When The Healer Must Heal…
🌿 When the Healer Must Heal: A Personal Update From Dr. Lyday
Dear TLC Family,
Every day I ask each of you to listen to your bodies, honor what they’re telling you, and take your healing seriously. This week, my own body made sure I remembered that truth too. I want to share this with you—not for sympathy, but because healing is a shared human experience, and because transparency matters in a practice built on trust, connection, and root-cause medicine.
For the past three to four weeks, I’ve felt “off.” Not acutely ill, but inflamed, heavy, sluggish—like my body was quietly waving a red flag. I shifted back to carnivore to calm the inflammation, restarted my Lyme, Babesia, and Bartonella protocol, and tried to support myself the best I could while still caring for each of you.
But by Friday, everything caught up with me.
💥 When the Wheels Fall Off the Bus
After a gentle lymphatic massage midday, everything shifted—fast. I had intense chest pressure, my oxygen saturation dropped, and I ended up seeing the rest of my afternoon patients from bed, IV fluids running, praying my body would behave long enough for me to get through the day.
Saturday didn’t bring the relief I hoped for. After two hours in HBOT, I had another significant Herxheimer reaction. I thought the entire weekend was about to be written off.
But after a healing massage from my husband (my forever teammate in this messy, beautiful life), my body softened. We actually got to enjoy each other for a moment—a rare treat in our full, purpose-driven days. I even managed a workout and a few errands.
For a brief window, I thought I had turned a corner.
🩸 Sunday Had Other Plans
I woke up determined. I spent three hours in HBOT and felt enough energy to start reorganizing the pantry—removing non-carnivore foods and making room for new staples. Within minutes, I became weak, lightheaded, and had multiple near-fainting episodes.
My husband immediately knew something was off.
He checked my labs on the spot.
My hemoglobin had dropped from 13 to 9.
A four-point drop.
Suddenly, our sweet Sunday became an emergency self-care day:
Iron infusion
10g IV vitamin C
Rest
And my husband quietly doing chores so I could heal
And here’s the part that shook me:
I was scheduled to begin full-dose dapsone tomorrow.
Dapsone can drop hemoglobin another four points.
Had I started it as planned, I would have been a direct admit to the ICU.
Life protected me—even when it didn’t feel like it.
💛 Healing Is Not Linear
I didn’t want to spend my Sunday in bed with IVs.
I didn’t want to cancel anything.
I didn’t want to slow down.
But this was a powerful reminder that:
The body speaks, even if we don’t want to listen
Healing can only be rushed so far
Insight often comes dressed as inconvenience
After a powerful conversation with Dr. Horowitz this week, I know exactly what my path forward looks like—but I’ll be taking it slowly. My body is already communicating loudly, and I must honor that if I want to continue serving all of you with clarity, presence, and strength.
To everyone out there battling Lyme, Babesia, Bartonella, mold illness, co-infections, autoimmunity, or chronic inflammation:
I see you.
I am you.
And I walk this road with you.
You are not alone.
Your symptoms are not imagined.
Your fatigue is not weakness.
Your determination is everything.
We are healing—together.
📣 IMPORTANT PATIENT REMINDER: PORTAL & COMMUNICATION POLICIES
As our practice continues to grow, we need to maintain clarity, safety, and HIPAA compliance for everyone we serve.
🔒 The patient portal remains our exclusive method of communication for:
medical questions
clinical updates
medication or protocol concerns
sending labs or files
anything involving your personal health information
This protects YOUR privacy and ensures your message doesn’t get lost in the chaos of email or social media.
📞 For scheduling needs or front-desk questions, please call:
(920) 301-3619
(This is the correct number—the previous email mistakenly included Rhonda’s direct line.)
Thank you for helping us keep communication streamlined, protected, and efficient.
🌟 Meet Pam — Our New Front Desk Superstar!
I am thrilled to share that Pam will be joining our TLC healing family starting tomorrow!
Pam brings warmth, professionalism, and a deep desire to support our patients through their healing journeys. But like anyone joining a completely new field—and especially one as unique as true functional medicine, chronic illness, and whole-person healing—there will be a learning curve.
💛 Please give her grace, patience, and lots of welcoming smiles as she learns:
our systems
our flow
our technology
our community
and most importantly, our amazing patients
She already cares deeply about serving you well.
And I know she will become an invaluable part of your healing experience.
🌈 A Final Word
Thank you for showing up for yourselves.
Thank you for fighting for your health.
Thank you for trusting us with your stories, your struggles, and your victories.
Healing is rarely a straight line.
Sometimes the storms feel endless.
But I promise you this:
The sun does return.
The rainbows do come.
And you are so much stronger than you realize.
This season may be challenging, but it’s only one chapter—not the whole book.
We will walk this together, one breath, one protocol, one revelation at a time.
With love, humility, and gratitude,
Dr. Tamara Lyday & The TLC Team