Bethany's Miracle - Chronic Lyme Disease

Bethany, myself and our 4 children (Cohen, Brasen, Nolan and Raegan) are asking for your help.  Bethany has been battling Lyme disease for a long time.  As a family, we are all in this together and we have declared WAR against Lyme disease that is taking the quality of life from our dear Bethany.  We are all fighting against Lyme Disease that is attacking our Bethany!  We want you to join the fight!   We are about to embark on a journey that is financially impossible for our family….but we believe in a God that can turn the IMPOSSIBLE into the POSSIBLE.  God uses ordinary people like you and me to help others in their times of need.  We are all part of modern day miracles in life, and we are asking you to be a part of our story, our testimony and the miracle that will provide Bethany with the healing she so deserves.   Below is Bethany’s story….   About 18 months ago (the summer of 2018), Bethany started getting very weird symptoms. They included things like joint aches, back pain, and one time when we were camping, she could not put any weight on her foot. This all came out of nowhere. But, she tossed it up to being a busy mother with 4 children. Then, in August of 2018, she started getting sores on her head that oozed and turned into scabs and they were also very painful to the touch. We speculated and thought that this may be shingles or something similar. Her lymph nodes were swelling too.  We went to our Primary Care doctor and he ruled out shingles.  In fact, he was at a loss as to what was going on with Bethany’s body and knew that it had to do with her immune system not working correctly.   In September 2018, Bethany went to bed distraught and not understanding what was going on with her body.  She woke up around 1:30am, and started getting dressed.  I looked at her and asked, “Where are you going?”  She responded and let me know that God had told her that she needs to go to the ER.  I stayed at home to be with the children, and she called me after walking into the ER.   The doctor on call saw her, and within minutes told her, “You have Lyme Disease, and it is past the initial stages and is what we would consider Chronic.”  This revelation from the doctor allowed Bethany to recall that she had been bit in May 2018 by a tick.  He started antibiotics right away and she went on the standard 90 days of antibiotics to treat Lyme Disease.  The doctor told her that since she was “Chronic”, she would have a long fight against Lyme Disease, and this disease would not be cured, but could be put in remission.  It would be a condition she will have to live with the rest of her life.   After 90 days of antibiotics, things were getting worse, not better.  It was in November 2018 that Bethany’s legs stopped working.  We were walking across a parking lot, and her legs just stopped.  She couldn’t explain it.  She was trying to move, and her brain was telling them to move…but they just would not go.   We were at a loss as to what to do next, so we started researching treatment of Lyme Disease, and we kept reaching dead ends with our primary care physician.  Our Primary Care doctor did not know what to do.  He admitted that he had no background or understanding of the disease, and referred us to an Infectious Disease doctor at Chapel Hill, NC.  The Infectious Disease doctor denied our care, stating that Chronic Lyme Disease is not recognized by the CDC as a “real” condition.  Any treatment would have to be approved by the Medical Board at UNC’s hospital.   After receiving this news, we sought out care any way we could.  We could not wait for a board to decide our fate.  We had a friend that had good results with a local chiropractor that was “Lyme Literate” and had extensive training to treat Lyme.  In fact, he was using medical treatment procedures that are already being used in Europe and Asia.    It was at this time that the stress of funding Bethany’s treatment came into the picture.  What were we going to do?  My bride, the woman that I love with all my heart could not use her legs.  She had a walker, and in most cases we were pushing her around in a wheelchair.  So, we buckled down and we knew that God would provide, we just had to take a step of faith.  I look back and really do not understand how we have made it this far.   To start treatment with the local chiropractor, we needed to prepare for about $12,000 to $15,000 in expenses.  This would include weekly sessions with the doctor, medication, and a tremendous amount of testing.  Through this testing, Bethany found out that she not only has Lyme Disease, but also a few coinfections.  She also has Babesia, Bartonella and has had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.   Bethany continued to go to this local doctor for about 9 months (once a week), and he was tremendous…however, Bethany had reached a point where she plateaued.  She would need more extensive treatment.    Here are the symptoms that Bethany deals with daily:   ·       Chronic Pain – this pain travels through her body, because it is tied to her Central Nervous system.  A lot of the pain resides in her back, but she has jaw pain that makes it hard to eat, joint pain and more. ·       Restless Sleep – she probably has not had a full night of sleep in almost 2 years. ·       Fatigue – there are days that she cannot even get out of her bed ·       Short Term Memory – Lyme can attack Neurological function and it has with Bethany.  She cannot remember things that she says in a conversation, and just the other day…she was on the phone with her pharmacy and forgot who she was talking to.  She has been driving home and forgets where she is, and has to call me for direction in her home town. ·       Speech Problems – At times, Bethany seems to stutter.  There are other times that it seems like she cannot get enough air in her lungs to talk ·       Decreased muscle function – there are times that she cannot even walk, it is like her muscles have forgot their job ·       Rashes (burning) – the rashes that show up on her body burn like fire.  They bring her to her knees in pain, and feel like she is sitting in an open flame.  This symptom is especially hard to watch. ·       Cardiovascular (heart) – Tachycardia and chest pain ·       Nausea ·       Dizziness ·       Hair Loss ·       Sweats (cold and hot) ·       Loss of appetite ·       Bone pain – part of the chronic pain, but a deeper pain than regular joint pain ·       Ringing in ears ·       Hearing Loss ·       Bone Loss – it is documented by the doctor that her bones are actually losing their density and this past week (Dec 2019) the Dentist has told her that her jaw bone is decreasing and one of her molars has cracked in half…however all of her teeth are being affected by this symptom in spite of good oral hygiene. ·       Tremors – Bethany’s hands and face will shake uncontrollably at times. ·       Bell’s palsy – this happens when your face suddenly droops on one side.    …..there are more, and we keep finding new symptoms each day.   This long list of symptoms is the reason we had to seek a treatment that is more extensive from what we were receiving from our local doctor.    We did our research and found the Jemsek Specialty Clinic in Washington DC.  Dr. Jemsek was a leading physician that treated many AIDS patients, and after being very successful with that transitioned to treating Lyme Disease…another hard to treat disease that affects the immune system.   I have also met 3 individuals in the past 6 months that have been treated by Jemsek Specialty Clinic and are now in full remission and leading normal lives once again.  One person I met was during one of my work days at a local school.  I met this person on one of the days that Bethany and I were about to “throw the towel” in.  She was in so much pain, and things seemed to be spiraling and getting worse and worse.  However, God had another plan…I met someone that had been out of work for 8 years.  She began to share with me that they were out of work due to having Chronic Lyme Disease.    As soon as I heard this, I stopped working and told her my wife’s story.  I told her about Dr. Jemsek and she immediately says, “You are going to the right place, that doctor cured me from Lyme!”  God is so good!  He delivered Hope to our family when we needed it most.    Bethany went to her first appointment with Dr. Jemsek in August 2019.  This first appointment was an evaluation and cost $890 to go to this appointment.  This did not include travel expenses to Washington DC and hotel expenses while we were there.  It was at this appointment, that Dr. Jemsek’s office did state that we had been doing the right things with the local chiropractor, but agreed it was time for more extensive treatment.   The treatment at the beginning went in this order… 1.        Evaluation – Dr. Jemsek’s team evaluated Bethany and ordered all kinds of tests to include MRI’s, CAT scans, ultrasounds, Endocrinologist evaluation, blood work, cardiovascular referral and gallbladder checks to see the health of her gallbladder.  All of this is done to make sure there is not any other diseases or infections that the body is dealing with before “attacking” the Lyme disease.  2.       Stabilization – After all of these tests, we had some revelations about Bethany’s gallbladder.  We had this removed in mid-October.  Dr. Jemsek’s office wants to get the patients’ body settled internally and externally to prepare it for treatment. 3.       Treatment – this is where we are at now.  We are about to embark on a 7-9 month antibiotic treatment where Bethany will have a port in her chest and we will administer antibiotics through an IV 3 days a week, and the other days we will administer IV fluids in her port.    The IV treatment will be given in phases.  Each phase can be 4 weeks or 6 weeks.  The phases costs between $5,000 and $9,700.  We have to pay this before each treatment…but, have to commit to being able to complete the 7 to 9 months of treatment before even starting.  The reason for the upfront commitment is because it can be very bad for Bethany to start the IV treatment and abruptly stop in the middle of treatment.  In fact, if that were to happen, the Lyme could come back even stronger than ever and leave Bethany worse that she was when she started.   We will be paying around $65,000 for the IV treatment in total.  However, this does NOT include the current 45 to 60 pills of medication currently being taken daily, also new medication administered via shots given by me to my wife, travel to and from Washington DC every 4-6 weeks, hotel expenses, and money for incidentals.  It is estimated that the entire treatment will cost anywhere from $80,000 to $100,000.   Again, our family realizes that we CANNOT do this alone.  We will need the community and extended friends and family to help.  Along this journey, at each step where we did not think we would be able to continue…God provided a way.  Whether it was logistics, financial, childcare, you name it…we were provided a way for Bethany’s treatment to continue.  We are once again at a doorway, and are challenged to walk through the door holding onto HOPE and FAITH as we walk through the door.  We will not make it without your help and we thank you in advance for your help.   We love you all!!  I have always loved this picture below.  It is how Bethany truly is inside and out.  SHE SHINES!!!! Bert, Bethany, Cohen, Brasen, Nolan and Raegan GoFundMe has placed a "hold" on my withdrawal and requested additional information.  Bethany's first treatment is coming quickly, so it is my hope that they remove the "hold" after the editing of the "story" with the information they have requested. Below added on 1/3/2020 as requested by GoFundMe: 1.  Who you are and where you’re from - My name is Albert J. Walker (Bert), and I am from Angier, NC. 2.  Your relationship or contact to the parties you're raising funds for - I am the sole "bread" winner for my family.  My wife is the patient going through the Lyme Disease treatment.  I am raising the money for her treatment; however, I am the person responsible to pay the medical bills at Jemsek Specialty Clinic.  This is why I stated at the beginning that this fundraiser is helping my entire family. 3.  How the funds will be spent (be specific as possible) - every single penny of the funds being raised will be spent solely on Bethany's (my wife) long-term IV antibiotic therapy at Dr. Jemsek Specialty Clinic.  This IV therapy is not covered by insurance.  At a very minimum, the IV therapy will cost $65,000, this is why I set the fundraising goal at $65,000.  We will still be spending all of our savings, and most of my income on travel, medication, hotel expenses, and much more.  The total costs of treatment is expected to be close to $100,000 for this year. 4.  Your withdrawal plan to get the funds from the campaign to the ultimate beneficiary/ies - I have set up a separate bank account specifically for all funds to be deposited to.  The funds need to be withdrawn when available.  The treatment has to be paid for the day she starts each cycle.  The cycles last 4-6 weeks, and the cost range from $5,000 to $9,700 each treatment.  This does not include the office fees ($390), travel expenses, hotel and incidentals.  This bank account is a joint account with Bethany and myself.   Thank you GoFundMe for the platform to raise money.