Camp's LYME Walk for ILC (Beauty From Ashes 2023)

Walking in Faith....Hope....Love.

God will make "beauty from the ashes" of whatever fire you may be walking through.  HE will either heal you or grow you.

Myself (Stephanie) and my husband, Clint, are walking to support Indiana Lyme Connect and to promote public awareness of Lyme and other tick-borne illness.  Please consider a monetary donation and/or prayer.   Visit their website if you would like to learn more about Lyme disease and prevention, https://www.indianalymeconnect.org/

My (Stephanie's) battle with Lyme started during the summer of 1991 when I developed a sudden onset of symptoms that lingered for well over a decade until I was finally diagnosed and "treated" for Lyme disease in 2003.

My health took a rather abrupt and unexpected turn again in 2018.  I have been in treatment since then for multiple tick-borne infections, including Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi), Borrelia miyamotoi, Babesia, Bartonella, and mycoplasma, reactivated Epstein Barr Virus, along with IGG1 subclass immune deficiency...and most recently a mast cell disorder in recent months.  Treatment has been an ongoing process...a roller coaster...full of progress and then setbacks over the last few years. 

I know firsthand what it feels like to "look fine" on the outside while your body is fighting a war on the inside.  Putting on the "mask" is often how I cope and is a manner of survival at times, but I also want to do my part to bring the awareness that chronic illnesses deserve. These illnesses have affected me on so many levels....physically, emotionally, mentally, neurologically, and spiritually.  

Tickborne illness has impacted our entire family in different aspects...not only has Clint and the kids supported and been there for me, but Clint and Brendan (our son) have also tested positive for some of the same tickborne illnesses.

But with patient endurance and supportive friends/family, I have pushed through knowing it is in the hands of our Ultimate Healer and remain hopeful for recovery. I am trying to be more transparent with my own battle in an effort to be a light to others. God's not done with YOU (...or with us).

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.  2 Corinthians 4:16‭-‬18 NLT