Personal Impact Paper

The personal impact that chronic disease has on patients, is extremely devastating. "Mention of chronic Lyme disease raises temperatures, not only among patients, but also among the experts who are trying to untangle exactly what chronic Lyme disease is" (Rowe, 2000 pg1). With a chronic disease, such as Lyme disease LD patients are faced with many challenges. Some that will be outlined in this paper. Which are social, financial and personal effects that this disease can have on a person. As well as what a patient has to go through when learning about their disease and living through the experience. Lastly, this paper will touch on the motivators that can be used when maintaining a positive outlook on the patient's life.
When discussing what is Lyme disease many thoughts come to head because Lyme's disease is a complex yet very silent disease. This disease is known as "The great Imitator" (Lymedisease.org 2013) this is because the symptoms that arise are like other well known diseases. Some examples of these diseases are; Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, ALS, Multiple Sclerosis, Depression and Rheumatoid Arthritis (Lymedisease.org 2013). By the time that Lyme's disease is diagnosis the symptoms and the disease process have become chronic. When someone gets infected this disease with the Lyme spirochetes, which is a poppy like size tick (Lymedisease.org 2013). The most common forms of testing are the Elisa and the Western Blot. These test are not always accurate and discourage the patients most of the time. According to the California Lyme disease Association; 200,000 new cases are reported each year. Lyme disease is one of the fastest growing and misunderstood diseases according to Lymedisease.org. Once diagnosed and the mystery of what you have, then the battle begins.
One story online that sticks out to me is one of the Lyme chick. This young girl at the age of 11 was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and after a year of feeling sick and symptoms getting worse. For example, she experienced symptoms of weakness, joint pain, fever, rashes, and flu like symptoms. Then, she was diagnosed with LD. This is when she started her long road of treatments and testing. She received thirteen months of antibiotic therapy and continue to feel the same symptoms as she did before. During all of that treatment she also, did a course of testing such as spinal taps, bone scan, MRI's, EKG's and a PICC line insertion. She began to feel the personal effects that this chronic disease was having on her. She began to feel isolated from her friends, her friends didn't understand how she was feeling because she looked to be so normal and didn't understand how she could be sick. Having to consistently example herself became a chore. Not only was this taxing on her but her parents as well due to the insurance company not covering all the cost of the extensive treatment and testing that as to be done to correctly diagnosis and treat this disease. Health insurance were denying treatment. Adding more stress to families.
The educational experience for the patient while learning about her chronic disease was all documented. This young girl did something amazing with her experience and she used it to help raise awareness. She began a blog and in that blog she has her story, signs and symptoms of early detection, and other websites to go and research. This young girl that started as such a young age, with such a debilitating disease, used her learning experience plus used it to help others just like her. The main issues that arose when dealing with Lyme disease was mostly emotional which stemmed from dealing with pain. When learning to how to battle with these symptoms it became difficult especially when dealing with people that don’t understand the disease themselves. This young girl learned early on that she had to surround herself with people that understood her and her disease; as well as people that don’t drain her of her energy. Due to the pain and emotional distress, that this disease puts her thought left her with no energy, let alone energy to give. These are just some of the changed motivators that helped this young girl get through her dog days as she states.
To continue to motivate this young girl and family on the right track I would use Bloom's affective domain. First, would be the aspect of the family and friends accepting the young girl's diagnosis. Second, advise to keep a journal and continue to discuss feelings with family and friends, especially during hard times. Third, learning how to reduce stress. When dealing with a chronic disease such as Lyme disease this part is extremely important. Added stress can exacerbate pain and result in extreme fatigue and weakness which in the end would continue the vicious cycle. Learning relaxation techniques such as, deep breathing, yoga and meditation. Fourth, implementing this technique's and following through with them. Learning to organize time out of the day for stress relief. Fifth, learning to work together with family and friends to talk about stressor and learn how to not trigger them.
In conclusion, chronic diseases come in all forms. When, detecting a problem the best thing to do is to express your feelings about suspicion that may be going on and not to internalize it. When dealing with Lyme disease early detection is key. Unfortunately for the young girl that was discussed she had a long road till she received some clarity. As, she continues her journey and fights for what she believes in, there will come a day when she will be at peace in her life, where ever that may be.

Reference:
Chronic Lyme disease: psychogenic fantasy or somatic infection? Environ Health Perspect. 2003 Feb;111(2):A76; author reply A77.

Rowe, P. M. (2000). Chronic Lyme disease: The debate goes on. The Lancet, 355(9213), 1436. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/199017184?accountid=35812.

Bloom B. ed. (1956) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New York. Longman.

Lymedisease.org. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.lymedisease.org/website_policies.html