Melody Pruitt LPC Associate
Supervised by Kathleen Mills, LPC-S, CEAP

My name is Melody Pruitt LPC Associate and, like a lot of other therapists, I became a counselor because I like helping people. With your permission I'd like to tell you about what it is that keeps me in the game and gets me out of bed every morning. What drives me with a special focus towards helping someone just like you. Then, maybe, we can help each other.

My Drivers

I'm a local girl, born and raised in the Carrollton area. I have one sister and my folks both still live here. Did the college thing, earned a masters and got my counseling license. Found a supervisor, started working on my associate hours and things looked rosey.

Then I got sick.

I was bed-ridden for the better part of three years. In bed, all day, three years. I lost everything and had to move back home so my folks could care for me. We saw every doctor and every type of doctor you can think of, and I was eventually diagnosed with Behçet’s Disease but no one could ease the excruciating pain shooting through my body or tell me how I had acquired this disease.

It got so bad even the 4-5 Percocet pills I was taking every day didn't make a dent in the pain. I lost all but one friend (thank you, MK!). My agony eventually alienated both my parents and my sister because it was impossible to be around me and it took its toll on everyone.

Since the doctors couldn't tell me how I had obtained Behçet’s Disease nor could they do much to relieve the symptoms, much less cure me, I was left to my own abilities to uncover the truth. I spent any pain-free time online researching symptoms and any lead I came across to no avail, until one day I happened across a Facebook Group for Behçet’s Disease. I already had a name for what I had and knew the symptoms intimately, but finally someone was proposing a possible reason as to why I had it in the first place and it turned out to be a specific vaccine I had taken when I was 18.

I had taken that vaccine when I was 18 and not only was one of the major side effects of Behçet’s Disease, but an average 10 year time delay post-vaccine before symptoms appeared was common. That was me!! Now I knew what I had and why. All that remained was how to fix me.

My Spiritual Armor

My faith in my Savior has always been strong but three years of the misery I went through made it almost bullet-proof. I prayed, I prayed a lot, and I got better. I can't tell you why. I didn't change my routine, didn't change my diet. Didn't see any more doctors, didn't start some new pill regimen. Nothing changed, but my symptoms subsided to the point that I want to believe it's gone.

Maybe it's a full-scale remission and it'll come back some day, maybe the Lord I still pray to everday healed me. I choose to believe the latter but either way, I'm not bed-ridden anymore and I'm back to work with a renewed and special focus; to help people with vaccine related injuries.

Sound Familiar?

If that's you or you have a related problem then I can offer you the following: an open mind and a willing pair of ears, a loving heart that understands the pain you're going through, and a Christian approach to all of this if that's of any comfort to you. I can help you work the puzzle.

Just remember this....whatever your issue is, you're not the first and that means someone, like me, has already walked the path to discovery and recovery. All you may need is a little help navigating the route and I'd like to try if you're game.