.  To actually have answers and hope is amazing.

DAY ONE
400 RI ozone, followed by one hour in the hyperbaric chamber.  I have also been careful to ph balance after doing ozone.  In Germany lyme patients take many supplements and IV therapy to balance the bodies ph and stay alkaline after ozone treatment.  To my knowledge, this is not a common practice for those who do ozone in the states.  It's worth looking into if you are unfamiliar with the concept and you do ozone.  I take 1/2 tsp baking soda in water once or twice daily.  Beyond just ph balancing abilities, baking soda has amazing health benefits when consumed and I encourage you to research it!

Bionic: same settings as normal using 10 points.  100% power, 11.77 hz, 330 seconds with burgdorferi, and babesia nosode.  I continue taking arteminsin and cryptolepis but will stop after 10 consecutive days.  This is per bottle instructions.

Physically feeling good- getting a little tired prepping for Christmas but more tired of being tired, so I push through.  I am ready to plug into the world and feel like life is actually happening again.  It feels like life has been on hold and I have been a "me" that I don't want to be.  I am so happy to see more energy and it's hard not to push myself because I can!

DAY TWO
Today was the high dose IV C day (25 grams).  Iv's went well and I feel tired and foggy today so will rest.

DAY THREE
Today I had energy to help my husband at his office for a bit and had a phone consult with an LLMD four hours north of us to discuss my oldest sons IgeneX test results that just came back.  She confirmed that our oldest has Lyme.  His immune system is fighting well, but we will have to at some point determine what our next steps are for him.  It was good to have the answer, but also sad to see another kid lyme positive, and my mommy heart grieved a bit more today.

Today I felt clear-minded with minimal glimpses of knee pain.  I had no foot, hand or leg pain and was able to press on through my day multi-tasking without feeling overwhelmed.  I was efficient and functional!  Even with Christmas traffic, there was no panic in my heart or crazy in my head.

DAY FOUR
Today is ozone day again...400 RI followed by one hour in the hyperbaric chamber.  Bionic usage at 10 points, 11.77, 330 seconds, 100% power with burgdorferi and babesia nosodes.

I have very little physical symptoms, and can hardly believe that I feel so normal.  I have no head-ache or brain fog.  No hand/leg/knee/hip pain and I have been able to be in bumper to bumper traffic and make quick decisions without anxiety.  I am more patient with my boys and more calm about the (constant- LOL) messes in the house.  I am still tired on a level I can't describe but I am not so tired that it hurts anymore.  I can be up and function all day at a decent level without the undeniable need to lay down.

DAY FIVE
For a few days I thought I was totally healed!  Today was a bit of a dip that I really was not expecting...I think I am herxing a bit from babesia or just more lyme die-off.  I am struggling a bit feeling overwhelmed emotionally (a typical babesia herx symptom) and also have head-ache and fatigue in joints and all over my body.  I don't want to do anything but lay still and not move.  I also know that it's Christmas season, I have pushed myself and I added babesia treatment into the mix, so rest is the best answer for today.  My kids are really tired too, so I think we all have pushed ourselves in the spirit of Christmas fun!

DAY SIX
We celebrated Christmas a few days early with family and had a wonderful day.  Despite lots of fun and busyness, I only came home with a minor headache, and was able to stay awake all afternoon/evening without laying down.  Feeling thankful and blessed!

DAY SEVEN
This was Christmas Eve.  We usually celebrate with our boys Christmas morning, but because Christmas morning had to be ozone day, we decided to celebrate Christmas Eve.  I was so busy that I really didn't write down any symptoms.  It was a wonderful day to celebrate the gift of Jesus and the gift of each other.  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas day!