Episode 236: Healing Without Borders - an interview with Laura Arnal
Ms. Arnal found affordable medicine and doctors that were able to help her recover from multiple tick-borne illnesses across two continents and four countries
Laura Arnal is a 47-year-old Lyme disease health coach, author, patient advocate, and co-founder of the PREFACE group (Patient Resource Facilitator Europe). She is the author of the French language book titled “I Overcome Lyme Disease” (J’ai sumonte la Maladie de Lyme - Editions Odile Jacob).
Ms. Arnal was born, raised, and educated in France. In 2009, she, her husband, and their 3 children moved to Germany “to discover another culture.” Shortly after the move to Germany, the Arnal family “decided to take a trip from New York to Boston with an RV. An extraordinary adventure for Europeans!”
During the tour of the northeastern US, they “visited friends living at Yale” University, located near Lyme, Connecticut. The day after spending an afternoon in the friends’ Connecticut garden, Ms. Arnal felt “strange and tired.” She initially attributed the symptoms to “jet lag” and when the symptoms persisted for several days and then weeks, she concluded she “caught a virus” on the flight from Europe.
Ms. Arnal’s health steadily declined for 5 years resulting in visits to 69 doctors in 3 countries before she was diagnosed with Lyme disease by a German Internist. “This doctor made this diagnosis by my detailed medical history …[and] by listening precisely to my symptoms.”
After securing a diagnosis, Ms. Arnal joined several Lyme disease social media groups to seek advice about how to find a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD). After building and sorting the list of social recommended LLMDs, she treated with the famous Lyme pioneer Dr. Daniel Cameron (Tick Boot Camp Podcast episode 233).
If you would like to learn more about how a French patriot living in Germany crossed international borders in 2 continents to heal from Lyme disease, then tune in now!