A Journey Towards Healing (Jeremy's Health)
Donation protected
January 28, 2019 - New Update on progress available
Hello All,
It is with great hope that I am setting up this page and would be grateful for anyone who would share it. I will be managing the funds and all donations above what is needed will be given to Lyme research as it is multiplying fast. I have asked my son(in-law) to write his story but it is by no means thorough. Due to the many years without a diagnosis he is not only now in the chronic stages of the disease but is also having to deal with present and potential resulting health issues. The majority of tests, treatments, supplements and medications Jeremy has received over the years have not been covered by health insurance or went far above the annual limits for any reimbursements. We have discovered that health care even in Canada can become a money pit. Those of you who know Jeremy know that he has been relentless in looking for answers and that despite his constant pain he has always been there for family, friends, the kids in youth group, his fellow pastors, and whoever was in need. I am extremely grateful for your prayers and support as we go through this with faith in our God. Thank you, Maureen
Hi everyone,
My name is Jeremy Sauvé and Maureen has asked me to share a bit of my story with you. I will try to be as thorough and as brief as possible as what I share with you has spanned nearly a decade.
I would like to start by sharing a verse from the bible that has brought me comfort during this difficult journey. On the days when the pain makes me think I’m going crazy I remember what God told Joshua:
“This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
In 2009 I began a pretty intense training regime for sprint distance triathlons. Shortly before my first race and after about 8 weeks of training, I began to experience pain in the thoracic area of my back. It felt like a knot in my muscle that just wouldn’t go away. In spite of a number of home remedies and relaxation techniques the pain continued to grow and eventually I began to get spasms and nerve pain in my right shoulder and hand. Little did I know that this pain in 2009 would still be with me in 2018 as a constant companion.
Throughout the past decade the daily pain has been constantly persistent at sometimes tolerable levels and sometimes nearly overwhelming. Lately it has been accompanied by significant periods of fatigue, severe headaches, sinus pain and a number of other weird and seemingly unrelated symptoms. During this whole time I embarked on a journey to discover the cause and to find a solution. It has been frustrating. Here is what I have tried:
· Seen 11 separate medical doctors ranging from GP’s to various specialists all who could find nothing wrong with me and could not explain my constant pain.
· Had 2 X-rays of my spine, 3 MRI’s (cervical, thoracic & lumbar), Electromyogram, Whole Bone Scan w/ Spect, Spirometry report and a whole slew of blood tests (and other tests I won’t detail) all of which have shown nothing that could explain my condition (mild degenerative changes, inflammation in my body, etc.).
· I have tried ART, Graston, Scapular Stabilization, Dry Needling, Deep Tissue Massage, and Chiropractic adjustments; Chinese Medicine and seen several naturopaths and dieticians. These treatments have, at best, helped me cope with the pain and, at worst, caused the pain to increase. These were not ‘one shot attempts’. For example, I went to an ART practitioner once a week for a year.
· I have been prescribed 8 separate medications - none of which have offered any lasting pain relief or if they did the side effects was a bad trade off. Some of the medications I tried were: Tramacet, Flexeril, T3’s, Lyrica, Tramadol/Acet etc.)
· I recently was admitted to the Pain Clinic at the Ottawa General Hospital where I was told there was very little they could do for me in determining the root cause and offered trigger point injections that were supposed to help for several months. It lasted for less than 24 hours.
There is more but I feel that this is enough information for now. If you would like to know more about my specific treatments please feel free to email me. Through these years two things have been constant: my pain and the inability of those I have seen to determine or hypothesize why I am feeling the way I am feeling and why it has been getting progressively worse.
That is until this past week. After seeing an Osteopath here in Ottawa and a specialist MD in Renfrew I finally have a diagnosis. These two individual health practitioners, without consulting one another, diagnosed me with chronic Lyme disease. Again, if you want more details regarding the diagnosis feel free to write me.
A diagnosis! It floored me to think that I may be able to finally name the root cause of my pain but I also understand the stigmatizing of this illness that has occurred in our society (speaking specifically of Canada). This diagnosis is the only thing I have right now after nearly a decade of searching through conventional medicine and so I am diving into a new journey of personal research and self-education, consultation with Lyme literate MD’s and an exploration of what treatment options are available for me. Lyme treatment is not a ‘one size fits all” type of thing but is different for each patient depending on their infection. It requires a sometimes painstakingly slow process of testing different protocols in search of the one that will work for you.
The first thing I need to do, upon the recommendation of both Dr.’s, is to take a comprehensive blood test that is offered in the United States as the US is much more advanced in both their knowledge and treatment of Lyme. This would be to determine which specific infection I have as Lyme is not one singular infection but actually quite a complex web of primary infections and co-infections. The price tag of this test is $3000. In addition any subsequent treatment protocol to pursue whether plant based or anti-biotic based is extremely expensive. The homeopathic protocol is $200/month. A Lyme treatment specialist (Dr. Matheson) in Ottawa charges $360 for an initial assessment and $180/30 minutes after that for each follow-up appointment. The frequency of these visits is unknown as are the costs of any supplements or medications. Other costs and for how long this will go on is unknown. None of this is covered by our provincial health plan or by my health benefit plan at work.
