Lyme disease patient stories often involve years of searching for answers, and AC Bourne's is one of them. A former Nike-sponsored runner, she tells Jeremy Van Wert about a tick bite in 2002, roughly 40 doctors, years of antibiotics and a wheelchair. She describes what she tried next, why she says remission instead of cure, and how she turned the story into a way to help others.
ᛉKey takeaways
- AC Bourne went from running up to 120 miles a week to being bedridden, and says her illness was later identified as neurological Lyme disease with several co-infections.
- She saw about 40 doctors over two and a half years before finding a Lyme-literate doctor, and says some of the earlier ones suggested she see someone about her head.
- AC says she spent years on antibiotics, including a PICC line twice for two and a half years, and still got worse.
- She describes a month of gentle Kambo sessions in 2015 as the turning point, and says she never went back to a wheelchair.
- AC says remission is the word she prefers, because she does not use "cure" for plant medicine.
- She now sees her illness as an opportunity, and she is writing a book to help other people.
ᛃ Moments in this one
ᚠFrom elite runner to bedridden: AC Bourne's Lyme disease story
AC Bourne ran for Nike, logging 80 to 120 miles a week, and had gone through college on a track and cross country scholarship. She says she caught Lyme disease in 2002 in her own backyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains. She did not know what it was.
She went from running to not being able to get out of bed or think a thought. She spent about three months thinking she had the flu, and she later found a tick embedded in her arm, which she calls a second bite.
Jeremy begins with a clear disclaimer. This is not medical advice, and anyone dealing with Lyme disease should see a doctor and be evaluated. It is the story of how AC dealt with her own illness.
ᚢSeeing 40 doctors and finding a Lyme-literate doctor
AC says she spent two and a half years seeing probably 40 doctors, from homeopathic to conventional. The test results came back fine, and some suggested she see someone about her head. She says that was a tragedy in itself, because it messes with you.
In 2002, she says, there was a lot of misinformation, and doctors who treated Lyme could lose their licenses. She kept reading and recognized her own symptoms. Eventually she found a Lyme-literate doctor in Menlo Park, whom she still calls one of the best in the world.
By then, she says, the illness had reached her brain. She forgot whether green meant go while driving and repeated the same sentence without noticing. Testing found over five co-infections, including Babesia, which she describes as America's version of malaria.
ᚦLate stage Lyme disease: antibiotics, a PICC line and a wheelchair
AC began Western treatment right away, starting with doxycycline. She says she had an IV PICC line for two and a half years, two separate times, with antibiotics three times a day, five days a week. She would feel a little better but never enough to work or be a normal person.
Around 2012 or 2013 she began tripping and falling, then losing the ability to walk. She spent two and a half years in a wheelchair.
AC calls Lyme a very lonely disease. She says you lose your friends because you cannot be a friend to anyone when you are in bed 24 hours a day. People living with long, unexplained illness can find real conversation and a place to belong in Thriving Spirits, the Mindful Mutiny community.
ᚨWhat is Kambo and why did AC say yes?
Jeremy describes Kambo as a secretion from a frog in the rainforest. A practitioner burns the skin slightly and applies the secretion, which he says creates a flu-like heat and sometimes purging for roughly 15 to 25 minutes. AC adds that ethical sourcing matters and that the secretion is gathered by tribes who return the frogs to the forest.
In 2015 a friend from high school suggested something that might help. AC says her doctor had told her that if she kept going down the same road she had 6 to 12 months to live, so the jungle sounded less scary than dying. She also checks decisions by whether they flow easily, and she says this one had no hesitation.
This is one person's experience. Kambo and other plant medicines may be illegal where you live and are not right for everyone.
ᚱHer first month of Kambo sessions
A friend arranged for a practitioner to work with her at a beach house for a month. AC was just out of a wheelchair, and her legs were so rubbery that she fell into the ocean and lost her phone. She says being unreachable made it more profound.
She describes a gentle approach, about every other day, paying close attention to what she felt. After that month, she says, she never went back to a wheelchair. Her Western doctor was supportive, she says, and was open to anything as long as it was working.
ᚲCan Lyme disease go into remission? Why AC says remission, not cure
Jeremy asks why she says remission. AC explains that in the Lyme world it only goes into remission, and that blood tests show antibodies rather than whether the disease is active. She does not like the word cure for plant medicine.
She says she has not felt the way she did since 2015, apart from a handful of seizures in the early years. Whatever word you put on it, she says, tribal medicine gave her back her life.
She also says Lyme is not just physical. She later worked with other plant medicine and says it helped her emotionally and mentally. If you want a steady person alongside you as you sort through a long illness or loss, Jeremy offers individual therapy and coaching.
ᚷTraveling to Brazil to learn from tribes and share her story
Two years after her first month, a well-known Kambo practitioner organized a trip to the Brazilian rainforest. AC says over 100 people applied and he chose about 15. The group stayed two and a half weeks in a village prepared by the Katukina people, who taught them about the medicines. Each person gave money as an offering.
AC bonded with one of the tribes and returned many times. She later traveled with them to Belem for TV and radio appearances. Telling her story through an interpreter showed her how powerful it was for people who needed hope.
ᚹFrom feeling victimized to writing her book
AC says she felt selfish if she did not pay her story forward. She filled hundreds of journals during her illness and is now writing a book, though reading the hard parts used to make her lose it. She says the other work she has done made the writing easier.
She used to feel victimized, and now she sees the illness as an opportunity. She would never say she was glad to get Lyme, but she says her life is more than she thought it could be. Her advice is that sometimes you just take the journey and see where it leads.
If this story has you questioning what kind of support would help you, you can get a straight read on whether therapy and retreat work suits you.
This episode shares one person's experience with Lyme disease and Kambo. It is not medical advice or a recommendation to use any substance. Kambo and plant medicines may be illegal where you live and aren't right for everyone. If you are dealing with Lyme disease, see a doctor.
ᚨ Questions people ask
What did late stage Lyme disease feel like for AC Bourne?
AC describes being bedridden, forgetting what traffic lights meant and repeating the same sentence. She also lost the ability to walk and spent two and a half years in a wheelchair. She says she was diagnosed with neurological Lyme disease and several co-infections.
Can Lyme disease go into remission?
AC says that in the Lyme world it only goes into remission, and she prefers that word to cure. She reports no symptoms since 2015 apart from a handful of seizures. This is her experience, not a medical claim.
What is Kambo?
Jeremy describes Kambo as a secretion from a rainforest frog that is applied to slightly burned skin. He says it creates heat and purging for 15 to 25 minutes. It may be illegal where you live and is not right for everyone.
Why did AC need a Lyme-literate doctor?
She says doctors who were not focused on Lyme did not know what was wrong, and some suggested she see someone for her head. A Lyme-literate doctor tested her and found several co-infections.