Nolan Schaefer and Lisa Latella were married in the summer of 2005.  Nolan's professional hockey career was taking them all over the United States, and they could have never imagined what was coming in the near future. 

    Less than one year after their wedding Lisa developed pain and swelling in her knees, pain in her shoulders, and also severe pain in her back.  She was incapacitated from what was thought to be injuries.

    She saw several doctors throughout the summer and entire hockey season, but none of them could come up with a decent diagnosis.  She saw multiple specialists and had numerous tests, but there was no answer and no relief.

    The hockey season started in Worcester, MA, but Nolan ended up travelling almost the entire season, as he moved through three organizations.  During the time Lisa was at her worst, Nolan was loaned to Hershey, called up to San Jose twice, and eventually traded to the Pittsburg Penguins, who assigned him to Wilkes-Barre near the end of the season. There was no way short of quitting that he could be there to help Lisa in these tough times.  Lisa's mother had to take a leave of absence from her work because Lisa could not travel or be left alone.

    The doctor list continued to grow as did the list of Lisa's symptoms. Fatigue, heart palpitations, crippling knee pain and swelling, shoulder pain, back pain, sight problems, neurological problems, muscle atrophy, and many other symptoms continued to plague Lisa, without explanation.  She could not walk, she could not sleep, she could not move, without some severe pain in some part of her body. She could not wear normal shoes, she could not cook, she could not wash her clothes, she could not sit.  This was not the result of an anxious person, but it was all some doctors had left to blame.  How was it possible that in a few months time, a happy, extremely health-conscious 27-year-old girl went from being an avid power-walker and yogi, to being totally disabled?

    Once the rest of the painful hockey season was over, the couple returned to Connecticut and continued the search for help.  Not until a close friend shared a story about a girl with some similar symptoms did they consider going to a Lyme Disease specialist.  Throughout the year Lisa's lyme tests consistently came back negative, and a three-week trial course of antibiotics didn't provide the cure.  Also, by that time, Lisa and Nolan had developed a fear of doctors after several of them did not listen, and often made the problem worse, manipulating her extremely painful joints.  But the lyme-literate doctor finally listened and most importantly, he wasn't baffled.

    Lisa was clinically diagnosed with Lyme Disease, and put on antibiotics immediately after telling her story. They are still treating the disease and hoping for quicker recovery everyday.

    With some help from Lisa, and a couple of close friends, Nolan has created this website to raise awareness, money, and support for Lyme Disease in the hopes of helping others avoid this terrible illness.  It's painful knowing that if diagnosis had come one year earlier, Lisa would not be in the condition she is today.

    This is a shorter edited version of our story. To get a more in depth look at the details, just click the tick!

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