Ashley Cline has been in a battle with Lyme disease for over a year now. She went undiagnosed for almost nine months, even after having a positive Western Blot for Lyme nearly seven months ago. She has been able to endure the symptoms up until recently when she started experiencing trigeminal neuralgia. The pain has completely debilitated this high functioning school administrator, wife, and mother of two young girls.
After five visits to the ER in less than two weeks, with no amount or type of medication helping to relieve her pain, we finally found some relief from the 7th neurologist she has seen this year. For several months, no doctor has been able to correctly diagnose Ashley's ailments. She has seen multiple neurologists who most often quickly tell her that it is MS and tell her to come back in six weeks. The ER doctors brushed off the possibility of Lyme for many months and misdiagnosed her illness as gas, strained intercostal muscle, and even full-body shingles! During our multiple visits to hospital ER's over the last few days, she was told each time that it was just a migraine, even though she had never had a migraine, and rarely a headache. The current neurologist correctly diagnosed the pain as Trigeminal Neuralgia and not "just a migraine," and prescribed medications that at least give Ashley some relief from the unrelenting pain, but still admits that her problem is a medical mystery.
After visiting with her Infectious Disease doctor, who initially diagnosed her symptoms as being caused by Lyme in October, she had a PICC line put in for administering daily IV antibiotics to fight the infection. It did not seem to be working so it was pulled the day before the headaches began. We have recently had the PICC line replaced with even more daily IV antibiotics prescribed for her to take. However, due to the extended time of being untreated, the Lyme has been able to penetrate tissues and hide behind biofilm that the antibiotics may not be able to treat. The infectious disease doctor referred Ashley to do hyperbaric treatment, which will force the anaerobic bacteria from hiding so that the antibiotics can fight off the infection.
The hyperbaric treatments, however, come with a hefty price tag and are not covered by Ashley's insurance. On top of this, the antibiotics are only covered for 28 days by her insurance. She will need at least six months of treatment and possibly more than a years worth of daily antibiotic treatment to treat the Lyme infection.
We are now asking for help to allow Ashley to continue her treatment in hopes of a full recovery for this once vibrant woman who created the Facebook page T.R.A.G.I.C (Teacher Rally to Advocate for Georgia Insurance Changes), that has helped thousands of others with their own health insurance and health.
After five visits to the ER in less than two weeks, with no amount or type of medication helping to relieve her pain, we finally found some relief from the 7th neurologist she has seen this year. For several months, no doctor has been able to correctly diagnose Ashley's ailments. She has seen multiple neurologists who most often quickly tell her that it is MS and tell her to come back in six weeks. The ER doctors brushed off the possibility of Lyme for many months and misdiagnosed her illness as gas, strained intercostal muscle, and even full-body shingles! During our multiple visits to hospital ER's over the last few days, she was told each time that it was just a migraine, even though she had never had a migraine, and rarely a headache. The current neurologist correctly diagnosed the pain as Trigeminal Neuralgia and not "just a migraine," and prescribed medications that at least give Ashley some relief from the unrelenting pain, but still admits that her problem is a medical mystery.
After visiting with her Infectious Disease doctor, who initially diagnosed her symptoms as being caused by Lyme in October, she had a PICC line put in for administering daily IV antibiotics to fight the infection. It did not seem to be working so it was pulled the day before the headaches began. We have recently had the PICC line replaced with even more daily IV antibiotics prescribed for her to take. However, due to the extended time of being untreated, the Lyme has been able to penetrate tissues and hide behind biofilm that the antibiotics may not be able to treat. The infectious disease doctor referred Ashley to do hyperbaric treatment, which will force the anaerobic bacteria from hiding so that the antibiotics can fight off the infection.
The hyperbaric treatments, however, come with a hefty price tag and are not covered by Ashley's insurance. On top of this, the antibiotics are only covered for 28 days by her insurance. She will need at least six months of treatment and possibly more than a years worth of daily antibiotic treatment to treat the Lyme infection.
We are now asking for help to allow Ashley to continue her treatment in hopes of a full recovery for this once vibrant woman who created the Facebook page T.R.A.G.I.C (Teacher Rally to Advocate for Georgia Insurance Changes), that has helped thousands of others with their own health insurance and health.