Online Blog Looking to Print Lyme Patient Stories
by Jennifer Allton
With the vast determination that helps conquer Lyme Disease, I began a new blog with very little insight on how to run it. I had been writing my own Living-the-Lyme-Life blog for 6 months, but the idea for this new blog was enormously different. My desire was to provide others with a way to lift up each other on the blog. I wanted to not only broaden Lyme Disease awareness, but I highly anticipated that by sharing online the stories of my friends with Lyme that others would not feel so alone. I knew my own knowledge of how to allow others to write on the blog was limited as I began contemplating the opportunity of organizing this new blog. In truth, I would even go as far as to say until the day I established the new blog, I had no idea how I was going to run the site.
Suddenly, an idea sparked in February of 2009 when I realized that the majority of my friends with Lyme Disease were Christians. Even though I wasn't certain if it was due to my own Christianity, and the tendency to befriend those with the same beliefs, or if it was because when people get that sick they look for a higher power to believe in. My dream to run a blog about praying for those with Lyme Disease came to fruition in March of 2009.
The new blog was dubbed Praying for Lymies. As its name implies, the purpose for Praying for Lymies was to be praying for a specific Lyme friend at a time. This was to let them know we were thinking and praying over them. As quickly as the blog was assembled, I had messages from people wanting to be featured. They wanted their stories told. I created a simple questionnaire to guide me while writing each friend's biography. The first three months of the blog's existence saw the blog explode with activity. Not only were people sending in their own written prayers for friends to be uploaded on the blog, but people were sending in suggestions for musical videos to be used in uplifting their friends.
The features have slowed down over time, but it still gives me terrific satisfaction to receive comments or a message requesting to be featured. If you have a desire to be featured in the Praying for Lymies blog, simply go to the blog at
http://prayingforlymies.blogspot.com.
There are two options to be able to reach me. The first is by leaving a comment on a biography already written. Just leave your first name and email address. I moderate all comments and will not allow those comments left with email addresses to be seen by readers. Once I receive your comment, you will receive a couple of emails. The first email is designed to make sure your email address is working properly while the second gives you the questionnaire designed to assist me in writing the biography. There are approximately ten questions for you to answer. The quicker I receive your answers, the earlier your biography for prayers can be posted.
The second option to reach me is located at the top of the blog where it says, "Click here to post to blog." By clicking this, it will actually open up an email message for you to send. Now keep in mind, I will not receive an actual email this way. This sends a message to my blog only and I will be unable to see your email address. Please be sure to include your email address in the body of your message along with your name so I can connect with you. I look forward to featuring more patients with Lyme Disease. Come check it out to see the 36 patients that have already been featured.
http://prayingforlymies.blogspot.com
http://jmgarnet76.blogspot.com
