http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20130607%2FGJNEWS_01%2F130609406%2F-1%2FFOSNEWS
Local woman seeks help fighting for life against Lyme disease
By Liz Markhlevskaya
lmark@fosters.com |
Friday, June 7, 2013
|
SOMERSWORTH — A city woman's dreams of becoming a special-education teacher have been put on hold, as she fights for her life against the neurological effects of Lyme disease.
Through her fundraising website, LifeNotLyme.org, Abby Houde, of Somersworth, hopes community members can help her pay for treatment, for herself and for others battling the disease.
Houde, 29, has struggled with health issues as far back as she could remember, whether it was asthma, sinus infections, or pneumonia. In high school, she did much of her schoolwork at home, and while she missed too many school days necessary for graduation, the state of Maine let her graduate anyway — after all, Seacoast Christian School in South Berwick, Maine, needed someone to make the valedictorian speech, she said.
While attending Gordon College in Beverly, Mass., Houde was working on three majors, hoping to become a special-education teacher. However, due to illness, Houde had to stop attending the college.
At the age of 26, she was diagnosed with Celiac disease. Last summer, a month before her wedding to her husband Lionel Houde, she was diagnosed with Lyme. Houde suspects she has had Lyme disease since she was 9 years old, when she was bitten by a tick. While getting a diagnosis felt like a relief, the daily symptoms of the disease, and the required cost of treatment, is a painful reality.
In addition to having problems with loss of memory, Houde has lost her upper vision, due to not enough blood flow to the front of her brain. Houde also struggles with seizure-like symptoms, due to the presence of Lyme in her central nervous system. Houde, who used to run three miles a day, is now using a wheelchair to move about.
“It's hard on the ego, you have to get help getting everywhere,” she said.
The worst part of having Lyme, though, is the feeling of loneliness, said Houde.
“I feel isolated, I feel alone,” she said. “A lot of people don't understand, because they say you look good ... they tell you it's all in your head, they tell you it's psychological problems.”
Houde said much of the treatment that can save her life will likely not be covered by insurance. She estimates that if it's a short treatment, it will last a year, and will come with about $84,000 in out-of-pocket costs.
This spring, Houde created a website, LifeNotLyme.org, to raise funds for her treatment, and to help others fighting Lyme disease.
After Houde raises the $84,000 needed for her treatment, she will use extra funds for others battling the disease. “What keeps me going is that website, and knowing that once I get better, that I can help other people that have this disease, and I can help them feel less lonely,” said Houde. “All I need is 8,400 people donating 10 bucks.”
So far, the website has raised more than $13,500 toward Houde's treatment.
“I'm totally blown away,” said Houde, who said she has seen “total strangers reaching out to me, saying, 'Hey, I went through it,' or 'my brother went through it.'”
She added that her family members, and husband Lionel, whom she married last summer, have been extremely supportive through her battle with Lyme.
Houde's advice to others fighting Lyme disease is this: “Don't give up.”
“Just remember you've got people (there) for you,” she said.
Houde said several people have already asked for help through Life Not Lyme, and after the $84,000 is raised through her website, the raised funds will go to help others on Houde's list.
“There are people on this list who really just want to get a diagnosis,” said Houde.
For Houde, who used to be a shy person in her younger years, fighting Lyme disease has helped change her perspective on the world, and the way she wants to live.
“I want to live now, I really do,” she said. “I want to try everything that I can. I want to see the world, I want to help human beings like I can ... I don't want to live in a shell anymore. You don't get a lot of time.”
Through her fundraising website, LifeNotLyme.org, Abby Houde, of Somersworth, hopes community members can help her pay for treatment, for herself and for others battling the disease.
Houde, 29, has struggled with health issues as far back as she could remember, whether it was asthma, sinus infections, or pneumonia. In high school, she did much of her schoolwork at home, and while she missed too many school days necessary for graduation, the state of Maine let her graduate anyway — after all, Seacoast Christian School in South Berwick, Maine, needed someone to make the valedictorian speech, she said.
While attending Gordon College in Beverly, Mass., Houde was working on three majors, hoping to become a special-education teacher. However, due to illness, Houde had to stop attending the college.
At the age of 26, she was diagnosed with Celiac disease. Last summer, a month before her wedding to her husband Lionel Houde, she was diagnosed with Lyme. Houde suspects she has had Lyme disease since she was 9 years old, when she was bitten by a tick. While getting a diagnosis felt like a relief, the daily symptoms of the disease, and the required cost of treatment, is a painful reality.
In addition to having problems with loss of memory, Houde has lost her upper vision, due to not enough blood flow to the front of her brain. Houde also struggles with seizure-like symptoms, due to the presence of Lyme in her central nervous system. Houde, who used to run three miles a day, is now using a wheelchair to move about.
“It's hard on the ego, you have to get help getting everywhere,” she said.
Abigail Houde battles severe Lyme disease from her bed at her Somersworth home.
(John Huff/Staff photographer) |
“I feel isolated, I feel alone,” she said. “A lot of people don't understand, because they say you look good ... they tell you it's all in your head, they tell you it's psychological problems.”
Houde said much of the treatment that can save her life will likely not be covered by insurance. She estimates that if it's a short treatment, it will last a year, and will come with about $84,000 in out-of-pocket costs.
This spring, Houde created a website, LifeNotLyme.org, to raise funds for her treatment, and to help others fighting Lyme disease.
After Houde raises the $84,000 needed for her treatment, she will use extra funds for others battling the disease. “What keeps me going is that website, and knowing that once I get better, that I can help other people that have this disease, and I can help them feel less lonely,” said Houde. “All I need is 8,400 people donating 10 bucks.”
So far, the website has raised more than $13,500 toward Houde's treatment.
“I'm totally blown away,” said Houde, who said she has seen “total strangers reaching out to me, saying, 'Hey, I went through it,' or 'my brother went through it.'”
She added that her family members, and husband Lionel, whom she married last summer, have been extremely supportive through her battle with Lyme.
Houde's advice to others fighting Lyme disease is this: “Don't give up.”
“Just remember you've got people (there) for you,” she said.
Houde said several people have already asked for help through Life Not Lyme, and after the $84,000 is raised through her website, the raised funds will go to help others on Houde's list.
“There are people on this list who really just want to get a diagnosis,” said Houde.
For Houde, who used to be a shy person in her younger years, fighting Lyme disease has helped change her perspective on the world, and the way she wants to live.
“I want to live now, I really do,” she said. “I want to try everything that I can. I want to see the world, I want to help human beings like I can ... I don't want to live in a shell anymore. You don't get a lot of time.”
