5 kinds of friends.

There are five kinds of friends you need in your life when you have Lyme.

1. The listener: This is one so important. You need someone who will literally just listen. Not tell you what to do. Not suggest things that their mom's brother's mailman's sister's friend's teacher's dog did once. Not tell you that they know someone who died from Lyme. Not tell you that you're wrong. Just listen. You have enough doctors telling you what to do. You have enough people doubting you. You have enough questions being asked of you. You just need someone to listen. And it's a bonus if you're comfortable enough to cry in front of them. A friend who you can trust enough to cry in front of is a an invaluable treasure.
2. The couch sitting friend: This one is also amazing. This is the friend that invites you over to their house/lets you invite yourself over to their house/accepts it when you just walk into their house and will just sit on the couch with you because they know you can't do anything else. This friend doesn't push you past what your body is able to do. This friend doesn't try to make you keep up with everyone else. This friend accepts where you are right now instead of trying to take you to where you "should" be. This friend deserves all the couch sitting snacks.
3. The investigator: This is the friend that helps you find things that will actually help you. They do research for you. They find legitimate suggestions for you--not crazy things they've just heard of, not just quick fixes--real things that they want for you because they think they will make you better, and that's what they want for you more than anything.
4. The friend that makes you laugh: This is the friend that shows up when you least expect it and makes you laugh when you didn't even know you needed it.
5. The all of the above: This is the friend that you thought of when you read through this post and realized that they fit into all of these categories. This is the friend that is such a precious part of your recovery that you can't imagine doing it without them. This friend may have been around for years or they may be a new friend. They may be your age, they may be a younger friend that you've taken under your wing, or they may be an older one that has taken you under their's. No matter who they are, where they came from, or how you became friends, they are such a vital part of your healing.

If you have any of these friends in your life, tell them thank you. Tell them thank you for helping you through the hardest time in your life. Tell them thank you for helping you through something that feels absolutely impossible. Tell them thank you for helping you when even your own body is fighting you. Tell them thank you for helping you survive.

Tell them thank you right now.

...Thank you!