From Top Athlete to Lyme Warrior: Brooke’s Story
Hello, fellow Lymies! My name is Brooke Bowman, and I am a Lyme disease survivor from Hoyleton, Illinois. My journey with tick-borne illness started at 14, when I found a tick attached to the back of my neck at school. Due to my naivety about Lyme and its dangers, I pulled it off and didn’t bother telling my parents. It never occurred to me that in Southern Illinois, far away from where we traditionally think of Lyme in the Northeast, I would contract a disease that would change the trajectory of my life. But a few weeks later, I started to experience flu-like symptoms following knee surgery.
These symptoms came and went for two years, during which time, I became a Division I-recruited basketball player and started high school. Despite working out every day and being at the top of my game, I noticed I couldn’t practice as long as my teammates could, and I had frequent episodes of temporary blindness and ringing in my ears while playing basketball. My life as I knew it came to an abrupt halt on my 16th birthday, when I was too tired to get up and too dizzy to walk down the stairs.
I do not know what triggered the sudden onset of symptoms, but after months of persistent issues, it became apparent that basketball was no longer an option, and homeschooling was the only way to graduate high school. I taught myself from home for 2.5 years, receiving my homework from teachers who did not understand why I couldn’t come to school. During this time, I was also diagnosed with Lyme disease after months of searching for answers at countless doctors and specialists who brushed off my symptoms as “hormones” and “depression.”
However, I knew myself better than they ever could; I knew the person I had been before this disease when I had played the sport I loved and went to school with my friends. Therefore, I knew what they were saying did not make sense. Something pathological was at play, and my family and I eventually found doctors who acknowledged this. A year after being diagnosed, my mom and I went to Germany to receive a stem cell treatment that ultimately saved my life. It has allowed me to go to college where I am studying biology and anthropology to become a physician-scientist. Maybe someday I can help other people with Lyme, so they feel like they have an advocate instead of an adversary in the medical field.
Many people helped me on this journey, including my parents, friends, some doctors, and complete strangers. Despite the hardships my family and I went through because of Lyme, I learned many lessons about the importance of self-care and doing things on my own timeline instead of a schedule set by other people or by society. After graduating from high school as valedictorian of my class, I took a year off from school to recover and learn how to be a normal adult. I cooked nutritious recipes and did the laundry, and I tried to exercise every day to give myself a sense of accomplishment. I also dabbled in meditation, which helped me develop an inner sense of peace and calm the anxiety that had been raging since middle school.
Additionally, I decided to register through the Disabilities Office at my university to get permission to live in an off-campus apartment because I needed to live in an environment where I could cook for myself and sleep when necessary. As a result, I have been able to thrive at university and fulfill my dream of getting a college education.
My piece of advice to all who are reading this is to never give up. That may seem like a tall order, especially when facing a world that does not understand what you’re going through, but you can do it! You can survive and thrive with Lyme, and I wish you the best in your battle with this illness.
