“I wanted to tell my story to the world, but I felt very strongly with a particular message,” Annick says. “How do you deal with setbacks and keep your thoughts positive? That’s the common thread of my story.” In the summer of 2009, Anneke became very ill while on vacation in Mexico. “I thought it was a tropical disease that would go away on its own,” Annick says. Once in the Netherlands, things turn out not so good for her and she goes on a medical round. It wasn’t until three years later that it became clear that Annique had Lyme disease, which you can contract from the bite of an infected tick.
“The period when I had to fight to be seen by doctors was so intense,” Annick says. “I don’t hear, I don’t understand.” For example, Anneke tested negative for Lyme disease in the Netherlands and tested positive in Germany and Belgium. “Then they say there is nothing wrong with you. All doors will be closed for you,” says Anneke. Annick’s world just got smaller. She could only lie in bed. “I ate, I laid down, and that was it,” Annik says. “I tried to imagine other people’s lives. It was really survival for me.
Treatment in the US
A foundation is set up for Anneke and she can go to America for treatment. “Everybody has tried to fund it,” Annick says. “The treatment costs 20,000 euros per month. “I didn’t get it because of my illness, but then it was too much.” American doctors think it’s a miracle that Anneke is still alive. “In the end, that treatment was really the turning point in my life. I didn’t realize it then, but now that I look back on it, it was close to home,” says Anneke. When he came home, he followed Annie. “I had to relearn everything. I had to learn to walk again, to communicate, to go shopping, yes, what not. I sometimes call it Anniek 2.0. It completely changed me as a person.
Life story
Anneke wants to inspire others through her book ‘It’s a Miracle I’m Still Sitting Here’. “Whatever you go through, it’s okay, it will pass. It doesn’t mean it’s easy, but many people have such great power that sometimes you don’t even know you have it. All in all, Anneke is happy with the ending. “This is really my life story and my life’s work. Feels like.
Photo: REGIO8
