May Awareness Guest Blog – A Note of Gratitude from the Lyme Association of Greater Kansas City, Inc.

Judy Campbell was born and raised in Missouri.  She grew up in a rural community and spent some time outdoors.  She remembers morel mushroom hunting and traveling with her parents during the summer months on vacations while growing up.  At the age of 16, she became very ill and missed about 10 days of school with an assumed illness, mono.  Time lapsed and many annoying symptoms were present over the years.  But, as her Type A body allowed, she continued life . . . sick here and there, but she just kept on going.

In 1991, Judy’s health began to deteriorate with a multitude of symptoms that made no sense.  Her GYN wanted to check her for Lyme disease, which came out of nowhere, really.  She received a call back saying she did indeed have Lyme, but the testing needed to be sent to the Mayo Clinic for confirmation.  Well, we all know where that went.  It was noted as a false positive, so she went on her way being told by doctor after doctor that she had fibromyalgia, lupus, chronic fatigue and so on.  In her mind, she never thought of Lyme disease again.  Her life stopped some, while she and her husband were raising young children.  Finally, around 2005, she began to get some of her life back and started working again.

Judy became involved with the Lyme Association of Greater Kansas City (LAGKC) in 2017. After another young member of her family was diagnosed with Lyme disease in late 2016, wheels began spinning regarding her own past health history. After researching, her mysterious health puzzle came together (going back to the mid-70s). She realized she really did have undiagnosed Lyme disease.  Judy felt that she needed to be a voice and try to make a change for all Lyme sufferers since her own family was so deeply impacted. It was time to speak out and do something!

As President, Judy facilitates support group meetings, oversees the LAGKC board decisions, works with various positions when they need assistance, and consults with the public, medical doctors, and government officials. She also attends nationwide conferences and performs outreach to those impacted by Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.  Judy doesn’t call herself an activist, but she is very passionate about the negligence and oversight of this illness and wants others to understand they are not alone, and it is real. 

Judy decided to finally see a Lyme-literate MD and nurse practitioner.  Her suspicions of her own health were confirmed in May of 2022.  Judy is always eager to learn more and share Lyme disease awareness.  Although she feels her disease is somewhat in remission, there are still underlying symptoms that cause her to pause, think and pace herself.  As wife, mother and grandmother, family is everything and she prays that her health stays steady to help those around her.