Roxy Reclaimed

Roxy Reclaimed Mama Bear navigating chronic illness, pain, and AuDHD with faith, resilience, and love.

Sharing my journey through travel, healing, home organisation, cleaning motivation, and mixed-culture family life. ✨️🌎❤️

The moment I realised I was cooking again! The first photo wasn't planned at all! I am a Lyme Disease warrior, and I wen...
24/08/2026

The moment I realised I was cooking again!

The first photo wasn't planned at all!

I am a Lyme Disease warrior, and I went to battle with Lyme Disease to be able to cook again.

Before I tell you more about my story, I want to acknowledge that my story may be similar to anyone living with a form of chronic illness, a major health battle or even a mental health journey.

I'm sure many of us share that same emotion of celebrating an achievement that is so easily taken for granted in everyday life.

Throwback to July 2017 when I took this photo just two weeks after returning home from Germany, where I had spent 22 days in a rehabilitation clinic receiving intensive treatment for Lyme Disease bacteria Borrelia and co-infections.

This post isn't about promoting the treatment I received as It was years ago.

This is simply about celebrating a milestone in my recovery journey.

Everyone living with chronic Lyme Disease has their own personal journey and their own approach to trying to overcome the illness as part of their healing journey.

If you're interested in my specific treatment, you are welcome to read my previous posts where I documented my time in Germany day by day.

Again, they aren't promotional as they simply capture what I experienced and how I started to feel better.

Back to the story of the first photo.

I was literally cooking for my family for the first time in over a year and it felt so natural.

I was standing in my kitchen, tinkering around and making up a salad as I went, while cooking a Green Thai Chicken Curry when it hit me.

I remember thinking “Would you look at that… I’m actually in my kitchen and cooking again.”

In that exact second is when I paused and picked up my phone to capture that very thought with what i was doing at the very second.

I should have taken a photo of the curry sitting in the pot on the stove at the same time but i didn't because I was not focused on teh curry in that specific second.

However you can see the frozen peas randomly sitting on my benchtop, waiting to be thrown into the curry.

The last photo captures the finished curry on the table next to the finished salad i prepared.

I was so excited that I quickly snapped a photo but it wasn't staged in any way, shape or form.

At the time, I didn't realise that this completely ordinary moment would become such a special memory.

I loved cooking.

I stopped when the pain became too much, while battling severe brain fog and constantly trying to keep up with my son who was around 2–3 years old when my Chronic Lyme Disease became very loud.

I was completely oblivious that Lyme Disease had been quietly living in my body for 15 years… until it decided to wreak havoc on me.

On top of my Chronic Lyme Disease, there was my son in the mix too.

He has AuDHD, and let me tell you… I was exhausted just trying to keep the little man intact and alive with no broken bones multiple times a day due to all the things his little brain decided to try!

I was also constantly cleaning up after him because, DAMN… the stuff that kid got up to as a toddler with AuDHD was next level!

So during that time, my husband did a lot of the cooking for us as did family members who knew I was unwell and simply couldn't keep up with everything.

Which makes going back to that day in 2017 even more meaningful.

When I stepped back into my kitchen with the intention of actually cooking dinner, I had this strong desire to make something special.

I wanted to cook something I had always wanted to make but never actually got around to making.

I wanted to show my husband and my daughter that not only was I finally in a position to cook again but my spark was coming back too.

I wanted to make food that represented happy memories.

You see, I had big plans for 2016.

However not long into that year, my Chronic Lyme Disease became very loud and completely stopped me in my tracks.

Yet at the beginning of that year, my family and I had travelled to Thailand.

My daughter was five at the time and absolutely loved Green Thai Chicken Curry.

So, a year and a half later…

I finally made it for her.

while I was finding my way back to myself.

This is only one little piece of my story.

I’ve only recently started sharing my journey and I plan on continuing to share the good, the difficult, the emotional and sometimes even the funny moments along the way.

So if you'd like to follow along, you are more than welcome to come with me and see how life continues to unfold for me and my family.

There are still plenty of chapters to tell… and I’m only just getting started.

