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Hello! My name is Jessica Barrington and this Go Fund Me is for my cousin, Justin Mascar. Thank you for reading about Justin's story! I recognize that everyone works so hard for their money – I don’t ask for this support lightly and I thank you for considering a donation!
The Short Story:
Justin has been diagnosed with Lyme Disease and is anticipating an additional diagnosis of Mastocytosis and MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome). His life as he knew it is gone. He cannot work and every aspect of his daily life has been impacted. He lives in chronic pain and his systems (skeletal, auditory, immune, skin, digestive) are shutting down. His symptoms include chronic back, muscle, and joint pain and swelling, extreme nervousness and anxiety, hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating without cause), full hearing loss in his right ear, tinnitus (constant ringing in his ear), chronic and painful hives, severe digestive issues, poor immunity, and more.
Justin has spent a great deal of money (upwards of $25,000) on his treatments so far. His condition is getting worse and his financial resources will soon run out.
The goal of this money is to allow Justin to aggressively fight this disease by seeking out the best treatment possible! Justin can regain his life – he just needs the resources to get the appropriate treatment!
The Long Story:
Justin is 36 years old and before becoming sick he lived a happy and fulfilling life. Justin worked hard and lived his life to the fullest, enjoying time with his family and incredible partner, Shandi. Justin is happiest when, with Shandi at his side, he can enjoy the beautiful outdoors. If there is a lake in sight, Justin feels at home and at peace. Justin and Shandi are engaged and had dreams and goals that they were working hard towards.
Those goals are on pause now as the priority has shifted to getting Justin healthy again.
Justin has no recollection of a tick bite; his Lyme symptoms, however, began in 2016 and presented as debilitating back pain, extreme nervousness and anxiety, and hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating without cause – like, excessive!).
In 2017, Justin lost his hearing in his right ear. He went from normal hearing to full loss in two weeks. Since then, he experiences tinnitus – a constant ringing in his ear. On a scale of 1-10 for severity, Justin experiences a 10. Every single day. All day. If he is in a room with more than one or two people, it becomes an unbearable “15/10”.
In 2018, Justin began getting chronic hives. From head to toe, his body is covered. He also gets burn-like rashes on his hands.
Finally, about a year ago, after years of seeing every kind of doctor and specialist, and after several misdiagnoses, Justin was diagnosed with Lyme.
Lyme Disease is caused by bacteria called Borrelia and can have a massive list of symptoms. When people think about Lyme Disease they often think about Acute Lyme, which the CDC (Center for Disease Control) recognizes and states can be cured in a matter of weeks with antibiotics. Persistent or Chronic Lyme, which Justin has, however, they do not recognize. This makes getting proper care and treatment very difficult. It is also important to differentiate between the two because when people hear “Lyme Disease” they may not understand the severity of the symptoms. As I have learned more about Lyme Disease, I am astonished by it. It is incredibly smart and essentially hides when you try to fight it, again making treatment very difficult.
(To learn more about Lyme Disease and the severity of its symptoms, here is a helpful video: https://youtu.be/vriHWyod61E )
Mastocytosis, which Justin likely has and is awaiting a diagnosis, is a separate diagnosis from Lyme, however, they are connected and exacerbate one another. Mast Cells are responsible for biological responses in the body (so this causes issues with immunity, allergic reactions, inflammation, etc.) This a rare and very serious condition.
Justin is currently on his third treatment plan for Lyme. He has had little to no success with his first two treatments. His second treatment caused a Herxheimer reaction, causing Justin to become so ill that he had to stop treatment. While he is on a treatment plan now, the treatment plans have no predictive timelines and he feels his health declining by the day. The money that we raise through this Go Fund Me will allow Justin to seek specialized treatment that will aggressively fight his Lyme. There are specialized Lyme Disease treatment centers and Justin is researching his best options.
Justin described his Lyme journey, and the loss of control in all aspects of his health and life, as “being along for the ride and trusting [the doctor] you are with”. Let’s get Justin back in the driver seat of his own life!
I know that he can reclaim his life if he can get the right treatment. Many of his symptoms are treatable and he can live a full life again!
