Words by Max Fierek
Photography by Riley Seebeck
Video by Spencer Johnson"Dad?"
"Son?"
"I hurt..."
"What hurts? Where?"
"My shins hurt, like a lot. Have your shins ever hurt?"
"Your shins hurt? What kind of 9 year old has shins that hurt?"
It's been 12 years and I still remember the conversation I had with my dad when I first felt the effects of Lyme's Disease. I was sitting in the passenger seat of our old white Silverado driving through Northern Wisconsin on a two-lane highway through fields of purple lupines that were so bright they looked like they had jumped off a canvas and into the dirt. We were heading home from a sailing trip in the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior, an absolutely gorgeous area that is a national hotbed of deer ticks and Lyme's cases.
I hate hiding behind excuses so dealing with Lyme's is something I have mostly kept to myself except for a few close friends and family, I have been treated on and off but it was always difficult for me because I was a kid and had the personal myth of being unstoppable and when I took the antibiotics they usually made me feel worse which then affected my ability to race. A few years ago I was getting ready to take the season by storm with EWS, US Nationals, and more lined up, I trained all winter long and put everything into being ready but after training for months, I realized that I was basically still lifting the same weights as when I started, I wasn't putting on muscle or anything. I hit my first race and got absolutely destroyed, I still had hope that EWS Whistler would be the one but between crashing and hitting my head in Stage one and my body being burnt out by the top of Stage two I knew I wasn't making it the whole day. In the transfer climb, it dawned on me all at once, I had been ignoring the Lyme's for years, pretending it wasn't real and pretending like it was all okay. At that moment I realized that I needed to focus on getting healthier and doing whatever I could to get better.
After being on heavy doses of antibiotics for several months and my body being so weak and in pain that trail riding became almost miserable it was taking me over 2 hours to do a "quick" Galbi lap in Bellingham which my friends could knock out in 45 minutes the idea for this project hit me. "If I feel this way there have to be others who feel the same" so I called up my good friends Riley Seebeck (Photos) and Spencer Johnson (Video) to see if they would be willing to help me tell this story. They are both originally from the Midwest and now live in Washington like me and are masters of their crafts so I figured who better than friends to help me share. I told them off the start that this project wasn't for sponsors and wasn't for advertising, it was about telling an honest story and bringing awareness to not only Lyme's but also to the fact that there are a lot of individuals who deal with illnesses every day and most of the time never show it. We agreed that telling the story and getting it out to as many sources as possible was the key to this project.
Part of why I wanted to team up with Spencer and Riley was because I knew that they had both dealt with serious conditions themselves. Spencer with Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (or ITP), meaning that your blood doesn't clot like it's supposed to which meant as a kid he wasn't able to enjoy a lot of activities to the fullest for fear of injury. Riley being from Southern Wisconsin actually had serious Lyme's as well, to the point of partial facial paralysis, which he says he still notices now years later. I seriously can not thank them enough for working with me to bring the project to life and tell exactly the story I had in my head.
What's Next? Well as of writing this post I am for the first time in years actually genuinely starting to feel better, I have been lucky enough to work with a Lyme's Specialist in Wisconsin who has helped to make sure that I am taking not only the right antibiotics but also supplements and vitamins to keep my body happy. My goal is to be back in racing condition for the 21' season and I am thinking maybe to prove to myself that I am healthy again I need to do something absolutely grueling and out of my wheelhouse like the BC Bike Race, but we'll see!
Finally, I would really just like to thank everyone that helped make this project a reality. It takes a lot of people and a lot of passion to bring a project like this to life so thank you all so much for the help. It really does mean the world to me (and Velzy ^^).
To learn more about Lyme's and how to prevent it please visit
https://www.lymedisease.org/
www.counterpunch.org/2019/05/17/where-lyme-disease-came-from-and-why-it-eludes-treatment
Hopefully you reach your physical goals for next year and can join the rest of the racers when racing (hopefully) gets back to some kind of normality.
I'm in post Lyme mode now. Months of painful brain fog and incredible fatigue. Starting to finally see light at end of the tunnel, I hope. There have been a few false dawns which is big part of the stress, "Lyme stress". Is very lonely and isolating illness, you can feel pretty good sometimes and appear normal but you fall back into a low period pretty quick.
The short term memory loss is the worst part, having to write everything down, not knowing anyone's names, walking to the kitchen and forgetting why you are there.
The bouts of fatigue definitely come next.
The wondering what it feel like to be "normal", not have the fatigue, aching joints every so often, the short term memory loss.
I only have very mild symptoms compared to others who cant go out by themselves.
Best thing is when you head out and have an amazing run or an amazing few days of months without fatigue etc. you feel a million dollars.
