For many, the year 2020 has been a year of anxiety, hardship and the fear of the unknown. While this has been the experience for the vast majority of people around the world for this year, Dameon has been fighting this battle for years now. While many anticipate the release of a vaccine to bring back "normal life", Dameon is undertaking treatment to help him return to the feeling of normalcy we feel every day, despite a pandemic. Over the last 2 years Dameon and Vanessa have spent thousands of dollars on getting a proper diagnosis when Dameon fell ill in April of 2018. What should have been an exciting time in their lives as a young couple, hoping to get married and plan for their future, they have repeatedly been disappointed by our Health Care System that fails to recognize Lyme disease as a true illness.

Dameon’s History:

In April of 2018, Dameon was sent to hospital due to severe pain near a discoloured spot on his back, as well as severe weight loss and gastric issues that caused frequent nausea and vomiting. The doctors, perplexed as to why a 25-year-old male was so ill and losing weight, prescribed various pain medication and sent him on his way. After insisting the doctors do more, Dameon was then referred to a Gastro Intestinal specialist and an Internal Medicine doctor, where they had decided to investigate further.

By fall of 2018, Dameon had undergone x-rays, 2 MRIs, a CT scan, gastric emptying test, an endoscope, a colonoscope, and several blood tests for Celiac disease, Thyroid illnesses, Addisons disease, Ulcerative colitis, Crohns disease, as well as Lyme disease, all coming back negative. He even made a trip to Toronto to get some of these tests done faster, as the hospitals here in Ottawa were too busy. Dameon had now reached a weight of 115lbs, was bedridden, unable to eat due to severe nausea and stomach pain, and was forced to go on unpaid sick leave from his job, leaving Vanessa to pay for all the bills.

After the 8th time being admitted to the emergency that year, Dameon, once again tested negative for Lyme, despite having symptoms consistent with the illness. After much disappointment, both Vanessa and Dameon decided to spend more money and seek help from a Naturopathic Doctor who tested Dameon for Lyme disease once again, but used a lab outside of Canada. After only a week, the results from Germany not only came back positive for Lyme, but 3 other tick bourn illnesses. Dameon was then prescribed a 6-week antibiotic treatment, along with a holistic treatment plan all paid for out of pocket, as naturopathic medicine is not covered by OHIP.

Current treatment:

After antibiotic treatment, Dameon started to see some improvement. He was able to get out of bed for brief walks, and managed to gain some weight, but continues to live in severe pain. After a full year of expensive holistic treatment, Dameon fell ill once again with mold toxicity and therefore, sought help from a private physician, along with the naturopath, to see if there was anything more they could do to help Dameon get back to a normal life. Due to Canada’s lack of knowledge of treatment for Lyme Disease, a private physician and Naturopath are paid out of pocket and further testing outside of Canada is required in order to accurately monitors Dameon’s diagnosis. Dameon is still waiting for results to come back following the retest, to put him on a more solid treatment plan. With the current Covid-19 Pandemic, and many people experiencing unemployment, Dameon has been unemployed for 3 years, and has since had to stop most of the treatment prescribed by the naturopathic doctor, because it was too expensive to keep up.

His Reality

As of today, Dameon is still fighting to get his health back on track. His symptoms, more than two years later, are still the same; he is experiencing severe body pain, mood swings all while trying to manage his diabetes. Dameon is also being treated for anxiety and depression related to the Lyme disease that has taken over his life. It is through this GoFundMe that we are hoping to help Dameon, with costs incurred from treatment. With Dameon still unable to work now, costs for treatment and everyday life are piling up. Canada’s inability to offer treatment options is forcing Dameon to look to Germany or the United States for treatment, all of which are not covered by any insurance program in Canada. As we all move towards anticipating our normal in 2021, we hope that you’re able to look into your heart and help Dameon begin his road back to normal.