Thank you again for reading about Justin's story; he is so deserving of this support, and I thank you for any help that you can give!
The Short Story:
Justin has been diagnosed with Lyme Disease and is anticipating an additional diagnosis of Mastocytosis and MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome). His life as he knew it is gone. He cannot work and every aspect of his daily life has been impacted. He lives in chronic pain and his systems (skeletal, auditory, immune, skin, digestive) are shutting down. His symptoms include chronic back, muscle, and joint pain and swelling, extreme nervousness and anxiety, hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating without cause), full hearing loss in his right ear, tinnitus (constant ringing in his ear), chronic and painful hives, severe digestive issues, poor immunity, and more.
Justin has spent a great deal of money (upwards of $25,000) on his treatments so far. His condition is getting worse and his financial resources will soon run out.
The goal of this money is to allow Justin to aggressively fight this disease by seeking out the best treatment possible! Justin can regain his life – he just needs the resources to get the appropriate treatment!
The Long Story:
Justin is 36 years old and before becoming sick he lived a happy and fulfilling life. Justin worked hard and lived his life to the fullest, enjoying time with his family and incredible partner, Shandi. Justin is happiest when, with Shandi at his side, he can enjoy the beautiful outdoors. If there is a lake in sight, Justin feels at home and at peace. Justin and Shandi are engaged and had dreams and goals that they were working hard towards.
Those goals are on pause now as the priority has shifted to getting Justin healthy again.Justin has no recollection of a tick bite; his Lyme symptoms, however, began in 2016 and presented as debilitating back pain, extreme nervousness and anxiety, and hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating without cause – like, excessive!).
In 2017, Justin lost his hearing in his right ear. He went from normal hearing to full loss in two weeks. Since then, he experiences tinnitus – a constant ringing in his ear. On a scale of 1-10 for severity, Justin experiences a 10. Every single day. All day. If he is in a room with more than one or two people, it becomes an unbearable “15/10”.
In 2018, Justin began getting chronic hives. From head to toe, his body is covered. He also gets burn-like rashes on his hands.
Finally, about a year ago, after years of seeing every kind of doctor and specialist, and after several misdiagnoses, Justin was diagnosed with Lyme.
Lyme Disease is caused by bacteria called Borrelia and can have a massive list of symptoms. When people think about Lyme Disease they often think about Acute Lyme, which the CDC (Center for Disease Control) recognizes and states can be cured in a matter of weeks with antibiotics. Persistent or Chronic Lyme, which Justin has, however, they do not recognize. This makes getting proper care and treatment very difficult. It is also important to differentiate between the two because when people hear “Lyme Disease” they may not understand the severity of the symptoms. As I have learned more about Lyme Disease, I am astonished by it. It is incredibly smart and essentially hides when you try to fight it, again making treatment very difficult.
(To learn more about Lyme Disease and the severity of its symptoms, here is a helpful video: https://youtu.be/vriHWyod61E )
Mastocytosis, which Justin likely has and is awaiting a diagnosis, is a separate diagnosis from Lyme, however, they are connected and exacerbate one another. Mast Cells are responsible for biological responses in the body (so this causes issues with immunity, allergic reactions, inflammation, etc.) This a rare and very serious condition.
Justin is currently on his third treatment plan for Lyme. He has had little to no success with his first two treatments. His second treatment caused a Herxheimer reaction, causing Justin to become so ill that he had to stop treatment. While he is on a treatment plan now, the treatment plans have no predictive timelines and he feels his health declining by the day. The money that we raise through this Go Fund Me will allow Justin to seek specialized treatment that will aggressively fight his Lyme. There are specialized Lyme Disease treatment centers and Justin is researching his best options.
Justin described his Lyme journey, and the loss of control in all aspects of his health and life, as “being along for the ride and trusting [the doctor] you are with”. Let’s get Justin back in the driver seat of his own life!
I know that he can reclaim his life if he can get the right treatment. Many of his symptoms are treatable and he can live a full life again! Thank you again for reading about Justin's story; he is so deserving of this support, and I thank you for any help that you can give!