Bay Area author and noted documentary filmmaker Eliza Hemenway recently turned her journalistic eye toward her own family to document a notably personal and tryingly poignant story about her family’s trials with Lyme disease and the baffling enigma that surrounds the illness and its treatment. Her daughter, Katherine, just seven years old when infected, suffered for years before successfully being diagnosed. And even after diagnosis, the family struggled to get the care they needed.
“I am a Bay Area mother who wrote Paris in Oakland to be a story of hope and encouragement to the Lyme community, something I desperately needed when my daughter was first diagnosed and I was trying to understand the controversies and confusion surrounding Lyme.
“My daughter lay in the pediatric intensive care unit fighting for her life. Her Lyme disease treatment had gone terribly wrong and the doctors were preparing us for the worst. They told us: ‘Go home, pack your bags, she is going to be here awhile. If she gets out at all.”
“The medical divide surrounding Lyme disease is dangerous medicine. Fortunately, my daughter came home and is now thriving, but it was a close call. Too close. And like many Lyme patients, much of her suffering could have been avoided had she received the medical care she so desperately needed.”
Katherine’s story is featured on our Faces of Lyme community platform.
Eliza’s book, Paris in Oakland (2016), can be purchased on Amazon or at any local bookstore. And this May, in honor of Lyme Awareness month, readers can enter to win a free, signed first-edition copy of Paris in Oakland at Goodreads. Click here for details about the giveaway.
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Here is what people are saying about“I couldn’t put it down.” -Laurie P.
“[A] little gem of a book.” -Amazon reviewer
“This is a concise but compelling account of a mother fighting for her daughter’s life…I would call it a war story and a love story all wrapped into one.” -Robin H.
“An inspiring account of faith, bravery, and love.” -Amazon reviewer
Hello,
Wondering if her daughter healed via an MD, LLMD, ND, or how it was achieved? My two teens and I are struggling from Lyme and Toxic Mold and have gotten the run around for 2 years from UCSF Drs who don’t help. I’d love any info on the best Bay Area Dr who heals Lyme.
Thank you! Diana
Please note: Bay Area Lyme Foundation has a list of qualified doctor referrals here in the greater San Francisco Bay Area which we will forward to you. You can also find referrals for Lyme-familiar doctors in other geographies here.