New Bigger Bed

Some of my posts have been delayed by the whole 20/20 experience along with the gall bladder problems all at once in the past few weeks. However I did want to follow up one of my earlier posts. I was looking for a bigger bed to fit my mom on it with me and give me more space to spend the long terrible sick days in. We found a beautiful mattress box spring and frame set from a college student for $300  a few weeks ago, and picked it up with the help of my boyfriend and his dad's truck. Then we ended up selling the adjustable bed and making back $200 to ease the financial burden. Now I've just been looking for 400-500 thread count sheets so I can really enjoy the experience of having a bigger bed and spending 3/4 of my time in it. When the news crew contacted me I had just finished setting up the bed and getting my room all clean and gorgeous. Today I just packed up some random cluttering items and my old sheets and bed skirt into a tub and slid it under my nice new storage space. The smile it brought to be able to put stuff under my bed made me want to post and update everyone on that situation. I get my surgery tomorrow Morning on my gall bladder at 7:30 AM and I will be able to recover in the nice big bed for the next few weeks.

Review of 20/20

When the show began you could hear a pin drop, but the minute my face came across the screen for a small advertisement at the beginning, I was squealing and so thrilled to see myself on TV. Anybody would be. However I was nervous that the editors may try to make it look like I was crazy, healthy, and needed to be off of medicine. They didn't do that. The show was a gracious 10 minutes of me time and it opened many eyes, connecting foreign accent syndrome with Lyme Disease for the first time and bringing up coinfections on national television. Here is a link for those who did not get to see it:
http://abc.go.com/watch/2020/SH559026/VD55204215/2020-518-medical-mysteries

For the rest, we all agree. The time frame was stressed, an hour would have been nice, but they did a good job covering my story with the time they had. They concentrated a lot on prom and how there was hope for the future instead of my current lacking health, but I appreciate the producers soo much for taking my story on and working with me last minute. Even coming to NH for the entire interview process and fitting it in for two days. It was a blessing to work with them and the film crew, and a bigger one to see the result. Already, five others who thought they were alone have contacted me, saying they had accents too! I am thrilled to open many people's eyes and to connect with people to let them know they are NOT alone. Most of the world is on their side, and I'm an email away!

20/20 Preview for Tonight

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/05/18/teen-blames-russian-accent-violent-seizures-on-lyme-disease/

Here is the link to the preview of the 20/20 special on tonight's show, including my story. Feel free to comment below on this post after the show as well. A link for those who may not be able to see the show but would like to watch it tomorrow:
http://abc.go.com/watch/2020/SH559026

ABC News, 10 pm EST

Hired Camera Crew for 20/20

A crew from Boston called Pulse-Media got to know me fairly well the past few days. They were hired from ABC news to travel to my house and perform the mobile and sit down interviews with their team. I have never felt so at home with cameras in my face and people listening to my every breathe. They were friendly, personable, yet professional, and all around amazing. I recommend them as the best photography and film company I can imagine. We had a good time at the miniature horse farm where they met the animals and we all just hung like best buds. Then they managed to make me comfortable in the sit down interview and even snap some pictures for me! Here's the website if you are interested in viewing:

http://www.pulse-media.com/pulse-media/index.html

20/20 Interviews Wrapped Up

For the past two days I had a national team on my property and in my life to get to know me. They saw my room and watched as I took medicines, wrapped my IV up, prepared for a shower, wrote a new blog entry, visited my miniature horse, ate ice cream, and performed regular activities. Nothing about the experience was regular however. It was surreal having strangers going to and from and putting a microphone on you and following you around. I'm used to just doing my thing pretty quietly but there was nothing quiet about the new visitors. We spent today doing interviews in my grandmothers kitchen 20 minutes away. Jay Schadler and I sat on the couch and talked for close to two hours, three quarters of that being intellectual interview questions. I had the speech problems all day but pressed on to do all that talking and hung in there while my mom and boyfriend were also interviewed. As quickly as they had swarmed in, they packed up and hit the road to track down my Lyme doctor and get an interview with him. Now that they have all the film they need, it is up to the editors to portray it correctly with the information and support we need in the Lyme Disease community. I'm in sweet celebration now for all the stress of it to be over and be able to sit back and watch the rest of the process take place. Maybe this will travel to other interviews in the future, or maybe not. As long as people can get a better perspective on the hell that is considered my life, that is all that matters.

 Interview time!

 Me Getting a Mic on.

Interview camera angle.

Mother's Day and ABC News' 20/20

On Friday I got an email from the 20/20 TV show on ABC news. They are doing a special this upcoming Friday at 10 pm on kids with hard to explain illnesses. They saw my videos that my mom just made public on You tube two weeks ago, and tracked down my blog and decided they wanted my story to be one of three. I feel so honored to show the trouble of Lyme to the country and be a spokesperson in a way for this disease and advocate for other teens suffering with similar problems. After this huge news I attended prom trying to put it in the back of my mind and I spent all Mother's Day cleaning house and eating ice cream. Finally today we got to get some good footage of me in regular day to day activities including at the horse farm with Miracle and on the couch with Mike and even me eating at Dudley's Ice Cream near the mini horses. It was overcast and sprinkled throughout the day but it was still good lighting. Now as they have all gone home I feel like crashing. I'm so tired from two days of stress and forced smiles that I just can't wait to lay in my bed and stare at the wall. Early in the morning I'll be leaving to attend the interview sessions taking place in my Grandparents living room for the morning. Then the crew will meet with my doctor in the afternoon. A long week ahead, but for now rest so I can handle tomorrow's excitement.