{"id":11767,"date":"2024-02-28T11:46:37","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T11:46:37","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"From-sickness-to-strength-How-pickleball-helps-battle-Lyme-disease-54208421\/","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/?p=11767","title":{"rendered":"From sickness to strength: How pickleball helps battle Lyme disease"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\u00a0Nancy
\u00a0Nancy Morton, center in red, meets a group at Gilford Hills Tennis & Fitness Club regularly to play pickleball, a sport similar to tennis played with a wiffleball.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Nancy
Nancy Morton of Sandwich, right, plays pickleball at Gilford Hills Tennis & Fitness Club each week. She is battling Lyme disease after being diagnosed in 2012. She and her partner, Adam Heard of Sandwich, left, won the silver medal in mixed doubles in an October tournament at All-Stars Pickleball club in Concord. Her self-esteem and love for the game skyrocketed that day, she said.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Nancy
Nancy Morton returns a serve while playing pickleball at Gilford Hills Tennis & Fitness Club in Gilford.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>

SANDWICH \u2014 Nancy Morton knows what it\u2019s like to see her life grind to a screeching halt from 90 miles per hour. She went from working as a personal trainer, running and playing tennis regularly and operating a wood-splitting business to being bedridden for 10 months in the blink of an eye.<\/p>\n

One good doctor and the sport of pickleball helped her find a new normal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very active before the diagnosis,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Sandwich resident spent her life being active outdoors and playing sports \u2014 anything with a ball. But that changed in 2012 when she was diagnosed with Lyme disease.<\/p>\n

Lyme disease, which Morton calls \u201cthe great imitator\u201d, is a tick-borne illness which causes all manner of symptoms difficult to manage and tend to mimic those of an autoimmune disorder.<\/p>\n

One day, while splitting wood, Morton noticed a bullseye rash \u2014 a telltale sign of Lyme disease \u2014 wasn\u2019t improving. She went to a doctor who thought it might have been caused by cellulitis. But she wasn\u2019t satisfied and set out on a journey 1.5 years long to find out the true cause of the rash.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe experience was hugely isolating,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She doesn\u2019t remember being bitten by a tick, but her doctor \u2014 Steve Clark, a naturopathic doctor in Wolfeboro who also has Lyme disease \u2014 suggested she probably had been infected by a tick at some point. A more recent bite likely caused the dormant infection to flare up.<\/p>\n

She knew something was wrong. She felt unusually tired unusually often and her legs were so sore that most days she wasn\u2019t able to do anything. Her legs would burn and she needed to sit down. She had a peculiar lack of appetite, she said.<\/p>\n

Morton consulted a litany of doctors including her primary care physician, neurologists and rheumatologists. None of them were able to pinpoint the cause of her symptoms. She was misdiagnosed at different points with ailments including multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia and one doctor suggested her symptoms were psychosomatic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t understand just how unusual my fatigue was,\u201d Morton, now in her 50s, said in an interview.<\/p>\n

Blood tests for Lyme disease were apparently inaccurate in this time period and frequently returned negative.<\/p>\n

But Lyme disease was indeed the cause. It impacted her mitochondria, which provides energy to the blood cells. Lyme disease also impacted her brain, causing confusion and preventing her from driving for a period of time.<\/p>\n

At one point, Morton heard the words every patient dreads: \u201cThere\u2019s nothing else we can do for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll never forget those words,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But a friend of her husband Mark knew someone else who\u2019d been diagnosed with Lyme disease and suggested Nancy take a closer look at that possibility. The friend recommended Clark.<\/p>\n

\u201cLyme disease wasn\u2019t really on anybody\u2019s radar,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In 2012, Clark confirmed it was Lyme disease and her treatment began.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe put me on antibiotics,\u201d Morton said. \u201cI was on like 10 different supplements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lyme disease takes four forms and a patient must be treated for all of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so sick from the antibiotics that first year,\u201d she said. \u201cI was in my bed for 10 months.\u201d<\/p>\n

