Check out my shop!

Hey guys!

It’s official–check out my Cafepress shop and help me spread Lyme Disease Awareness! Let me know what you think!

 

Healing thoughts and prayers to all,

 

Kate

I’m still me.

I’m still my father’s little girl, my mother’s best friend and my brother’s sister. I’m still your cousin, your niece and your granddaughter. I’m still the friend that will make you laugh and the friend that will always be there. I’m still the girl you can talk to about anything, the girl who will cry with you and tell you it’s going to be alright. I’m still the friend you can call up out of the blue and pick up right where we left off. I’m still the girl who will stick up for you, remind you of your strengths and tell you how much you matter. I’m still the friend that will always try and make everything okay, the friend that will gladly go out of their way for you and who will always try to make you smile. I’m still the friend who will always care about you, the friend you did everything with and the friend you considered a sister.

 

I’m still her.

 

I’m still me.

 

I’m the girl that hasn’t given up, the girl that battles Lyme Disease every single day and the girl who won’t go down without a fight. I’m the friend that is mostly confined to her bed, the friend who can’t help how she feels and the friend that doesn’t mean to keep losing touch. I’m the girl who just wants someone to love her through the good days and the bad days, the girl who is tired of being defined by others because of her illness and the girl who just wants to feel better again.

 

I may be her, but I’m still me.

 

 

Healing thoughts and prayers to all,

Kate

“I didn’t come this far to only come this far.”

My name is Kate. I’m 26, I haven’t gone to college, the only relationship I have is with my bed (or sometimes the couch) and I’m trying to get back on my feet again after fighting Lyme Disease for most of my life.

Some of that may sound familiar since I originally wrote it in an earlier post back when I first started this blog. I wish my absence meant I’ve only been improving but, that’s unfortunately not the case. In the posts-to-come, I’ll be sure to update you on my continuous fight with Lyme and all the difficulties you must face dealing with a chronic illness such as the loss of friendships, relationships, independence and how many, many, many of us are not giving ourselves the credit we truly do deserve. We’re still fighting, we’re still here. That means something, right?

Most don’t have a clue what someone with a chronic illness goes through on a daily basis. We can’t help it if we can’t make it out of bed most days, are unable to eat, think clearly, hold a conversation, move without wincing in pain, always needing the bathroom, not feeling up to getting out of the house, glued to our heating pad, need the room dark because of a terrible migraine, so nauseous you can’t even speak, curled up in a ball because of intense stomach pain, hit the point of exhaustion where you just can’t keep your eyes open–and much more.

For those of you not familiar with my blog, it’s about how Lyme Disease both takes time from you as well as takes time to recover from. You can also expect posts about some of my favorite recipes as well as products I enjoy. I do take the time to share experiences on how numerous doctor appointments left me in tears, to friends and relatives not being able to understand. I know there is someone, somewhere who has yet to be diagnosed or recently was and honestly can’t find themselves more lost just as I once was. I still find myself lost a great deal of the time, but as the title of this post states, “I didn’t come this far to only come this far.” As I continue giving this fight my all, you can count on me being your voice as well as bringing much needed awareness to this truly controversial disease that continues to wreak havoc on so many lives each and every day.

 

You’re not alone.

 

“Strength grows in moments when you think you can’t go on but you keep going anyway.”

 

Healing thoughts and prayers to all,

 

Kate

 

Seeing The Good: Day 10

I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate to share since it’s just been the kind of day where you’re constantly fighting with yourself to think positive, to put on a smile–everything. The pain is indescribable, you can’t move and you feel so incredibly helpless.

I know I’ll get through this. I know the pain will pass. Relief will come, it will. And you need to remind yourself the very same. It will pass, it will pass. We often forget to remind ourselves that because it doesn’t feel like the pain will ever subside. We often wake with the same pain we have fallen asleep with the night before or are still battling the same pain or worse with no sleep at all. Calling it a battle doesn’t even describe the half of it. And we still rise each and every day.

You’re a fighter, a true warrior.

Here’s to a better tomorrow. “This too, shall pass.”

Healing thoughts and prayers to all-

Kate

Seeing the Good: Day 9

Some days, it’s hard to see the good. No matter how hard you try to see through the pain, you can’t see over to the other side.

