<div>Hi my name is Maria and I am coming to you to help raise funds needed to help one of my best friends Jennifer Baczuk. It has been several years that I have witnessed a decline in her health due to contracting Lyme disease from a tick bite and unfortunately most days she is in agony and her health is declining rapidly.  Jenn has a side baking business which all profits have been put aside for her treatment and unfortunately due to a shoulder and elbow injury is unable to  do custom cookie orders which have been a large part of her funds going towards her Lyme savings.  We need your help with the GoFundMe and or fundraising ideas.
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<div><strong>HER LYME STORY</strong>
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<div>While visiting her sister in Grand Forks, BC in 2011, she got bit by what she believed to be a spider, only it turned out to be a tick bite. Five days after the bite, she came down with a "flu" only it wasn’t the flu; it was Lyme Disease. Unfortunately, there wasn’t as much awareness back then about tick bites and how serious they are. Had she known it was a tick bite, she would've gone to the doctor and started antibiotics right away. However, because she didn’t know, it took eight years to get properly diagnosed meaning Jenn is now in "late stage" Lyme Disease and antibiotics don’t help anymore. Lyme is a degenerative disease and despite all of her efforts to fight it, her health is declining and quality of life is suffering immensely.
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<div><strong>THE GOAL - TO BECOME KICK ASS AGAIN!</strong>
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<div>If you know Jenn, you know! Being an independent soul, her goal is to continue to do what she loves; running her baking business, her aesthetics business and of course her overwhelming passion - volunteering for vulnerable animals. Jenn is heavily involved with a non - profit called <em>No-Kill Animal Association</em> as Head Fundraiser and she dedicates blood, sweat and tears to help as many companion animals as she can with monthly bottle drives and several seasonal fundraisers. But she has hit a breaking point in her health where she simply cannot keep up. This is her reality and her dear friends and family need to know and this is the reason I am organizing this GoFundMe campaign. If every person on Jenn's Facebook would kindly donate just $25 towards her treatment she would have enough money to finally get her health back to continue living the life she deserves. After all the years she has volunteered and been there for this community I would be so grateful if we can reach this goal for her.
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<div><strong>TREATMENT - SOT - (Supportive Oligonucleotide Therapy)</strong>
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<div>There is a special yet expensive treatment that can help fight Lyme disease and prevent any further decline. The treatment is called Supportive Oligonucleotide Therapy (SOT) and it uses nucleic acids to block the production of proteins that cause Lyme Disease.
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<div>What is SOT:
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<li>How it works - SOT creates a short DNA or RNA segment that binds to a specific section of a pathogen's DNA or RNA, blocking its function and replication. This kills the pathogen and prevents it from replicating
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<li>How it's administered - A specialized lab analyzes a patient's blood to create a personalized nucleic acid sequence. The sequence is then intravenously infused into the patient.
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<li>Success rate- SOT has a positive clinical outcome rate of 95% for Lyme disease.
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<div>The only problem is that each treatment costs $4,500.00 plus tax and Jenn would need four treatments totaling $18,000.00 plus tax. The treatments will knock the life out of her for a while and be off work after each treatment for an undetermined amount of time, also costing her a great deal of money. Finally, she will need to have a current Lyme Disease Test done prior to treatment that costs approximately $2,400.00 before any treatment can start.
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<div><strong>KNOW THE FACTS / AVOID ASSUMPTIONS</strong>
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<li>Unfortunately, Canada doesn't have accurate Lyme testing. There has been an MLA in Calgary pushing for better and more accurate testing. So at this time, you need to send your blood away to a lab in the US or Germany only adding to the exorbitant costs.
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<li>Health Care does not cover this treatment. Health care only covers antibiotics which is not an option as Jenn is in late stage Lyme disease and due to other concerns is not effective.
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<li>After researching other treatment therapy's this treatment is the most effective and affordable as others can range from $60K to $100K in the U.S.
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<li>The financial burden - All other options have been considered but is just not feasible for several reasons. Jenn's partner would do anything to help her with getting her health restored but due to an on-going (9+ years) divorce and custody battle which absorbs 75% of his take home income leaving no room to move the needle.
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<div>Please help me support her with your donation (no amount too small) and / or sharing this GoFundMe to others. I know she will be ever so grateful for your kindness and gift and will be very humbled. Thank you so much. 
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<div>Blessings,
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<div>Maria Sullivan
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Robin Schoening

Don & Kimberly  Kiczula

Marilyn Bajraktarevic

Kayla Wurzer

Lorna Bateman

Anonymous

Lori Beaton-davie

Melanie Chambers

Cindy Chervenka

Lise-Anne Talhami

Kylie Burgwal

Erin Musick

Cheryl Graham

273 Sixmile Common S

Maria Sullivan

Becky Pasowisty

Tracey Dumonceau

HELP JENN WIN HER BATTLE AGAINST LYME DISEASE

HELP JENN WIN HER BATTLE AGAINST LYME DISEASE

Still $15,584 to go. Help us build momentum.