Perhaps without meaning to or genuinely thinking about it, Blogger and Health Coach Erika Schlick became a health and wellness influencer. She shares relevant information regarding her Lyme disease, beneficial diets, traveling experiences, and her coaching business through her blog. On the other side of that, we get her Instagram account in which her followers get a more intimate look into her life and her adventures. These venues help Erika Schlick prove Lyme disease does not have to put a stop to your life.
In 2014, Schlick was diagnosed with Lyme disease after several tests, doctor’s appointments, and frustrating dead-end results. However, after finally having her diagnosis, she decided to take a different route than what is typically recommended for patients. “I started treating Lyme and Co-infections in 2014, and slowly, my treatments started to help and bring me out of this darkness I existed in. After 2.5 years, I got to about 60% better but could not pass that point. I decided to get stem cell therapy, using my own stem cells, and that is what magically got me into remission in early 2017.”
Nowadays, Schlick is still in remission and making the most out of her life. As seen by her 85K Instagram followers, she moved houses, built partnerships with well-known brands, and continued to travel the world — as much as the pandemic has allowed her to. She got vaccinated and went on to explore what life had to offer. “Being immunocompromised, I need to be extra careful in our current world. I am so thankful for science to help offer some extra protection in these crazy times and let me live a touch of a more normal life.” Clear proof that a diagnosis does not need to put a stop to your life, and you can keep doing the things you enjoy the most.
A few days ago, this blogger posted from Angel’s Landing, sharing what traveling looks like for a Lyme disease patient in remission two years into a global pandemic. “As many of you know, I spent the last ten years living with Lyme Disease and have major PTSD from being outdoors and bitten by a tick again to be reinfected.” Because she always has her readers in mind, she also shared eight tips to be aware of ticks:
- Assume ticks are everywhere.
- Wear light colors and treat all clothes and shoes with permethrin.
- Wear a skin safe repellent on your body.
- Wear socks over your pants.
- Do not sit on tree stumps or logs.
- Do a tick check as soon as you get home: put your clothes in the dryer and shower immediately.
- If you have the misfortune of finding a tick on your body, save it and send it in for testing to see what you need to be treated for.
- Remember, ticks carry over 20 other awful diseases and Lyme disease.
There are times in which life will throw you a curveball and what matters is how you find the strength to keep going on with your life. Erika Schlick is the perfect example. Eight years ago, life threw her a curveball as she found out she had Lyme disease. Nevertheless, she did not give up. Schlick kept fighting to get healthier, get her disease in remission, and keep going with her life as normal as possible.
