Endurance wiz faces daunting road to recovery
Excerpted from Duluth News Tribune ( Posted: 09/26/2012)
A high pain tolerance is often an asset for athletes, yet Dusty Olson of Duluth found himself in rough shape after pushing through various phases of Lyme disease the past two years.
Debilitating fatigue, high body temperatures, arthritic aches and pains and numbing headaches finally had Olson seeking help. One of the Northland’s tougher endurance athletes, as a runner and Nordic skier, met with specialist Dr. Karen Vrchota of Integrative Health Care in Winona, Minn.
He received a diagnosis of Lyme arthritis, monoeuritis multiplex, Lyme encephalopathy and babesiosis on Sept. 11.
“I found out that being able to deal with a lot of pain wasn’t to my benefit,” Olson, 39, said Tuesday. “My very first symptoms were flu-like, and then I was told I had Lyme disease, and, after taking antibiotics, I thought it was out of my system. It wasn’t and I just kept going. It turned out to be pretty nasty stuff.”
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