Yesterday I rode my bike a couple miles over to Dandelion Botanical Company to attend a support group called "Dudes and Chicks with Ticks". I've only gone once to a support group and it was a disaster. Way too much complaining, not enough constructive information sharing.

But the meeting yesterday was called "Lyme Success Stories" and we were told to bring positive attitudes, so how could I not go? We all sat around a table in the upstairs conference room and shared what had worked for us in our treatment, and it was really great to meet others with Lyme who had a positive attitude.

At the end of the meeting, two women who were in remission spoke about how they had gotten there. (Remission, in this case, means they have finished their Lyme antibiotics and are feeling completely recovered, but they still take care of themselves with naturopathy and diet.)

Some comments these two women made that stuck with me:

Anna: "Being stubborn is good. You need to be stubborn to beat Lyme."

Malia: "It's not a few little things, it's a hundred little things you need to do to get through this treatment. But I kicked Lyme's ass.... And you all know that the phone gets very heavy when you have Lyme, but we need to learn how to pick it up ask for help."

It changed my thinking to learn Malia was on antibiotics for five years, and now she's in remission. As I approach the four year mark of antibiotics, and even with all the progress I've made, I've had some moments in the past month when I've thought "Will I be on antibiotics for the rest of my life? What if I just stop making progress and I'm stuck in this half-better, half-sick state, and I never get a full night's sleep again?"

Hearing that it took someone five years changed that. So what if I'm not 100% yet? It doesn't mean I won't get there if I keep trying.