Help Jeff receive treatment for Chronic Lyme Disease.

Jeff Goldsmith is organizing this fundraiser.

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Hi all! I am starting this Gofundme in hopes of generating a solid start to my ongoing struggle with Chronic Lyme Disease. This is my last resort in attempting to finance treatment and was hesitant to ask publicly. That being said, I have exhausted all of my options and have no other choice at this point due to insurance not covering the lengthy and costly treatments that I need.

At the end of 2023, I was hit with a sudden wave of illness that I can only describe as being horrible. My symptoms would range from fever, night sweats, muscles tremors, joint pain, gut issues and insomnia to sever neurological issues. Like any normal person, I went to the doctor after about 10 days, as I was not getting any better. After an exhaustive amount of lab work and scans, my doctor could not seem to figure out the cause. This initial phase went on for about six months as I continued to try and find an answer. I asked my doctor to test me for Lyme as It was one of the only things they had not checked. He refused to test me and basically told me that I was crazy and needed to seek the help of a mental health professional. I had already done so as I was so physically ill, that I believed I was going insane. My symptoms continued to worsen to the point where I could no longer be physically active and was in bed most of the day. This was the most frustrating part as I could no longer play with my daughters or work. I had to take an extensive leave of absence from job at the University while trying to find the root cause of my illness. I ended up going on an eight week course of antibiotics which completely destroyed my gut microbiome and left me worse off then when I started. It has been a year and a half of complete hell that cost me a lot of quality time with my family and friends. Fast forward to present time and I am pretty much in the same boat. I finally managed to get a doctor to test me for Lyme and sure enough, It was positive for Borrelia (Lyme). After consulting with an infectious disease doctor here in Germany, she verified the diagnoses with two different forms of PCR tests. She also informed me that at this stage it was chronic and antibiotics are no longer deemed effective. This was a major blow to my hopes of finding a treatment plan and road to recovery. I would not wish this illness on my worst enemy, as it robs you of the joy of living and can make the most routine tasks feel like an unsolvable puzzle. The brain fog, insomnia and stomach issues are enough to ruin your entire day but the neurological symptoms simply drive you insane. Nobody deserves to live like this. What has impacted me the most is watching my two young daughters wonder why their dad is not able to play with them, help with homework or be there for them. Some days I feel well enough to fight through it but they are short lived. Then there are the days and weeks where I simply can´t function.

All I really want to do is be able to be there for my children and show them a healthy version of myself. I have now lost about 40% of the vision in my left eye and can no longer use my left hand for fine motor activities. I am certain that with the right treatment, I can get on top of this thing and work my back to being " normal"!

Treatment:

I was lucky enough to consult with some private doctors here in Germany to explore my options. Germany seems to have a good handle on Lyme and Co-infections as there are an extremely high number of Lyme related illnesses reported here each year. I am now looking to receive treatment at one of the top rated Lyme treatment centers in the world. The good news is that they are in Germany and also in Cypress ( not so far away. The unfortunate news is that even with Germany´s robust health care system, the treatments are not covered by any health insurance.

Here are links to the two treatment centers.

St George Klinik

Apheresiscenter

I am leaning towards Apheresiscenter is it seems to have better patient reviews. I also had felt a bit more reassured after speaking with the medical staff via zoom.

I greatly appreciate you taking the time to hear my story!

Much love!