Maine woman conquers Lyme disease, NYC marathon
Excerpted from WCSH6.com ( Posted: 11/24/2010 )
NEW YORK (NEWS CENTER) — Just three years ago, Angela Coulombe of Saco couldn’t dress herself, walk up a flight of stairs, or get out of bed without assistance. She had contracted Lyme disease, causing severe fatigue and pain in her joints and muscles.
Angela says an infectious disease specialist prescribed three weeks of antibiotics and refused to extend treatment when she did not recover. “And he basically said to me… ‘We all have aches and pains and what you’re experiencing right now has nothing to do with Lyme. It’s simply old age and arthritis.'”
Angela was just 40 years old at the time and as a life-long athlete, she says she knew there was much more to it. “You kind of know your body and you know the difference between a muscle ache, a strain, a pull, and something that’s really serious.”
So Angela found a new doctor who started her on a regimen of antibiotics and Chinese herbs. Her recovery was painstakingly slow. It took about two years for her to return to her active lifestyle. But when she did, she decided she wanted to send a message to the world by running in the New York City Marathon.
On November 7, Angela joined some 45,000 runners on the marathon course, each with his or her own personal reason for being there. For Angela, it was a chance to prove to the medical world that Lyme disease is real and that proper treatment sometimes requires more than just a few weeks of antibiotics. It was also a chance for her to send a message to Lyme sufferers that there is hope.
For the complete article: http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=137754
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