By Hank Minor
Posted 3/15/17

Hank Minor’s Lyme Story | Sisters, Oregon

When I was younger, I never considered the idea that my health would ever be compromised. I was an athlete all of my life, I kept horses, trained hawks, and was a CEO of an international business. I ran myself hard, following my passions in every direction. It was both my blessing and my curse.

Once I hit age 50, I caught mono. Like any other illness, I pushed through it and kept going. Then, five years later, it caught up with me. I had adrenal fatigue from literally pushing myself into the ground. Then, on top of that, I discovered I had cancer. Thankfully, it was operable and chemo wasn’t a necessity. When I had overcome all of that, I thought that I was in the clear.

I didn’t know how wrong I was.

In June of 2016, I was in North Carolina and I was bitten by a tick. Since I had been bitten by ticks virtually all my life, one would think I would just remove it and go on about my business.

Instead, I thought to myself, “something about this just isn’t good.” One week later, as I was walking to the mailbox, my lower back and left leg began to tighten. Within hours, I was completely crippled with pain and couldn’t leave my bed to cross the hall. I stayed that way for three weeks.

I didn’t fully understand it at the time, but the bite was behind it all.

Like I said, I’d been an athlete all my life and I’m no stranger to pain. This was different. Other symptoms came. It was reminiscent of adrenal fatigue, but much worse than I had ever felt. I started having panic attacks and I was beyond exhausted, on top of it all.

Finally, after some serious thought, I turned to my wife and said,

“I think this is Lyme.”

After that, I dove fully into research mode for Lyme disease. I found that my many years of pushing myself too hard, even when I was sick, had piled up on me and come to a head at this point. Among the many things I tried to find relief (the Buhner protocol and some tinctures), I found Vital Plan. What caught me was the unique and comprehensive approach – addressing microbes, not symptoms – emphasizing lifestyle changes and strengthening the immune system. It made sense to me.

When you’re in that position, suffering like that, you want all the help you can get. I had fallen so far from where I was – an active, vibrant person.

When I’m out in the fields, running and following a hawk, being active in the hunt, I exert so much energy. There was no way I could do this while I was sick. I’d be dead in the water. When you are that sick and you can’t do the things you love, you just lay there and wonder if this is how life is going to be for the rest of your life. And you just continue to spiral.

I just wanted to return to my normal life again. Dr. Rawls understood that need.

After starting Dr. Rawls’ herbal protocol, I started to get better right away. There were setbacks, of course – but nothing too major. You learn to get really sensitive to your body, what it needs, and how to go from there to keep yourself healthy.

Now that I am in recovery, I am at about 85-90% of what I once was. I am back to training hawks and keeping horses, like I was before. And I’m healthier than I was at 40.

For those that have recovered after an illness like this, I think we all share the same sentiment: all we want to do is help others who are struggling. What I need you to know is…

“You can get back into life again.”

Finding joy and following your passions is so important, no matter who you are. It’s part of the wonder of life — enjoying the little things: your hobbies, your work or or simply spending time with your family. This illness does not have to define who you are. With hard work, you can get back to who you were before.

Welcome to the #MeAgain Story Series. Our aim is to share stories from people who have recovered, or are recovering, from chronic disease in order to give you hope that healing is within your reach. This series will highlight their struggles and triumphs to inspire you to take action and reclaim your life. Enjoy!

Hank’s Story | Shawn’s Story | Julie’s Story | Ron’s Story | Stephanie’s Story
Donna’s Story | Brad H’s Story | Mira’s Story | Jeff’s Story | Nicole M’s Story | Jennifer’s Story | Brad R’s Story | Linda’s Story | Elissa’s Story | Trish’s Story | Tiara’s Story | Nicole W’s Story