Does anyone remember these trendy giant wall clocks? Well… I have a story to tell about this particular wall clock. ❤️I’...
22/08/2026

Does anyone remember these trendy giant wall clocks?

Well… I have a story to tell about this particular wall clock. ❤️

I’m a Lyme Disease Warrior 💚

These photos were taken in July 2017 just minutes after I installed this clock in our lounge room.

At first glance, they are probably just photos of someone excited about a new home décor purchase.

But to me, these photos represent so much more than a home décor trend from 2017.

As my life was completely turned upside down when undiagnosed Lyme disease of 15 years suddenly went out of control and nearly k*lled me.

It took around six months of multiple hospital stays, specialist appointments and a lot of money spent searching for answers before I finally discovered what was happening to me.

By then, I was incredibly unwell.

My way of fighting back against the out-of-control chronic Lyme disease was to seek treatment in Germany, where I spent a total of 22 days in a rehabilitation clinic being treated for Lyme disease and co-infections.

I’m not sharing the information of myself receiving treatment in Germany to promote the specific treatment. It was nearly 10 years ago now, and everyone's situation is different but i will never hide how i overcame my Lyme disease as that is part of my story.

Before I tell you why this clock means so much to me, I need to take you back a few years…

In early 2014, my husband and I purchased our family home.

Our son was only two months old when we bought it, and by the time we got the keys after settlement, he was three months old.

Our daughter was three.

Everyone thought we were crazy for moving house with such young children, but it felt right for us and for the future we were building together.

At the same time, my husband was completing his Masters degree.

He had a full-time job, university lectures, studying, essays and exams.

So I knew that unpacking and settling into our new home would mostly be my job and I was completely happy to take my time with it.

I also knew the home projects could wait.

There was no rush.

I imagined that in a year or two, when the kids were a little older and my husband had finished his Masters, we would finally have the time to start doing some fun little projects around our home together.

I was particularly excited about 2016.

I was due to return back to part-time and was looking forward to earning some extra income, my husband finally having more free time after finishing his Masters and our youngest being old enough for us to start creating those simple family memories I had pictured.

I loved scrolling through Pinterest looking at home décor ideas.

Naturally, I came across those huge wall clocks that were so in back then.

I fell in love with them.

We had a big empty wall in our family room and I thought a giant clock would look perfect there.

It also seemed quite fitting because throughout my life, I had always been late.

Being late was basically an inside joke with my family and friends. 😂

Turns out I most likely have ADHD… but that's a completely different story for another day!

So I saved a few clock ideas and showed them to my husband, quietly planting the seed that one day I'd love to have one hanging on our wall.

However, 2016 had very different plans for us…

Instead of finally getting around to all those little home projects I'd been waiting for, my health started deteriorating.

My list of things I wanted to do around the house quickly became a list of things I simply couldn't do anymore.

Instead of decorating, organising and creating a home with my style, my days became about trying to get through the basics and trying to work what is happening to me while being a mother to two small children.

Cleaning.

Cooking.

Appointments.

Resting.

And trying to work out how much energy I had left to get through the day to give to my children.

I was deteriorating day by day.

Eventually, I discovered that I had been living with chronic Lyme disease for around 15 years.

It had quietly been spreading through my body for years, and then it decided it was no longer going to stay quiet.

It became loud.

Very loud.

By this point, I was close to being bedridden and honestly becoming mentally exhausted from living that way.

I had dreams.

I had plans.

I had a family I adored.

And I had imagined what our life in our family home would look like.

I was angry because the future I had pictured felt like it was disappearing right in front of me.

My husband had finished his studies and had more time at home but instead of spending that time doing the home projects we had once talked about, he was working extra and even taking double shifts to help pay for my treatment, medications and strict diet.

The time he was home was spent catching up on the things I could no longer manage.

My husband became my Superman. ❤️

But even Superman needed to rest.

So the housework and home maintenance were reduced to the bare basics as our children were our main priority during all of this.

I am pretty sure my husband had completely forgotten about that giant wall clock I had once been so excited about.