Breathe..

Wipe away the tears, clear your head and take a minute to remind yourself how far you’ve come–because darling, you are one day closer to seeing over to the other side and one day closer to actually living it. It hurts and you feel tomorrow will bring only the same pain. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t.

But we won’t find out if we let this all slip away. Don’t let it slip away. You ARE strong and WILL rise with the morning sun the next day. You never know what the new day can bring.

Be thankful for your existence. Be thankful for this life. I know you wish it was different. Your day will come.

Sending love and strength your way, always.

Healing thoughts and prayers to all-

Kate

Seeing The Good: Day 8

You will get through this.

Healing thoughts and prayers to all-

Kate

Seeing The Good: Day 7

We’re going to have “what if” moments. We’re going to constantly wonder, if we did things differently, would we still end up living the life we’re living today. We can’t. We’re not going to find the answer–because most of the time, there isn’t one. There isn’t an answer for how and why things panned out the way they did. There isn’t a reason for why we became ill, why we have been chosen for this fight. We may think there is and we’ll just continuously torture ourselves by prying and prying through the past, rethinking decisions, what we could have done differently.

What’s done is done. It is what it is. There’s no going back. This is the hand of cards we have been dealt with, even if they currently seem like a bad batch. We need to stay focus on this moment and this moment only. We need to deal with our given situation. We don’t need to keep adding to it.

It’s okay to wonder. It’s okay to look in the rear-view mirror from time to time. Just don’t lose your focus on the now. Thinking back on happier times and when your health wasn’t such a concern really hits you hard, I understand that. That life, what was, is something we’ve let go, we had to let go. We’ll get that life back, we will. Could be something along the lines of the one we started with or you can choose to make it better. The reins are in your hands. The only decision you’d have to decide is if that’s what you want. And why wouldn’t you want a chance to start over, to come out of a struggle with a clean slate–and a clean bill of health?

Thoughts will creep in. Let them. Letting go isn’t just something you do once, it’s something you do and learn to do, every single day.

Some of my posts may come across confusing and negative at times, but I do hope you can see my positive points and that I’m trying. That I’m trying my hardest to be your voice and especially, a voice of my own. Making the decision to speak out, to voice my thoughts and opinions are not only difficult, yet has changed my life for the better. I know I’m not alone–but I did surround myself with one’s that made me feel like I was. Even though I’ve made that realization, my decision, it’s a feeling that’s hard to forget. You can’t forget how something once made you feel, but you can learn from it. And the best part is that we can learn together.

I’ll conclude with this, “It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.” -James Thurber

Healing thoughts and prayers to all-

Kate

Seeing The Good: Day 6

Always remember to smile. You never know whose day you’ll end up brightening. You never know just how much a smile can make a difference when it’s you that is going through such a drag of a day–and you make eye contact with someone who is smiling at you. The feeling is indescribable.

A big thank you to the barista at Starbucks today. And for calling me “Smiley”.

Smile. Share it with someone who’d least expect it, who has no choice, but to smile back.

My Smile

Healing thoughts and prayers (and smiles) to all-

Kate

Seeing The Good: Day 5

Sometimes our thoughts get the best of us. They become these heavy, heavy weights, always weighing us down like an anchor that makes us feel as if we’ll never see the shore again.

Remarks from loved ones in the past come out of hiding, only adding to the weight along with painful memories. What could have been, should have been. Remembering when you were well, when you didn’t spend all your time borrowing in your room, away from the word. All these thoughts leave us feeling helpless and buried alive.

When there is no hand to reach for, look to your own. When there is no one there to tell you it will be alright, whisper it to yourself. When you find yourself in tears, “Cry as hard as you want to. But just make sure that when you stop crying, you never cry for the same reason again.”

We carry a lot. And we need to remember to give ourselves credit, for all that we do, all that we face and haunts us on a daily basis.

One day at a time, one day at a time.

Healing thoughts and prayers to all-

Kate

Seeing The Good: Day 4

You deserve to be happy. You deserve to be loved. You deserve the world–and nothing less.

Never, never forget that.

Healing thoughts and prayers to all-

Kate