Won't you be my neighbor?

Hello friends in the blogisphere!

As I'm looking at my stats, it says that I first published this blog on June 1st, 2007 [I've been at this 10 years, and I missed my own blogiversary... geesh.]

It seems that someone out there reads my blog, mostly the United States, but shout out to the Germans, French, British and Canadian friends also checking in. So... if you enjoy reading about my mishaps and exploits, would you consider following me? I'm not sure exactly how this works, so I'm afraid I can't explain it to you, but if you are a Real Person and not a robot, I'd love to find out about your blog, too, if you have one.

Thank you for putting up with my long absence, and all the spelling errors. I broke my back February, and I found out I have Lyme disease in March, which really took the strength and energy out of me. I have had Lyme since at least 2013. No bulls eye rash, no sore knees, no fever [I don't get fevers] none of the 'classic' symptoms, and a negative Western Blot, which is fairly common since the test is only 29-40% accurate. I did have flu like symptoms; I couldn't regulate my body temperature to the point I would be wearing a wool sweater, sweatpants and long sleeves in 90F weather, severe fatigue, sleeping 16- 18 hours a day [maybe it's narcolepsy they said] and a stiff, sore neck that caused migraine headaches. Since I have been on antibiotics for the Lyme, I have felt like a new person, like my old self again, ready to take on the world. Of course, sometimes I'm overzealous and over do it and need a nap, but my doctor is pleased with the progress I'm making. [Can we pause for a moment and talk about how hard it is to find a doctor who will even treat Lyme disease?].

I was finally diagnosed by taking a course of antibiotics and paying out of pocket for a urine analysis that was sent to Igenex labs in Palo Alto, California. Best $250 I've ever spent.

So... Lyme disease

Six months ago, I broke two vertebrae in my back. The next month, I found out part of the reason my neck was sore all the time and causing headaches, the constant fatigue, brain fog, sleeping and sore joints were all related to Lyme disease. 

I had to find a doctor who would even test me for the disease, but once that happened, the turn around has been nothing short of amazing.