TOUCHED BY LYME: Rising musical star gives Dec. 4 “Stageit” concert for Lyme
Kêta’s own experience with Lyme disease inspires her music and her desire to help others in the same boat.
Kêta Jo McCue, a 16-year-old singer/songwriter, was born into a musical family in Indiana. She was even homeschooled, so she could travel and perform with her parents at fairs, church services, and other venues around the country. Music was a big part of her life.
Then, at age 10, things went dramatically south. As she later recounted on the AMTC website:
I was bitten by a tick (very normal where we live) and we removed it like we always do. But two weeks later I began having problems. There was a rapid decline in my health… I was 10 years old using a cane and braces for my ankles, knees and wrists. I even had a wheel chair just in case. Even when I was laying on the couch I was in constant pain. Every bone, every joint hurt and was swollen.
It took a year to get a diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease.
“My life was all doctor’s appointments, tests, needles and experiments with different medications,” Kêta says on her Facebook page. “I remember lying in bed thinking that I needed to rethink my entire life and who I was going to be.”
Her dreams always included music. After a wide variety of treatments, Kêta’s health eventually improved. Throughout her recovery process, she returned to music, learning to play ukulele and guitar. By age 14, she was well enough to travel to Florida to take part in a week-long talent showcase.
Fast forward to the present day. She has made a splash by recording and performing her own songs and is considered a rising musical star in the entertainment world. She was the opening act for UK singer/songwriter Sam Smith on a recent West Coast tour. And she’s using her talent to help others with Lyme disease.
In partnership with the LymeLight Foundation, which provides treatment grants to young people with Lyme disease, Kêta will perform an online concert via Stageit on Thursday, Dec. 4, 5 pm Pacific time. You’ll be able to watch this live concert on your home computer, after you purchase a ticket on Stageit. (The price of a concert ticket is “10 notes,” which translates into one dollar. You can donate more by purchasing more “notes.”)
I’ve already circled the day on my calendar to watch this special performance. As Kêta once told an interviewer, the songs she writes don’t come from being in love or having troubles like that. “It’s from going down a really dark hole, grabbing a rope and pulling myself back up. It is driven from my situation and from my health.”
Click here for more information about how to watch the concert on Stageit.
Click here for more about the LymeLight Foundation.
Click here for Keta’s website.
TOUCHED BY LYME is written by Dorothy Kupcha Leland, LymeDisease.org’s VP for Education and Outreach. Contact her at dleland@lymedisease.org. On Twitter, she’s @dorothyleland.
We at Hand in hand for Lyme disease Inc are a new nonprofit organization started by my husband and myself. We are devoted to helping people who can’t afford to pay for their Lyme treatment. We are using fundraisers and donations to help. I have a campaign called Over 300 , 000 true Lyme disease stories. I am compiling stories from people who have Lyme disease to publish in a book to try to gain national awareness. Each author will decide if the book is published what to do with their shares. I do not want money. I want national awareness and the CDC and IDSA to recognize that Lyme disease exists and get insurance to pay. We at Hand in hand for Lyme disease Inc have a mission to provide education, supoort, advocacy, and raise awareness. I have spent hours on the phone with people who have no one. Helped find doctors, helped find hope. We are so hopeful we can be a,success our vision is to help anyone with a chronic illness with any financial hardship. But one step at a time. We can be found at Hand in Hand for Lyme. Com or call me Laura 413-495-2131. Hand in hand means holding hands we support one another and holding hands we pray and maintain faith we will persevere with God’s holy grace. Take care and God bless you
Laura Watt-Closser
Dear Laura,
I was diagnosed with anaplasmosis in April and then in July I was diagnosed with Lyme. It is in my central nervous system and like you, I just feel like I have a story to tell from my treatment to my symptoms that still persist. I am going to do a picc line again in January-insurance permitting for 6 weeks. I was bitten last January from what I can ascertain and every day I am reminded in some way that I am still very sick. I just started a new job and it is literally sucking the life out of me. I spend my weekends in bed trying to rest and gain strength for the week ahead of me. My infectious disease doctor told me last week that I am in the 1/3 % of her patients who do not get better. I am devastated by this comment and can’t believe that I will feel like this from now on. I am 59years old and was in great health until I was bitten.