A Note From LymeBrave Founder: I want to genuinely thank everyone who has been commenting on and sharing our posts for our 2018 Lyme Awareness Month campaign, as well as our contributors who have been sharing their unfiltered personal accounts with Lyme disease. I truly believe that stories can save lives because hearing patient stories once saved mine. Knowing not just how the symptoms of this disease harms the body but how the emotional toll taxes the mind and spirit is a vital component of awareness because this is an illness that turns lives upside down. That's the crux of the LymeBrave mission: bringing to light the emotional toll of Lyme disease with hope and healing in mind. Part of healing is knowing when something becomes too much. This disease is marked by limitations--what we once could do easily and without repercussions now has to be altered as we adapt to a new life of taking care of ourselves. I'll be the first to admit that this isn't easy. For years I fought against those physical limitations--and while I do believe that pushing myself is what has helped me to heal, recognizing when to rest has been just as important to the process. A few years ago, I pushed myself to the point of relapse. I was burned out, I was weary, I was sick. I had little coping mechanisms left. Something had to give before my body and mental state gave way. I knew that taking care of myself then would better enable me to take care of others later. It was a difficult decision to make, especially as it meant letting go of certain areas of my life. But it was necessary, and that rest led to recovery, which opened the door for opportunities such as LymeBrave. I'm at a point now where I have to make a similar decision (although on a smaller scale). We are a newly launched non-profit and a very small team wherein two of us are still battling this illness. While we remain dedicated to bringing hope for healing and providing awareness about the low-quality of life associated with Lyme disease, slow and steady has become our new mantra. We are still working on continuing to build our support programs such as our patient and caregiver portals (available on our website) and our upcoming mentorship program, as well as launching a new store with LymeBrave merchandise this summer. But to do so we need to refuel and fill that empty cup back up. With only a short while left in May's Lyme Awareness Month, we are suspending our campaign in order to rest and refocus. Not to worry--we'll continue posting these entries throughout the summer and we'll keep sharing words of hope and healing and relevant news. Want to contribute to our blog? We'd love to hear from you. Shoot us an email at info@lymebravefoundation.org Thanks to everyone for their support of our mission and to all of you who have shared your own stories of life with Lyme disease. We take a look around social media and couldn't be more proud of this Lyme community for all of the outreach and education that is happening. We'll be back soon...recharged and ready to continue the fight! Lots of love for positive healing, Susan