Or so I thought…

Fast-forward to February 2017.

We made the decision that I would travel to Germany for treatment because I desperately wanted to get my life back.

While we were making all the arrangements for my trip, my husband secretly purchased the wall clock.

He showed it to me while it was still in the packaging.

It wasn't just a clock.

He bought it as something for me to look forward to when I started feeling better once I had returned home.

Something that reminded me of my dreams.

And, most importantly…

He hadn't forgotten about my dreams.❤️

That meant more to me than he probably realised.

After everything we had been through, there was still a little piece of the future I had imagined sitting there in front of me.

I returned home from Germany after spending 22 days in the rehabilitation clinic.

And just under three weeks later, we finally did our first home décor project.

We put up the clock.

Better late than never, right? 😂

That's what these photos are.

They're not really photos of a trendy wall clock.

They're photos of one of the first little signs that I was starting to get pieces of my life back.

The clock is STILL there.

Nearly 10 years later.

It doesn't matter that giant wall clocks aren't the trend anymore.

It doesn't even matter that we've rearranged our furniture and now our TV sits on a unit directly in front of the clock.

These days, only the top half of the clock are visible. 😂

To anyone else, it probably looks like an outdated clock that's awkwardly placed behind the TV.

But I could never take it down.

It reminds me that sometimes life doesn't follow the timeline you planned.

Sometimes you have to take a completely different route.

Sometimes recovery takes longer than you ever imagined.

And sometimes the dreams you thought you had lost are still waiting for you when you are finally strong enough to reach them.

It took me a long time to accept that my life may never follow the exact course I had planned 10 years ago.

I'm okay with that now. ❤️

I'm grateful for the life I have, for the things I've overcome and for the little reminders around my home of just how far I've come.

So yes…

It's just a wall clock.

But for me, it's so much more than that. 💚

If you're interested in hearing more about my time in Germany and the treatment I received, check out my other posts where I share more of my personal journey.

Anyone is welcome to follow along as I continue sharing my recovery journey after my big fight with Lyme disease and co-infections. 😊💚

I also live with other chronic health issues, including Lipedema.

I had absolutely no idea that what I thought were just my "thunder thighs" could actually be a medical condition.

Some of the things I DID try to shrink my thighs as a teenager when diet wasn't working… 🤦‍♀️😂

Chronic Lyme disease is hard enough in its own right.

Lipedema pain is hard enough in its own right.

I had them both at the same time! 🙄

💚 ❤️

I am a Lyme Disease Warrior 💚Throwback to July 2017, just one week after returning home from Germany, where I had spent...
19/08/2026

I am a Lyme Disease Warrior 💚

Throwback to July 2017, just one week after returning home from Germany, where I had spent 22 days in a rehabilitation clinic being treated for Lyme Disease and co-infections.

I went to Germany because I desperately wanted to get my life back. Towards the end of my treatment, I could honestly feel a difference in my body. I knew I still had a long road ahead but I had recovered enough to start fulfilling my happiness. 💚

When I got home, I just wanted to do something fun with my kids and create happy memories. I wanted them to see my face, hear me cheering them on and know that Mum was there enjoying the moment with them.

This particular day was incredibly emotional for me.

For the first time in a long time, I took my kids out on my own without needing my husband, mum or sister there to help me.

My kids were only 6 and 3 at the time and I was able to drive them there, walk from the car through a busy car park and boardwalk while keeping an eye on both of them, wait in line to get into the seasonal ice rink and help them get their skates on.

I then got to sit back and watch their faces light up as they ice skated with knowing they can see me waving at them with a big happy grin on my face. ❤️

To someone else, this might have looked like a completely ordinary family outing.

To me, it was huge.

It meant I was able to be present. I wasn't focused on how sick I felt, whether I could manage, or who was going to have to help me.

I could simply be Mum. ❤️

I wasn't anywhere near well enough to put on skates and join them, and that's okay. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was my recovery.

Although I had come a long way, I still had plenty of healing and recovery ahead of me.

But that day reminded me just how much I had already fought for and how precious the little things can become when illness has taken so much from you.

