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Give Mandy Spencer Time, Rid Lyme

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For me, life has been filled with many joys and happy moments, a lot of ups and downs too, so when the trials and hard times come, it is very obvious to me, what really matters the most.

My dear wife Mandy and I are coming upon our 23rd year of marriage.  The years we have spent together have been happy and blessed. 

A little over 10 years ago, Mandy became sick with what seemed at first to be a common cold.  She came home from teaching a kindergarten class feeling under- the- weather and assumed that she had caught a cold from some of the kids that day.  During the next week and a half, Mandy had a severe sore throat and headaches, and was running a fever.  About 4 days into this burning sore throat, Mandy began to have tremendous pain and stiffness in her head, neck and spine.  The first concern was Meningitis, and she ended up in the E.R., having to have a spinal tap as well as other tests.  When Meningitis was ruled out, we continued to see multiple specialists of different expertise in the valley as the pain continued to move down her arms and back, accompanied by numbness of various degrees, and eventually settled in her lower back, running down both legs and into her feet.  Mandy has always had back pain, due to some scoliosis and as we later found out, a tethered spinal cord, so she was accustomed to some pain. But the pain that she experienced and continues to experience through this trial was above and beyond her ability to manage.  She would lay shaking in bed, unable to perform basic tasks until doctors prescribed her narcotics, which would help to control the pain, enough that she was able to function.  Taking heavy pain medication was not something she wanted to do but she had not been able to find relief in any other way.  It has been extremely difficult for me, our four children and other family members, to see Mandy in such pain and anguish, so the promise of a resolve would be a great blessing.  Mandy has missed many activities/events, that most her healthy people her age would not have to give up, due to her unknown condition.  Our children have had to learn during the worst times, how to manage for themselves.  Much prayer, study, research and love has taught our family to not give up, persevere and to look at many other solutions and/or alternatives, along with modern medicine. 

After numerous trips to the ER, many of the specialist in the Rouge Valley, including Rheumatologists, Neurologists, Nerve Specialists, Infectious disease specialists, etc., the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, Naturopathic clinics in Idaho, and multiple other clinics and doctors, both conventional and non-conventional, we were left without answers, frustrated, worried, and financially decimated.  Four years into this plight, we lost our home due to increasing debt, and in 2011 we filed and had to declare Medical Bankruptcy.  For 6 more years Mandy has been passed from one doctor to the next.  Each new doctor promised hope of a cure, or at least a path to feel better, again with no resolve.

Over the 10 plus years of searching for help, Mandy has been tested numerous times for many well-known diseases, but in 2017 she had a very conclusive Western Blot test, (as well as a second test), that revealed she was positive for Chronic Lyme disease.  Finally, something made sense. 

Lyme disease is a very complex, invasive disease that mimics many other diseases (over 300) and had caused false-positive results on other tests.  Treatment to possibly rid Mandy of Lyme is very complex and very expensive.  There are several clinics in the US that have had results towards “curing” a person of Lyme, or at least helping heal the immune system so it can more adequately fight the disease, but most of the success stories we have found come from those who have gone to other countries, specifically Germany.

Our path ahead to helping Mandy find a better quality of life is paved with huge financial obstacles, particularly because many of the treatments she needs are not covered by our health insurance.  We have been very blessed by the generosity of many people already, who have helped make it possible to pay some of our medical bills along the way.  Unfortunately, due to the cost of medical care and testing alone, has used up the generous donations thus far.  Because of some more recent decline in Mandy’s health, we have been urgently looking into care facilities that are very experienced in treating this disease in a more “all inclusive “ approach, using both conventional, as well as naturopathic, and other seemingly “non-conventional” approaches, that help detox, build the bodies immune system (which is currently fighting against instead of for the body), as well as fighting the spirochete and multiple co-infections that have bombarded her body.  We feel a distinct urgency as time continues to pass, and more and more parts of Mandy’s body and mind continue to decline.  This disease not only attacks vital organs and joints, but one of its large targets is the brain and central nervous system.  Not only does Mandy experience scary episodes of brain inflammation and pain, but beyond the “brain fog” that is typically known by Lyme sufferers, she is increasingly losing memories, and details where she was once proficient. 

My kids and me are asking for time, time with their mother and wife.  This requires money, money I do not have.  I am implored and humbled, to ask for monetary help, I know no other way.  If you feel so at this time, any donation would be appreciated tremendously.

Thank you so much!

Love, Garrett, Savannah, Chloe, Saige and Levi.
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    Co-organizers (6)

    Garrett Spencer
    Organizer
    Gold Hill, OR
    C Smith
    Co-organizer
    Shirley Grether
    Co-organizer
    Dustin Grether
    Co-organizer
    Wendy Saxton
    Co-organizer

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