Fifteen Minutes of Delusion

Twenty years ago today, Kara and I were married in the LDS Temple in Laie, Hawaii. Happy Anniversary!

I grew up in La'ie, a small town on the island of O'ahu in Hawaii. La'ie is home to BYU-Hawaii, sister campus to BYU in Utah, and this is one reason the populations of the two places are very interconnected. In fact, I think there are more of my friends from Hawaii living in Utah than there are still in Hawaii. Whenever I visit family in Utah, I invariably run into people I knew in Hawaii, and we spend time catching up and talking about mutual friends. The conversation usually ends with, "We should try and get everyone together some time." Well, this trip I decided to make it 'some time' and organize a get-together. We planned for an evening at the park, but the weather was not in a cooperative state, so we moved to a nearby church building. My sisters and I, along with our families, got the cultural hall in the church set up by five, and then waited. Three other people showed up. I was a little disappointed in the turnout, as we had almost 100 people mark...

Each year, our school district does the Jumpin' Jamboree, a Special Olympics kind of event that Alyssa loves to attend. Here she is with her high school student mentor. And the big parade. Alyssa even had her own cheering section. These kids gave up a special activity at the school to come and cheer for Alyssa. She has a lot of fun every year.

Kara here -- attempting to fill in for Don and give a brief update on our family. It is has been very busy here the last few weeks. Don has been working extra hours on a new project of sorts. He is a "Census Man." So far, he seems to enjoy this new adventure. The people have been nice and to date, has only been bitten by one dog. Well, his pants were bitten, not him. Thank goodness! I have also been keeping busy this month teaching others about Lyme Disease. I think the one thing I'd like my family and friends to understand about lyme and tick borne infections is they are real. They can change a person's life almost overnight. It could just as easily happen to you as it did me. Everyone is at risk. Visit LearnAboutLyme.com and California Lyme Disease Association to learn about Lyme today. Anna had a band competition about two weeks ago. They got all 1's and runner-up to "Best in Class." Then, yesterday she performed a solo at the Solo and Ensemble Co...

With May being Lyme Disease Awareness Month, I want to share my “story” in hopes that someone will benefit from it – either by letting you know you are not alone or by helping you or someone you love receive a correct diagnosis. I have divided it into chapters so if you need to take a break, you can easily find where you left off. Truthfully, this is only a small snapshot of what I went through.    Chapter 1: The Beginning Up until 1999, I was an active, busy young woman. I was happily married and had a beautiful daughter and another baby on th e wa y. I loved being a mother. I also liked gardening, enjoyed nature and had fun inventing new recipes in the kitchen. Italian food was my favorite thing to make and, above all, eat! Well, that and sushi.   In December 1998 while I was pregnant with daughter #2, I caught some kind of virus or bacterial infection that was going around which turned into bronchitis. I went on antibiotics for it and afterward, never reall...

The last couple of weeks, I've been in the process of writing "my story" in preparation for May which is Lyme Disease Awareness Month. These many trips down memory lane have brought back both warm memories and painful ones. Today, I'd like to share with you some warm memories -- those when I was flown as a patient by Angel Flight. Angel Flight is a nationwide service organization that provides non-emergency medical transportation in private aircraft. The pilots donate their time and aircraft to fly patients in need. During one chapter of my "healing adventure" I was being treated by a doctor at a specialty clinic in Dallas, TX. I was on TPN (total parenteral nutrition or IV nutrition). I needed to stay fairly close to the clinic so they could adjust my IV depending on lab results and how I was feeling. At the time, our family was living in Utah. It was very difficult being separated from them during such a stressful time. Traveling was very hard on me at the...

As you know, myself, Don, Anna and Alyssa have chronic Lyme Disease . This disease is a very misunderstood, misdiagnosed and overlooked illness. In 2008, 35,198 cases were reported to the CDC ( Center for Dise ase Control ). Actual new cases are conservatively estimated at 422,000. You can get Lyme in any state -- west coast, east coast, north, south and every state in between. It is everywhere. Ticks know no boundaries. Lyme is also found in many countries. It is on every continent except Antarctica . It is the fastest growing infectious disease in North America . There are more new cases of Lyme disease each year than there are of HIV , West Nile , Swine Flu , and Avian Flu combined. My friend, Ashley, over at Lymenaide , has started a project to create a Nationwide Awareness Campaign for Lyme disease. Her brother, is filming a Public Service Announcement! I am so excited about it! It is time to get the word out about Lyme Disease. Knowledge is power and a vital part of getting...