I share this, humbly, because I need help. After all we have already spent over the years, we cannot afford the blood tests or the treatments that will help my body to be healed. This diagnosis came as a surprise and the tests and treatments were not something we were prepared for. And so, through the gracious suggestion of my mother-in-law who is running this whole thing, I need my community for prayer and for support if possible. Thank you, Jeremy
Hello All,
It is with great hope that I am setting up this page and would be grateful for anyone who would share it. I will be managing the funds and all donations above what is needed will be given to Lyme research as it is multiplying fast. I have asked my son(in-law) to write his story but it is by no means thorough. Due to the many years without a diagnosis he is not only now in the chronic stages of the disease but is also having to deal with present and potential resulting health issues. The majority of tests, treatments, supplements and medications Jeremy has received over the years have not been covered by health insurance or went far above the annual limits for any reimbursements. We have discovered that health care even in Canada can become a money pit. Those of you who know Jeremy know that he has been relentless in looking for answers and that despite his constant pain he has always been there for family, friends, the kids in youth group, his fellow pastors, and whoever was in need. I am extremely grateful for your prayers and support as we go through this with faith in our God. Thank you, Maureen
Hi everyone,
My name is Jeremy Sauvé and Maureen has asked me to share a bit of my story with you. I will try to be as thorough and as brief as possible as what I share with you has spanned nearly a decade.
I would like to start by sharing a verse from the bible that has brought me comfort during this difficult journey. On the days when the pain makes me think I’m going crazy I remember what God told Joshua:
“This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
In 2009 I began a pretty intense training regime for sprint distance triathlons. Shortly before my first race and after about 8 weeks of training, I began to experience pain in the thoracic area of my back. It felt like a knot in my muscle that just wouldn’t go away. In spite of a number of home remedies and relaxation techniques the pain continued to grow and eventually I began to get spasms and nerve pain in my right shoulder and hand. Little did I know that this pain in 2009 would still be with me in 2018 as a constant companion.
Throughout the past decade the daily pain has been constantly persistent at sometimes tolerable levels and sometimes nearly overwhelming. Lately it has been accompanied by significant periods of fatigue, severe headaches, sinus pain and a number of other weird and seemingly unrelated symptoms. During this whole time I embarked on a journey to discover the cause and to find a solution. It has been frustrating. Here is what I have tried:
· Seen 11 separate medical doctors ranging from GP’s to various specialists all who could find nothing wrong with me and could not explain my constant pain.
· Had 2 X-rays of my spine, 3 MRI’s (cervical, thoracic & lumbar), Electromyogram, Whole Bone Scan w/ Spect, Spirometry report and a whole slew of blood tests (and other tests I won’t detail) all of which have shown nothing that could explain my condition (mild degenerative changes, inflammation in my body, etc.).
· I have tried ART, Graston, Scapular Stabilization, Dry Needling, Deep Tissue Massage, and Chiropractic adjustments; Chinese Medicine and seen several naturopaths and dieticians. These treatments have, at best, helped me cope with the pain and, at worst, caused the pain to increase. These were not ‘one shot attempts’. For example, I went to an ART practitioner once a week for a year.
· I have been prescribed 8 separate medications - none of which have offered any lasting pain relief or if they did the side effects was a bad trade off. Some of the medications I tried were: Tramacet, Flexeril, T3’s, Lyrica, Tramadol/Acet etc.)
· I recently was admitted to the Pain Clinic at the Ottawa General Hospital where I was told there was very little they could do for me in determining the root cause and offered trigger point injections that were supposed to help for several months. It lasted for less than 24 hours.
There is more but I feel that this is enough information for now. If you would like to know more about my specific treatments please feel free to email me. Through these years two things have been constant: my pain and the inability of those I have seen to determine or hypothesize why I am feeling the way I am feeling and why it has been getting progressively worse.
That is until this past week. After seeing an Osteopath here in Ottawa and a specialist MD in Renfrew I finally have a diagnosis. These two individual health practitioners, without consulting one another, diagnosed me with chronic Lyme disease. Again, if you want more details regarding the diagnosis feel free to write me.
A diagnosis! It floored me to think that I may be able to finally name the root cause of my pain but I also understand the stigmatizing of this illness that has occurred in our society (speaking specifically of Canada). This diagnosis is the only thing I have right now after nearly a decade of searching through conventional medicine and so I am diving into a new journey of personal research and self-education, consultation with Lyme literate MD’s and an exploration of what treatment options are available for me. Lyme treatment is not a ‘one size fits all” type of thing but is different for each patient depending on their infection. It requires a sometimes painstakingly slow process of testing different protocols in search of the one that will work for you.
The first thing I need to do, upon the recommendation of both Dr.’s, is to take a comprehensive blood test that is offered in the United States as the US is much more advanced in both their knowledge and treatment of Lyme. This would be to determine which specific infection I have as Lyme is not one singular infection but actually quite a complex web of primary infections and co-infections. The price tag of this test is $3000. In addition any subsequent treatment protocol to pursue whether plant based or anti-biotic based is extremely expensive. The homeopathic protocol is $200/month. A Lyme treatment specialist (Dr. Matheson) in Ottawa charges $360 for an initial assessment and $180/30 minutes after that for each follow-up appointment. The frequency of these visits is unknown as are the costs of any supplements or medications. Other costs and for how long this will go on is unknown. None of this is covered by our provincial health plan or by my health benefit plan at work.
I share this, humbly, because I need help. After all we have already spent over the years, we cannot afford the blood tests or the treatments that will help my body to be healed. This diagnosis came as a surprise and the tests and treatments were not something we were prepared for. And so, through the gracious suggestion of my mother-in-law who is running this whole thing, I need my community for prayer and for support if possible. Thank you, Jeremy
Organizer
Maureen McClements Charron
Organizer
Nepean, ON