Help Lorraine Get Her Life Back
Donation protected
In 2014, our mom Lorraine, at the age of 58, began to have dizzy spells and started falling for no reason... today she is living in an assisted living home unable to care for herself, bed & wheelchair bound.
In 4 short years she has gone from a vibrant, fun loving, woman to a woman who has had her independence and physical health completely stripped away. At a time in her life when she should be enjoying retirement and spending time with her granddaughter, she is stuck in an assisted living home, with no diagnosis or treatment, fading away.
Our mom has had to go on CPP Disability, has no insurance and has spent her entire life savings trying to find an answer. Over the last 4 years our mom, Lorraine, has been to multiple doctors and specialists with no diagnosis, no treatments and no hope.
After much research we are wondering if she could possibly have Chronic Lyme Disease and/or Co-infection(s). Our mom was bitten by something (thinking it was a spider at the time) and had a rash which her GP said was shingles. No testing or treatment was given at the time. She was living in a farming area. We have since learned that 2 of our neighbors (who lived where our mom was bitten by something) had/have contracted Lyme Disease. She has 20 out of 27 Symptoms on the Armin Labs short Lyme Checklist.
Unfortunately, the testing available in Canada is unreliable for diagnosing Chronic Lyme. The test we need is not available in Canada and has to be done at one of 2 labs in the world located in Germany or the US. The test is not covered by OHIP.
We are asking for your help in raising funds to get the test done. The cost of the test is approx $3300 CAD with GoFundMe fees of approx $200. We are running out of time. Our mom's illness continues to progress at an alarming rate and it is imperative we complete the test within the next few weeks. Please help us by making a donation. This could be our last hope of finding a diagnosis and possible treatment to save and improve the quality of our mom's life.
During the 4 years shuffling from doctor to doctor trying to find a diagnosis my mother's condition has rapidly progressed to completely physically disabled.
Her symptoms have now progressed to:
Dizziness
Falling
High Blood Pressure
Feeling drunk all the time
Watery eyes
Runny nose
Dry mouth
Complete lack of balance (unable to stand or walk).
Hearing Loss
Developed abnormal gait (left side only)
Excessive weight loss
Slurred speech
Strained speech
Foot turned in (left side only)
Eye tracking unable to follow to right
Muscle wasting
Headaches
Exhaustion
Depression
She experiences falls daily and is taken to emerge due to falls multiple times every month.
It is very difficult to get an MD that will look further into Chronic Lyme and co-infection testing/diagnosis/treatments. According to Can-Lyme (the Canadian Lyme Association) there is only 1-Lyme Literate MD in Ontario. Dr. Simon Colla is Located in Toronto. His nurse told me that he is no longer accepting patients. I pleaded with her and explained my moms situation and she told me she would add her to the cancellation list and if a cancellation comes up that she will schedule my mom in BUT only with a positive test result from 1 of 2 labs in the world. One in the USA and one in Germany. Dr. Colla feels these are the only labs that produce accurate results due to their type of testing. Canadian testing is unreliable and the tests we require to see if Lyme and co-infections are the cause are not available in Canada nor covered by OHIP.
Sheri & Amanda
(Lorraine's Daughters)
Our main campaign photo of mom It was taken 2.5 years ago on her before 61st birthday. She was still able to walk only assisted by holding onto to one of us.
Photo below is of mom in Sept 2014, just before she started to feel unwell. She didnt's share with us that she started having dizzy spells because she didn't want us to worry.
At a dinner the June 2015 we (daughters) realized that something wasn't right she was not her usual energetic self, she seemed distant and quiet, and seemed like she had been drinking but had not. The below photo was taken Aug 2015 on our mom's 60th Birthday. She was unsteady on her feet but could walk without assistance.
Below photo was taken in Aug 2017. By this time she used a walker when she was walking on her own. When she was with us she walked holding onto our arm.
By the spring of 2017 she was requiring a PSW to clean and help with showering. By about July 2017 she was falling too frequently and preparing foods (using a knife) and cooking (using stove/oven) became too dangerous and we had meals delivered. By December she had to move into assisted living due to fall risk she needed 24 our monitoring and nursing care for falls.
Below photo is of us this past April 2018. She had progressed to requiring the use of a walker and had suffered extreme weight loss. About 2 months after this photo was taken she began to require a wheelchair due to daily (sometimes multiple daily) falls.
Photo below is her 63rd birthday (Aug 22/18). She has lost strength and is no longer able to move herself in the wheelchair becoming housebound. Having only the two of us to rely on to leave the assisted living home.
