Tick Boot Camp

Episode 201: Transitioning with Lyme - an interview with Sam Lesch

Accepting the responsibility of a chronic illness renders transitioning to adulthood more challenging

5 years ago

Sam Lesch is a 20-year-old student originally from Auburn, New York currently residing in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Her Lyme disease journey began during her senior year of high school when she suffered migrating symptoms that included the loss of the use of her right leg, the use of her hand and fingers, brain fog, fatigue, and facial drops.

Although suffering from classic migrating Lyme disease symptoms, the confirmation of her family’s suspicion that she was suffering from Lyme was delayed due to the failure of the standard Western Blot testing. Ms. Lesch tested negative for Lyme on 4 separate LabCorp Western Blot tests. Finally, a family friend recommended a superior DNA ConneXions (Tick Boot Camp Podcast episode 168) urine test and her diagnosis of Lyme disease and co-infections was confirmed.

After her diagnosis, Ms. Lesch’s parents and siblings studied Lyme through course work and built a team of medical professionals to treat her disease. The treatment team included a kinesiologist and an out-of-state Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD).

Ms. Lesch’s age and illness forced her to rely on her family and medical team to establish a treatment plan that included 5 antibiotics, probiotics, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, IV Meyers’ Cocktail, yoga, and glutathione. Her treatment protocol was so rigorous that she began to feel what she called “pill fatigue.”

If you would like to learn more about how a young woman on the cusp of adulthood refused to allow Lyme disease to prevent her from transitioning to college and independence, then tune in now!

Tick Boot Camp is a Lyme disease and tick-borne illness podcast featuring interviews with leading doctors, researchers, scientists, patients, advocates, and experts. Explore Lyme disease symptoms, testing, diagnosis, treatment, recovery, chronic Lyme disease, coinfections, PANS/PANDAS, MCAS, neurological symptoms, emerging research, and the latest advances in tick-borne disease care. Through expert education and powerful patient stories, Tick Boot Camp provides hope, validation, practical information, and a community for people navigating Lyme disease and complex chronic illness.