Brandilyn: When I was reinfected with Lyme in 2009, I couldn’t believe it! I gave God a hard talking-to. What are you doing? We’ve been here, done this. And aren’t you worried about your reputation—so many people know you cured me once? What if they doubt you now?

Well first, God informed me that He’d been dealing with the reputation thing since He brought the Israelites out of Egypt, so thank you very much, but He had that under control. Second, I can see now in hindsight that if I hadn’t experienced round number two of Lyme, I wouldn’t have written Over the Edge. As it turned out, six months of antibiotics cured me of that round.

Regarding Janessa, her spiritual journey is similar to mine. When I had Lyme the first time, I learned how to pray the psalms, both as petition and in praise—whether I felt like praising God or not. Most of the time I didn’t. It was a wonderful lesson that has changed me to this day.

Jordyn: Any words of wisdom for doctors/nurses in dealing with patients who have chronic pain/illness?

Brandilyn: Please, please don’t tell them it’s “all in their head” or some form thereof. Just because you can’t diagnose an illness—that doesn’t mean the patient simply wants attention or is a hypochondriac. It’s bad enough facing chronic illness. Worse still to be invalidated by the medical community. And please—educate yourself about Lyme. Admittedly, this is hard to do, because typical education would be in the form of reading published articles in esteemed medical journals. Unfortunately, these articles are based on the old, wrong assumptions about Lyme (or the authors simply ignore other research altogether). Google “lyme wars” to start online research. And—I have to get in that plug—read Over the Edge. It will alert you to the symptoms and issues involved in the Lyme wars—and how those wars came about.

Secondly, I want to talk to you doctors/nurses who do know about Lyme but are afraid to diagnose it. I understand your dilemma. I understand you don’t want to get into a battle between treating a patient long-term as he or she needs and your medical board. The political climate for you regarding Lyme is very bad. But please don’t send that patient away, saying, “I don’t know what’s wrong with you.” At least admit to the patient that he may have Lyme and refer him to an organization that can help find a Lyme doctor. (Googling “find a Lyme literate doctor” is easy.)

Leaving a possible Lyme patient completely in the dark opens him up to extended, further debilitating disease—if he does indeed have Lyme. I’ve seen this happen. I’ve seen Lyme patients lose all quality of life and become bedridden because their doctors didn’t want to admit Lyme, even when those doctors recognized the signs. I’ve even seen doctors refuse to test for Lyme when the patient requested it.

Jordyn: Any final thoughts?

Brandilyn: Good health and blessings to all. ~ Brandilyn

Brandilyn: First, thanks very much for our discussion today. I appreciate the opportunity.

As to your question—I never even considered it. A couple thoughts: One, it’s important that the novel first and foremost be about entertainment, not informing. If the author fails to keep readers turning pages, those readers will stop reading—and never “hear” the message. So when I sat down to write Over the Edge, topmost in my mind was meeting the four-point promise of my Seatbelt Suspense® brand: fast-paced, character-driven suspense with myriad twists and an interwoven thread of faith. Two, once I’ve met my brand promise in Over the Edge, I then have thousands of potential new readers—those in the Lyme community, who will feel validated by the story. So in that case, an issue-based novel only helps in marketing. Further, I’m passionate about the subject, which can only help as I interview in various venues.

Jordyn: Redwood’s Medical Edge focuses on dispelling medical myths that are commonly perpetuated in writing. What do you consider to be the three most popular myths among the lay public concerning Lyme disease? Among medical professionals?

Among medical professionals:

1.  That Lyme disease can always be cured by a two to four week round of antibiotics. In truth, chronic Lyme can take months, even years, to treat with antibiotics.

2. That a patient must display the bulls-eye rash to have Lyme. Many patients never have the rash. Others may have a rash, but it doesn’t look like a bulls-eye.

3. That a negative test result means a patient doesn’t have Lyme. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) says on its web site that Lyme is a clinical diagnosis, meaning that the entire presentation of the patient is taken into account. In addition, tests for Lyme are notoriously unreliable, partly due to faulty criteria for certain tests, and partly due to the nature of the Borrelia (the bacteria that cause Lyme). Borrelia are a very formidable foe. They can hide from the body’s immune system by changing their outer protein coat, for instance. Since tests look for antibodies to the Borrelia, not the bacteria themselves, a true Lyme patient can test negative. Therefore symptoms of a patient can mean more to the Lyme-literate doctor than test results.

Myths among the lay public:

1. That doctors in general, or even specialists like Infectious Disease Specialists, know how to properly test and diagnose Lyme. Wrong—reference above.

2. That Lyme isn’t very widespread. In reality, the CDC has verified Lyme in all 50 states. What’s more, the cases of Lyme reported to and verified by the CDC is estimated to be only one-tenth of the actual number of cases.

3. That you’ll always know if you’ve been bitten by a tick. Nope. Many Lyme patients never knew they were bitten. The most likely stage for a Lyme-infested tick to transmit is during its nymph stage, in which it’s no bigger than the head of a pin. Very hard to spot on a body, especially after it’s half submerged under the skin.

Jordyn: You list several recommendations in the Author’s Note section to improve care for Lyme patients. If you could pick one for nationwide implementation, which do you think would have the most beneficial effect?

Brandilyn: The first step, even before redefining treatment, is to create better testing. Too many patients test negative for Lyme under the CDC criteria, then take years before they find a Lyme-literate doctor to administer more accurate tests, which show positive. Meanwhile, the Borrelia have had time to spread throughout the body systems and burrow deep into body tissue, where they’re hard to eradicate. Lyme patients, therefore, face a double whammy. They’re first told they don’t have Lyme—when, if they’d been allowed to catch the disease early, it in fact is treatable with two to four weeks of antibiotics. Then when they’re finally diagnosed months to years later—when the disease will now take long-term antibiotics—they’re denied the long-term treatment.

Jordyn: Are you a proponent of a Lyme vaccine?