I talk a lot about my Lyme. I talk a lot about Lyme in general. But there is one thing that I have always kept kind of quiet about, and that is the idea that Lyme is a “trendy disease.”
I first heard this idea around the time that Yolanda Hadid came out with her, and her children’s, Lyme story. Since then, multiple other celebrities have announced that they have Lyme—some even announced that that’s why they have disappeared from the spotlight for long periods of time. And every time a new story like that comes out, the comments are flooded with the idea that Lyme is a “trendy disease” and that’s why so many people “suddenly have it.” I even read a post once that went as far as to say that people were going to start saying they had Lyme just to have what the famous people have. I wish I still had a screenshot of the post; I took a screenshot with the intentions of blogging about it but must have deleted it. But just believe me when I tell you how ridiculous it was. The idea that someone would think that a disease—any disease—would be “trendy” is insane and beyond my understanding.
But it also makes me wonder, do people really think that? Does anyone in my life think that? Does anyone I know think that having Lyme is just the cool thing to do these days? Especially where I live, a lot of people have it. A lot of people I know were diagnosed before me, and I know of a few who were diagnosed after me, too. But does anyone really think—could anyone really think—that someone would say they have Lyme just to say it? Just to fit in with the cool kids?
Well, if you were ever on the fence about whether Lyme was trendy, let me help you hopefully make a decision one way or another.
Waiting years for a diagnosis while being told you’re crazy is not trendy.
Giving up, or putting a hold on, your life plan is not trendy.
Watching everyone succeed around you while you’re sitting still is not trendy.
Not knowing what you’re going to wake up to the next day is not trendy.
Having to swallow more pills than you can fit in the palm of your hand is not trendy.
A tube in your chest is not trendy.
Being afraid to go to sleep for fear of not waking up is not trendy.
Being covered in scars is not trendy.
Losing your friends, your relationships, and your hope for new ones, is not trendy.
The guilt of needing help—physically, monetarily, emotionally—is not trendy.
Relentless pain is not trendy.
Being. Sick. Is. Not. Trendy.
End of story.
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