She lost 30 pounds over that period.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really didn\u2019t know where I was going to get my next breath,\u201d she added. \u201cBut I never lost hope. I was actually relieved.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t all smooth sailing after her diagnosis and the beginning of her treatment regimen. Antibiotics kill off Lyme disease but then patients acquire the Jarisch Herxheimer, or as Morton calls it, the \u201cHerx\u201d reaction.<\/p>\n

The Herx reaction occurs within 24 hours of antibiotic treatment and includes the abrupt onset of fever and chills, hyperventilation, flushing and hypotension.<\/p>\n

So after the body has been thoroughly taxed in fighting off the Lyme disease, the work has only begun.<\/p>\n

Since being diagnosed, Morton hasn\u2019t been able to work. She\u2019s endured chronic migraines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully, those have gotten better\u201d over time, she said.<\/p>\n

Over the last year, Morton reports having more energy and less chronic pain. She\u2019s been able to enjoy playing pickleball, reminiscent of her years spent as an enthusiastic tennis player.<\/p>\n

She heard about pickleball matches played in Sandwich organized by the town\u2019s parks and recreation department. Without owning any equipment, one day she attended a match. She was welcomed with open arms and has been in love with the game ever since.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter 10 years of being home alone, I\u2019d lost contact with all of my friends,\u201d she said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t doing much moving around, I couldn\u2019t run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pickleball is the perfect sport for individuals with all sorts of disabilities, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was unbelievable,\u201d she said. \u201cI had to keep pinching myself. It was pretty great to be outside with other people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through playing in Sandwich, she was introduced to another group of players in Gilford. That allowed Morton to expand her social circle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m getting my life back,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s been a regular at Gilford Hills Tennis & Fitness Club, but recently was forced to take a hiatus due to five bulging discs in her spine. Those lumbar discs are pressing on a nerve, causing significant discomfort. Issues with her back are undoubtedly tied to the effects of Lyme disease, she said.<\/p>\n

But therapy at a chiropractor has helped her considerably. Her treatment there includes the attachment of electrodes to her back, meant to force muscle movement. Her chiropractor told her that her back was as hard as concrete, which caused her spine to misalign.<\/p>\n

Lyme disease causes arthritis in the joints and likely contributed to those problems, she noted.<\/p>\n

Outside of her involvement in recreational pickleball, Morton is a strong advocate and source of information on Lyme disease. She encourages people in the community to call and speak with her about the disease and their related experiences and she\u2019s a member of the Lyme Disease Association, a national nonprofit.<\/p>\n

She also advocates for those suffering from Lyme disease on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet as educated as you can and don\u2019t give up until you get the right diagnosis,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She feels disappointed in her initial medical care, but recognizes that because of the wide array of symptoms indicative of Lyme disease, sometimes it\u2019s hard for physicians to see the forest for the trees.<\/p>\n

She encouraged others battling Lyme disease to look into naturopathic treatment. Leaning on immune system support, her naturopathic treatments have benefitted her greatly, she said. Some of those therapies include taking homocysteine to help her body process food because heavy use of antibiotics impacted her digestive system. Coenzyme Q10 helps support energy in her mitochondria to reduce muscle fatigue, and adrenal support also helps improve her energy levels.<\/p>\n

The combination of successful treatment and a heightened level activity have improved both her and her family\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family, they think it\u2019s great,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.<\/em>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SANDWICH \u2014 Nancy Morton knows what it\u2019s like to see her life grind to a screeching halt from 90 miles per hour. She went from working as a personal trainer, running and playing tennis regularly and operating a wood-splitting business to being…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"featured_media":11768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_newspack_byline_active":true,"_newspack_byline":"by [Author id=199]Gabriel Perry[\/Author] The Laconia Daily Sun","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[508,12],"tags":[505],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[698],"class_list":["post-11767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-headlines-cm","category-town-city-government","tag-paywall","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/43031508-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11767"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11769,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11767\/revisions\/11769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11767"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fnewspack_spnsrs_tax&post=11767"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=11767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}