WILMINGTON, N.C. — A Wilmington woman who has faced Lyme disease her entire life has started a walk to help other survivors.

What You Need To Know

  • Grace Fehrnstrom organized the Lyme Warrior Walk, which took place May 11

  • The 5K walk raised money for the Lyme Warrior Foundation

  • Twenty-five supporters showed up, 12 walked and over $2,000 was raised for the foundation

Grace Fehrnstrom spends her mornings on the beach doing yoga. This helps her practice grounding, an important activity to deal with her chronic illness.

“Eight years old was when my symptoms started to process in my body,” she said.

And it’s not just Fehrnstrom — her entire family has Lyme disease. She says their symptoms all impact them differently. For her sister and dad, it’s in their joints and the right side of the body.

“A lot of my Lyme is in my brain, so a lot of neurological symptoms,” Fehrnstrom said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that Lyme disease is one of the fastest growing infectious diseases in the country, and that the illness can become severely debilitating, impacting multiple areas of the body like joints, the heart, brain and even the nervous system.

Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi that is transmitted to humans through an infected tick. The CDC says one of the reasons it’s so hard to treat is that is can change its form to hide from the immune system and won’t appear in blood tests.

Up until last year, Fehrnstrom describes her life as surviving day by day.

“I genuinely just said and realized I can't be living my life like this anymore. I have to use this illness as an opportunity of just to share something bigger than myself and to be a part of something bigger than myself,” she said.

Through her fight with the disease, she found a passion for holistic wellness, which led her to work at Healing Leaves, a holistic wellness center in Wilmington. Staff at the center understand that her flare-ups can come unannounced, she said.

“I needed somewhere that would understand what I go through. I needed someone with the capacity to understand, but also the flexibility in case anything did,” she said.

Fehrnstrom says she feels she is finally living and wants to help inspire others. And that is why she put together a 5K walk for Lyme disease.

“This illness is something so close to my heart and it has been for a majority of my life, along with my family's life. And I am finally well enough to speak upon it to spread awareness around it,” she said.

The Lyme Warrior Walk, which took place May 11, raised more than $2,000 for the Lyme Warrior Foundation.