Something happened to Dana Smith during her
junior year of high school. She had repeated sore
throats and flu-like symptoms. Doctors prescribed
antibiotics and other medicines, but her symptoms
continued. Her knees and back were frequently achy.
She was getting pain in her shoulders along with
headaches, especially in the morning, plus short term
memory loss and increasing fatigue.
Her doctors could find nothing wrong, and began to
blame stress and depression due to her busy schedule.
After all, she was playing varsity field hockey, women’s
lacrosse and track along with memberships in various
clubs and other extra curricular activities. Plus, it was
the year for SATs and the importance of keeping her
grade point average at a level attractive to colleges. Her
parents, while acknowledging her work load, believed
something more serious was wrong. Dana just wasn’t
herself.
“She missed over 30 days of school that year
because of illness,” her mother, Carolyn remembers.
Dana was tested for anemia, mono, chronic fatigue
syndrome and Lyme disease. All tests came back
negative. Then, her family physician recommended
she see an allergist. It appeared that might be the
answer. The allergist said Dana’s immune system
needed boosting. After receiving a vaccine treatment,
she seemed to improve. Her senior year went fairly
smoothly, and she was out sick only two days.
Toward the end of her freshman year in college,
however, things began to fall apart. She was having
trouble concentrating, and she had to read and reread
her text books. It seemed that no matter how hard she
studied, her mind would go blank during tests. She had
trouble getting up in the morning, and although she
was tired to the point of exhaustion most of the time,
she couldn’t sleep at night.
“My mind wouldn’t stop at night,” Dana explained.
“It was like I had ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive
Disorder). I began to think I was going crazy.”
She tried to return to college for her sophomore
year, but to no avail. Her symptoms were too severe.
By this time, her parents had taken her to several
doctors and nutritionists and more tests were run. She
remained undiagnosed, and was misdiagnosed with
Fibromyalgia. One nutritionist thought her illness was
Candida (an over-growth of yeast in the body), which
can produce symptoms much like those that Dana
was experiencing. She was put on a sugar-free diet
that contained no gluten but had lots of organic fruits
and vegetables. She was also given “probiotics” (the
opposite of antibiotics) to promote good bacteria in her
digestive system.
She was on that diet for two months but still didn’t
respond. The Smiths’ Roanoke nutritionist, Jeanie
Redick, finally suspected they might be treating the
wrong disease, and recommended that Dana see
a doctor in Lexington who is noted for being “Lyme
literate”. The doctor, whose name is Cathryn Harbor,
had herself suffered from Lyme disease, as well as
everyone in her family, including the dog. Today, the
Smiths are most grateful for Jeanie’s advice, as it was
Dr Harbor who finally gave an accurate diagnosis.
When Dr Harbor saw Dana, her first words were,
“Oh Dear, you look really sick.”
After hearing Dana’s symptoms, Dr Harbor
immediately suspected Lyme disease. Dana was
tested not only for Lyme disease but also co-infections
that often accompany it. Unlike the other readings,
this one was positive for Lyme and Erlichiosis, a co-
infection. Dr Harbor explained that the standard
for readings on Lyme is higher than recent research
indicates it should be, and that is why so many tests are
mistakenly thought to be negative. Dr Harbor put Dana
on antibiotics, supplements and herbs. After several
months of treatment, Dana still was not responding,
as hoped. Dr Harbor explained there was nothing more
that she could do. She recommended taking Dana to a
Lyme specialist, as her condition had become severely
chronic. Following Dr Harbor’s advice, they consulted
a doctor in Washington, D C, who was a recognized
specialist in the treatment of the disease. Dana only
became sicker.
“I used to crawl into bed with her because I was
afraid she wouldn’t make it through the night,” Carolyn
said. “I thought we were going to lose her.”
by
Kate Hofstetter
Faith, Hope, and Family:
Dana Smith’s Story
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