Sometimes recovery isn't about suddenly being completely well.

Sometimes it's being able to do something you couldn't do before, and realising just how meaningful that moment is. 💚

If you are interested in hearing more about my time in Germany and the treatment I received, check out my other posts where I share more about my journey. Anyone is welcome to follow along as I share my recovery journey after my big fight with Lyme Disease and Co-Infections. 😊💚

TRIGGER WARNING for below post!I am a Lyme Disease Warrior 💚⬇️Throwback to my original post from 2017 that I wrote 3 wee...
16/08/2026

TRIGGER WARNING for below post!

I am a Lyme Disease Warrior 💚⬇️

Throwback to my original post from 2017 that I wrote 3 weeks after returning home from spending 22 days within a rehabilitation clinic in Germany.

I was in Germany to give myself the best possible chance of fighting Lyme Disease. 💪💚

I am forever greatful that I was able to go to Germany and feel such a difference in such a quick time frame. 💪🎉🤩

My original post below captures the emotions of living with Lyme Disease, and I want to give a little heads-up that it may be difficult or triggering for some people to read. 💚

I know first hand how hard Lyme Disease can affect you mentally, emotionally and physically, but also how much it can affect the dynamics of an entire family.

Sometimes family members can struggle to truly understand what someone with Lyme Disease is experiencing, especially when they have never experienced anything like it themselves.

I noticed that sometimes when they read the experiences of complete strangers who were going through the same as me helped put things into perspective.

So, if you have a loved one who struggles to understand what is happening to you, or just how bad things can become, please feel free to show them my original post below.

I am not promoting my treatment but I will not hide that I have no regrets going to Germany and taking a leap of faith with the treatment over there.

However this particular post captures how I was before I started my treatment and focuses on how Lyme Disease affected me as a Mother and a Wife.

One more heads-up, I am religious and you will see that reflected in my original post. 🙏

Also if you're wondering about the reading glasses in my photo… 👓

Lyme Disease had affected my eyes, improving my vision and making my eyes stronger was a big focus for me during my time in Germany.

Within days of getting home, one of the first things I did was see my optometrist. I needed a slightly stronger prescription, but thankfully, I did not need bifocals! 🙌

I had talked about my eyes in pretty much every post throughout my time in Germany, so this was a really big deal for me. 💚

I don't mention that part in the original post below, but it did happen and I wanted to share it because it was one of the first things I did when I finally got home.

👇 My original post from 2017 is further below.

If you've only just found my page, here's a little background about who I am and what this page is all about.

I've decided to openly share my fight with Lyme disease that I had many years ago, I started sharing my journey to the world during Lyme Disease Awareness Month - May. 💚🌎🌍🌏💚

For those who have been reading my long posts already, thankyou for all the support! 💚✨️

If you would like more insight into why I travelled to Germany for treatment and my treatment im Germany, please read my previous posts.

I will say that overall, my posts will make more sense if read in order, as they were written to flow together as part of my experience.

However this particular post can be read on it its own!

🚨⚠️ Disclaimer: My treatment took place in 2017, so I cannot guarantee that the same treatment plan is still available at this clinic today. However, if you're interested in learning about what I did, these posts will provide a snapshot of the treatment that worked very well for me. 🚨⚠️

Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments below. ⬇️

My original post below is raw and unedited.

💚✈️💚✨️

26th July 2017

It will be 3 weeks from when i left the clinic in Germany. I have had many people ask me how do i feel now after my treatment is over.

To be honest words can not express how i feel right now. My life is very different now and i do not think that some of my loved ones in my life will ever truley understand what it was like for me.

Waking up but not wanting to face the day due to all the pain all over my body and the extreme mental fog. With the moments of clarity i did have, it was just too much to handle. Knowing i was going to Germany helped me keep slightly sain right before.

I apologize if what i am about to say may stir up emotions for some but i will be bluntly honest here. There were some very dark days in the last year gone by where i felt it would be easier to just end it all and trust me I got very close.

