Sunday, May 1, 2011

Lyme Butterflies


One of my oldest friends from High School, Keri, has been struggling with Lyme Disease and a host of other related ailments for the last few years. I haven't been as supportive as I would like to be, struggling with my own challenge of the first few years of Motherhood. But things have taken a turn for Keri, and while I knew she wasn't well, and during our visits over the last few years I could see she was tired, run down, lost weight, I can now see how ill she is. She recently developed shakes and twitches and was diagnosed with dystonia It is so hard to see her afflicted by these involuntary movements of the neck and arms; you can even hear her voice shake a bit. Keri used to work as a naturalist, and had just gotten her teaching credential before her health took a turn for the worst. For the last few years we have visited Natural Bridges together to see the butterflies (above picture was taken there this past November). Gwen loves our visits with Keri since she has such great toys and books, and knows fun songs. Since Keri hasn't been able to work full-time, she has started making jewelry and her product is available on etsy- so here is a shameless plug to check out her etsy shop and support a great woman who is struggling to be well.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

man, ambrosia, that was just heart wrenching. i hope that your friend is able to fight the disease and get better.

Rachel said...

will get my mother's day gift on her etsy site : ) thanks for sharing!

Keri said...

Ambrosia,

Thank you so very much for this post. You made me cry. It's been a rough journey and having your support has been incredible. I love you like a sister and I'm so glad we can be there for each other when we really need it.

Thanks for the shameless plug, I've already got sales and it helps to cover the out of pocket medical expenses I am facing. Thank you to all of Ambrosia's friends who are visiting my shop, it means a lot!

This post came at just the right time seeing as May is Lyme Disease Awareness month. If anyone has any questions please feel free to contact me, I'm happy to talk about it and share. If you prefer reading you can check out my blog at http://kiwikeri.blogspot.com

Thanks everyone.

I love you Brosia!

Pema said...

Hi Keri, I'm Rachel's mom Pam only I'm Pema now. My very close friends, a couple have been devastated by Lyme's disease. I hope you have a support group or if not I'll ask my friend to connect with you. Having had my own health issues I know what it's like just to have someone who isn't tried of hearing about it to listen. Count me in. pemasiera@gmail.com