My Story

The beginning of my personal Lyme journey

My personal journey with Lyme Disease starts in 2003, on a beautiful sunny day in Chesapeake, Virginia.

I had just bought a purple and grey 10-speed bike with my husband of two years, David.  Wheeling it outside of the bicycle shop, I couldn’t wait to swing my right leg over the cross bar and start pedaling.

Feet in place, I was ready.  But then I realized.  My legs wouldn’t move.

More puzzled than concerned, I just took my bike home.

Little did I know at the time that my life had changed.

The symptoms had started.

My Name is Martha Conan

This is not about me being sick.

I wrote a book about my life with Lyme Disease.

I titled it “They Didn’t Know” because for 11 years, I received misdiagnosis after misdiagnosis.

Every time I sought medical help, I felt further from the truth.  Confused.  Frustrated. Angry.  Hopeless.

This is about hopefully helping you connect the dots better, faster.  With less frustration.

This is me hoping that my life-changing experiences help you feel less alone.

They Didn’t Know

After that fateful day in 2002 at the bike shop, my life was punctuated with one mysterious symptom after another.

Constant pain.  My body failing me in more, soul-crushing ways.

An active runner, skier and gym rat for years, I suddenly had trouble with basic motor skills.  I was falling.  Tripping.  How was it that I was turning into such a klutz?

Then I started to lose memory.  The brain fog started to scare me deeply.

For 11 years, I was diagnosed with one neurological issue after another.  Bursitis.  Bulging disks.  Spinal stenosis. Epstein Barre.

My life was spinning out of control.  Who could I believe when the story kept changing?

I learned to question the medical community.

It became more and more discouraging and obvious with each symptom:  they didn’t know.

I read.  Asked questions.  Dug into the details.  I considered myself a health-conscious person before this.  What was my body trying to tell me?

And then one day, the answer revealed itself.

This is Lyme Disease.

But no one believed me.   From passive dismissal to professional arrogance, my self-diagnosis was met with skepticism from medical professionals.

Until I found a doctor who listened and saw the whole picture.