Most times the love I have for my kids and the love I have from my kids was enough to snap me out of those dark thoughts. Though sometimes even my kids were not enough to snap me out of the dark thoughts as I honestly had thoughts that they would be better off with out me and that applied to all my family and society in general.

Thankfully the love and fear I have for the Almighty was always enough to eventually snap me out of the dark thoughts.

As an alternative I used to actually pray to the Almighty to take me away from what i was going through, back in January I had a taste of death with myself unable to breath and my body shutting down due to oxygen starvation. If i was home alone, paramedics said i would have not made it that night.

That night was the night i realised how real death actually was and knew regardless of what i am going through, I had to somehow push through and fight hard and not let the dark thoughts overwhelm me when my days were rough.

Over time it got better to the point it was just a passing thought here and there. Naturally for me to get to this stage, I had to mentally accept the reality i couldn't cope with going out with my family and enjoying my children for a simple walk to a park or even a drive to a park and other such things.

Same goes with not coping with cooking a meal for my husband and children and keeping my house tidy.

I did not have the energy to even play with my children inside the home.

I had to accept i just had to rest alot to prevent me from having a mental breakdown.

I was like a zombie just getting through one day at a time and feeling incredibly guilty for everything. I forgot what it was like to be a wife and mother.

I am sure you can imagine that this way of life is a life no one wants to live, as a result I had lots of bitterness in me and became very snappy.

I was determined to pull through and shine again and knew i had to take control somehow. With lots of my own research and communications with my local LLMD, I was determined that recieving treatment for myself in Germany was my ticket out of this misery and get my life back.

I had to find evey piece of bravery and hope inside me to travel to Germany, leaving my family behind and knowing all the risks in hope of having a better life then the one I was living.

Was it worth it?????

Absolutely bloody worth it!!!!!!!

I am still feeling surreal and probably will for some time for how dramatically my life has changed for the better. Considering i had this illness for 15 years and it slowly starting affecting my brain, my way of thinking and personality slowly changed without me realising. I have realized how much i changed since all the brain fog and confusion has lifted and for this reason i will say this...

The "Old Roxy" that i affectionatley nick named is back!!!!!. She was hiding deep inside me waiting to be rescued. The "old roxy" is who my hubby fell in love with and married. 💖💖

Like i said words can not express how happy i am and just happy to be back and finding my feet again in the life that was robbed from me.

For those who knew me 10+ years ago, you knew who i was and saw me slowly go down hill. For those that have met me in between, i suppose you never knew the real me. 😉

This has become another super long post and will post what i actually have achieved in another post.

For now just remember, if you ever have dark thoughts and feel there is no hope. Please speak to someone who you trust and if you do not trust, speak to The Almightly and pour your heart out. Have patience and slowly it will get better.

I do not want to come accross all preachy and that but that is exactly what i did and here i am forever greatful i did. 💖💖💖

I am a Lyme Disease Warrior 💚⬇️Throwback to my original posts from 2017, documenting my second day in Dubai which was or...
15/08/2026

I am a Lyme Disease Warrior 💚⬇️

Throwback to my original posts from 2017, documenting my second day in Dubai which was originally meant to be just the one day in Dubai to break up travel from the rehabilitation clinic in Germany to home in Australia.

I was in Germany to give myself the best possible chance of fighting Lyme Disease. 💪💚

As per my previous posts, I left the rehabilitation clinic a day earlier and arranged an extra day in Dubai.

Below captures what I did on the extra time i had in Dubai.

As i only originally had less than 24 hours in Dubai, I did not have a full night on my second day as had to be at the airport by 10pm for my Emirates flight back to Australia.

I am pretty proud of myself of what I pulled off!

The lanterns in my photo are from my adventure on my last day in Dubai however the photo was taken in my home not long after getting home.

I have a genuine love of having lanterns in my home, not sure if it because my Great Grandfather was candle maker and had a very successful business in Turkey! ✨️🕯😍

I am forever greatful that I was able to go to Germany and feel such a difference in such a quick time frame. 💪🎉🤩

It also gave me the confidence of rather than chaning all my flights to go a day earlier home, i decided to spend an extra day in Dubai to just chill and enjoy what I can.

