Day 19: Tuesday November 14th

It’s been 19 days since I received my stem cells and a lot has happened since then, more in the means of my personal life than anything.

After being back in Maine for a week, I had to hop on another plane to make my way home to the Bahamas so that I could attend the funeral of my dear uncle Kirk. His passing was sudden and due to unknown heart complications.

Heart disease runs in my dad’s side of the family. My grandfather lost 5 of his brothers to heart related issues with most being under the age of 40. This has created a little concern. Like previously mentioned in one of my past blogs I have had a few heart related symptoms. For those of you who don’t know, Lyme Disease often interferes with the hearts of those infected.

Before going to Germany for treatment, I had discovered that my resting heart rate was between 120-140bpm. Since returning from treatment it has lowered but still hovers between 110-112 bpm. I spoke with Dr. Michael this morning for one of our weekly check ins. Given this symptom, as well as shortness of breath and sometimes chest pain, and the fact that I had recently discovered the history of heart related issues within my family, he suggested I go and get my heart looked at.

Thankfully, I was able to see a local cardiologist today, Dr. Lightbourne, who also happened to be my pediatrician since the age of 7. He preformed an EKG and an Echo. They both came back normal;  although my EKG showed that my heart has to recover a lot quicker than normal before it beats again. This could indicate some inflammation as a result of the Lyme, but the good news is the most common things you see in the hearts of patients with Lyme Disease were not present in my heart. This was, as you may have thought, a huge relief.

Dr. Lightbourne is still not too happy with the fact that my heart rate is as high as it is so because of this he has put me on a heart monitor for 24 hours. He is interested in seeing if my heart rate decreases in my sleep or stays constant. If it decreases he feels as though the benefits of not being on anything outweigh the risks and will just continue to monitor for changes every now and then, but if my heart rate stays the same he may recommend something to decrease my heart rate slightly so that there is less strain on my body.

Once we know the results tomorrow I will consult Dr. Michael in conjunction with Dr. Lightbourne and we will go from there.

On another note, the last two and a half weeks have been okay. My body is still trying to recover from all the traveling. Last week Wednesday I woke up with a little more energy than normal and decided to get a few errands done before my ballroom dance class. Unfortunately, I packed a little too much in and really felt the strain on my body on Thursday and Friday. Then I hopped on a plane to get to Nassau and have been pretty tired ever since. I have also noticed that I am pretty emotional, some of this relates to the passingg of my uncle, but some of it I really couldn’t understand. I have been tearing up at the smallest things, whether they be happy or sad.

In talking to Dr. Micheal he has assured me this is all normal. He confirmed that my hormone test came back, and to his surprise it was normal (yay!). He says that more often than not the stem cells make your hormones fluctuate, which can result in uncontrollable emotions. He believes that it is most prominent in his female patients. Dr. Micheal also says it is pretty normal that on the first good day patients tend to overdo it, but then soon learn what their body can and can’t handle.

All in all, there has been the expected ebb and flow. Some good days and some bad, and even sometimes I have good and bad in the same day. I can wake up feeling good, but then three or four hours into the day I start feeling extremely tired, have a spike in pain, etc, which is a normal part of this process as well as a normal part of my Lyme Disease experience.

I am still confident in this process and look forward to having more good days.

Please continue to comment and ask questions! More than anything I want to help those of you who don’t understand and those who may not know which path to take.

Sincerely,

Abby