In 4 short years she has gone from a vibrant, fun loving, woman to a woman who has had her independence and physical health completely stripped away. At a time in her life when she should be enjoying retirement and spending time with her granddaughter, she is stuck in an assisted living home, with no diagnosis or treatment, fading away.
Our mom has had to go on CPP Disability, has no insurance and has spent her entire life savings trying to find an answer. Over the last 4 years our mom, Lorraine, has been to multiple doctors and specialists with no diagnosis, no treatments and no hope.
After much research we are wondering if she could possibly have Chronic Lyme Disease and/or Co-infection(s). Our mom was bitten by something (thinking it was a spider at the time) and had a rash which her GP said was shingles. No testing or treatment was given at the time. She was living in a farming area. We have since learned that 2 of our neighbors (who lived where our mom was bitten by something) had/have contracted Lyme Disease. She has 20 out of 27 Symptoms on the Armin Labs short Lyme Checklist.
Unfortunately, the testing available in Canada is unreliable for diagnosing Chronic Lyme. The test we need is not available in Canada and has to be done at one of 2 labs in the world located in Germany or the US. The test is not covered by OHIP.
We are asking for your help in raising funds to get the test done. The cost of the test is approx $3300 CAD with GoFundMe fees of approx $200. We are running out of time. Our mom's illness continues to progress at an alarming rate and it is imperative we complete the test within the next few weeks. Please help us by making a donation. This could be our last hope of finding a diagnosis and possible treatment to save and improve the quality of our mom's life.
During the 4 years shuffling from doctor to doctor trying to find a diagnosis my mother's condition has rapidly progressed to completely physically disabled.
Her symptoms have now progressed to:
Dizziness
Falling
High Blood Pressure
Feeling drunk all the time
Watery eyes
Runny nose
Dry mouth
Complete lack of balance (unable to stand or walk).
Hearing Loss
Developed abnormal gait (left side only)
Excessive weight loss
Slurred speech
Strained speech
Foot turned in (left side only)
Eye tracking unable to follow to right
Muscle wasting
Headaches
Exhaustion
Depression
She experiences falls daily and is taken to emerge due to falls multiple times every month.
It is very difficult to get an MD that will look further into Chronic Lyme and co-infection testing/diagnosis/treatments. According to Can-Lyme (the Canadian Lyme Association) there is only 1-Lyme Literate MD in Ontario. Dr. Simon Colla is Located in Toronto. His nurse told me that he is no longer accepting patients. I pleaded with her and explained my moms situation and she told me she would add her to the cancellation list and if a cancellation comes up that she will schedule my mom in BUT only with a positive test result from 1 of 2 labs in the world. One in the USA and one in Germany. Dr. Colla feels these are the only labs that produce accurate results due to their type of testing. Canadian testing is unreliable and the tests we require to see if Lyme and co-infections are the cause are not available in Canada nor covered by OHIP.
Sheri & Amanda
(Lorraine's Daughters)
Our main campaign photo of mom It was taken 2.5 years ago on her before 61st birthday. She was still able to walk only assisted by holding onto to one of us.
Photo below is of mom in Sept 2014, just before she started to feel unwell. She didnt's share with us that she started having dizzy spells because she didn't want us to worry.
At a dinner the June 2015 we (daughters) realized that something wasn't right she was not her usual energetic self, she seemed distant and quiet, and seemed like she had been drinking but had not. The below photo was taken Aug 2015 on our mom's 60th Birthday. She was unsteady on her feet but could walk without assistance.
Below photo was taken in Aug 2017. By this time she used a walker when she was walking on her own. When she was with us she walked holding onto our arm.
By the spring of 2017 she was requiring a PSW to clean and help with showering. By about July 2017 she was falling too frequently and preparing foods (using a knife) and cooking (using stove/oven) became too dangerous and we had meals delivered. By December she had to move into assisted living due to fall risk she needed 24 our monitoring and nursing care for falls.
Below photo is of us this past April 2018. She had progressed to requiring the use of a walker and had suffered extreme weight loss. About 2 months after this photo was taken she began to require a wheelchair due to daily (sometimes multiple daily) falls.
Photo below is her 63rd birthday (Aug 22/18). She has lost strength and is no longer able to move herself in the wheelchair becoming housebound. Having only the two of us to rely on to leave the assisted living home.
Organizer
Sheri Ranger
Organizer
Markham, ON