My original post below captues my significant improvement of my health!

I really advise to view my previous posts and read them as a story if you have not seen my others as yet. 😊

My posts are often very detailed, so if you don't have time to read them all now, feel free to follow me and come back whenever it suits you if you are interested in my journey.

You will also be able to find my previous posts and can follow along as I continue sharing both my Lyme disease journey, my weight loss journey and more😊✨️

If you've only just found my page, here's a little background about who I am and what this page is all about.

I've decided to openly share my fight with Lyme disease that I had many years ago, I started sharing my journey to the world during Lyme Disease Awareness Month - May. 💚🌎🌍🌏💚

I was hoping to have completed uploading my original private posts of my Lyme journey in May but that did not happen for various reasons and had to take a break.

However I am back to continue!

For those who have been reading my long posts already, thankyou for all the support! 💚✨️

I also live with multiple other health conditions, which I will be speaking openly about as well. 💜✨

If you would like more insight into why I travelled to Germany for treatment, please read my previous posts.

I will say that overall, my posts will make more sense if read in order, as they were written to flow together as part of my experience.

🚨⚠️ Disclaimer: My treatment took place in 2017, so I cannot guarantee that the same treatment plan is still available at this clinic today. However, if you're interested in learning about what I did, these posts will provide a snapshot of the treatment that worked very well for me. 🚨⚠️

Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments below. ⬇️

My original post below is raw and unedited. You will notice spelling and grammar mistakes that reflect the condition of my mind, health, and eyesight at the time.

At the time I wrote these posts, I considered leaving Australia as Day One of my journey. However, I have now changed that and consider Day One to be the day I saw the Lyme specialist at Vital Kliniken in Bad Driburg, Germany.

My original posts reflect leaving Australia as Day 1 and decided to leave it like that to keep it authentic.

Please note I now consider Day 30 as simply a stopover day in Dubai to breakup my flights, as my actual treatment of Fighting Lyme disease in Germany was over apart from continuing to take medication.

💚✈️💚✨️

I am Home!!

I arrived yesterday at 1:00am and out of all my flights as a passenger, i knew before takeoff it was going to be horrible.

It had nothing to do with the 11 hour flight, i can handle that nor that it was completely booked, can handle that too.

It was because out of all the random other single travellers on the flight, i was seated next to an extremely sick guy who was constantly sneezing and coughing and all the other things which come with being sick.

Not only was i breathing the recycled air but i was in his sneezing and coughing launch range and let me assure as much as he was trying to cough and sneeze in his hands, there were times it just did not happen and i was feeling very gross and worried.

Lyme disease weakens the immune system dramatically and even after a nearly a month of treatment, my inmune system has not had enough time to get strong yet.

My lyme specialist advised me that the flight itself with out sitting next to a sick person, will set me back and to ensure i just rest the day i get back home.

I did rest for most of the first day I arrived in Dubai except for some shopping and manicure in the evening and rested most of my last day except for my adventure to buy Lanterns.

Naturally i was worried that i was going to get sick and undo alot of progress I endured in Germany.

For the last few hours I couldn't handle sitting next to him anymore and became one of the stalkers in the flight galley.

Cabin Crew were comfortable as they knew the situation.

They incorporated me in their convos and it felt so natural, i do miss my crewing days chilling in the galley after sevice.

It has since been more than 24 hours since arriving back home and thankfully i do not feel that i am becoming sick!

My last day in Dubai i loved.

I had another massage in the hotel spa, this time a one hour foot massage.

After that I went shopping at a warehouse shop in the industrial area of dubai. I was the only person in the shop. I got so many beautiful lanterns at wholesale price. 😍

I was prepared to go to the souks in old dubai, to get my lanterns but the concierge at hotel told me about this place!

It was amazing, it is open to public but they do not advertize themselves in anything tourism related and this concierge member happened to know the warehouse. It was so off the grid that not even the taxi driver i had knew this place.

As for my lugguage over weight problem, all my lanterns came with me in the cabin. 😂

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