My name is Carmen Alfonso and I live in Bristol. I
have been suffering from a chronic illness called Lyme
Disease for the last ten years. I am not sure if you
know about Lyme Disease but it is a systemic infection
that you get through a tick bite. I was bitten while
walking in Exmoor in 1996 .It is a serious and
potentially disabling disease that very few people
know about.

The reason why I am writing to you is because I am
self-publishing a small book of poetry in September to
raise awareness about Lyme Disease.
The book is called 'On the island of my bed: Living with Lyme Disease' and will
be launched in September with an exhibition of some of
my paintings in The Pierian Centre in Bristol.
I was very excited to hear about your project and
about Createwrt.net as I can truly say that being able
to write about my experiences of having Lyme Disease has really helped
me through very difficult times. I think the book presents a
balanced view of what it is like to have Lyme and some of the difficulties in getting a diagnosis and the right treatment. Lyme Disease remains the great ‘imitator’ mimicking symptoms of many other illnesses and posing a real challenge to existing medical knowledge and practices.

Carmen Alfonso

Carmen is a Spanish language teacher, student counsellor and voluntary
counsellor for a charity supporting people with
terminal illness and lives in Bristol.

Carmen Alfonso email: islandofmybed@yahoo.com.

Click here for selection of Carmens Poems. Click here  carmen             

The Pierian Centre Bristol    click here  http://www.pierian.co.uk

 Carmens Book                     click here  Troubador Publishing Ltd

carmens fight         click play button for streaming audio