The real danger with Lyme disease is not starting the treatment fast enough. The initial symptoms are not all that bad (similar to a mild flu) and one might very well say "I'm not going to go to the doctor just for a flu", especially in you didn't find a tick or the erythema migrans (another clear indicator of Lyme disease) on yourself. Then if you don't take action it becomes much harder to cure/heal from it in the months/years later.
I only found a total of 3 ticks on myself over those past 5-6 years. It's not much, considering I ride/hike several times per week all year long.
The latest one that I found on myself was in April this year, after coming home from clearing dead leaves/doing Spring maintenance off a trail. Yes, they can appear as early as that. Leaves had not even started to grow on the trees, but just the fact that the ground was clear of snow and unfrozen was enough for those little pests to be active.
The treacherous thing about ticks is that you can inspect yourself after every hike/ride for years and not find a single tick. Then, you may let your guard up and shortly after, you catch a tick!
I can't stress enough how important it is for anyone who does outdoor activities to take a shower and inspect their body COMPLETELY (every crack, every location) after each hike/ride/outdoor activity FOREVER from now on. My personal tip : From March to December, make it part of your mental checklist every time you return from the forest or from the fields. No excuse, no "I'm going to check later". Clean and check yourself (and your kids, girlfriend, pets, etc). Period.
Even if you are wearing long sleeves, knee pads or whatever else, they may get under your clothes. 2 out of the 3 ticks that I found on myself were at places that were covered by clothes.
It's not something that will stop next year or in 5 years or even in 20 years. Ticks are here to stay, and with the growing population of whitetail deer in our area, they just become more and more spread.
Another concern for me is tourists/athletes coming from abroad and not knowing about Lyme Disease. The EWS were planning for a race in Burke, VT this year : a prime spot for ticks. The event got cancelled because of COVID-19 but I'm curious if they would have warned all the athletes about the danger of ticks (and told them it's a very serious matter) : I certainly hope so...
Who knows how many thousands of people have got Lymes and some will have died because of it. Thanks anti-vaxers...
A friend caught this and was lucky to live; he spent weeks in intensive care and then months in a rehab hospital.
My doctor decided to try me on Disulfiram and it’s been amazing! Might be worthwhile looking into for you
Damn scary though... Luck is all you have to fight those little f*cks with.
This gives all the cray crays a chance to strike. Along with "chronic mono."
There is nothing I could possibly add to what has already been said. Heck, this is one of the very few stories where I actually read every reply.
We all take risks, starting from the instant the bike is in or on the car. Where I am...well, drunks, snakes, alligators, large pigs, cliffs, trees and on and on and on....while we take our precautions, if I die on the bike (any bike). I am good with that - just let it be FAST. As for those with Lyme....many, I do not envy any part of that.
valneva.com/press-release/valneva-announces-positive-initial-results-for-phase-2-study-of-lyme-disease-vaccine-candidate
If it comes to market and proves effective, will be a must-have for most riders and/or those who spend a lot of time in the woods.
Apparently fighting the Lyme disease involve protecting Foxes, as they are the natural predator of rats, where ticks go and spread the virus.
And ticks gonna become more present with global warming...
LOOK INTO IT
(just in case, yes, this is sarcasm making fun of JRE)
www.counterpunch.org/2019/05/17/where-lyme-disease-came-from-and-why-it-eludes-treatment
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcJjhsd2bFA
barlowherbal.com
Oddly, no one can dispute the similarities of the virtue signaling, the SJW's and the labels being almost identical to that of the 1930's Germany. History oddly does repeat itself (especially when folks do not learn from it).
On a good note, I did actually watch, in person as about two dozen C19 vaccines were documented to be distributed to "healthcare professionals" and then see it go right down the drain. Oddly, of all the vaccines only C19 requires for a crash cart and full medical staff to be on hand during the administering of the first (and second) doses.....
Are you f*cking kiddin' me?!? OMG! Literally, Oh My God! This is so much bullshit in so many levels, it's literally funny. Welcome to 2021! Maybe you'll be enlightened! Galileo was a true scientist back in the day when religious freaks shove crap down everyone's throats regardless of how wrong they were. These dumb religious freaks don't have any scientific knowledge but used fear to govern people.
In terms of what you saw, maybe they're handled by people of incompetence. You can't say 99% or even 80% of the health and medical professionals are incompetent. It's only the US administration leadership that was and still is incompetent. Less than a month before that incompetence goes away and before that happens. Most sane people know all hell's gonna break loose before things starts to get better!
Should we go hog wild with pesticides? No. Should we try something to kill the mouse and tick population in areas, yes. Should we burn more areas, yes. But do something. I was on the brink of jumping off a cliff. It’s a serious issue that can either have minor to severe impacts on daily life.