Help Kim Get To Germany For Lyme Treatment
Donation protected
Late stage, neurological Lyme disease destroyed my wife’s life three years ago, and we are going to Germany for state-of-the-art treatment that will help her recover from her devastating illness. The clinic has reserved a spot for Kim's care and the comprehensive three-week in-patient treatment will begin on March 17th.
The treatment is not covered by medical insurance and we need to raise $35,000 by March 15th to cover the cost of care.
When I met my wife in 2013, she was the most driven, energetic person I had ever met: she ran a non-profit organization by day, took college classes at night, had an active social life, and was always up for a new adventure.
In 2015, all of that energy and passion for life was taken away by a tick bite. Over the course of two months, we began witnessing what we would learn later to be telltale signs: prolonged fever, exhaustion, and severe neck pain. Kim was examined three different times by a primary care doctor who offered three different diagnosis ranging from a pulled neck muscle to spinal meningitis. After 45 days of crippling exhaustion and watching a series of small spots emerge and spread across her body, I dragged Kim to the Emergency Department at Massachusetts General Hospital. Within hours, she was diagnosed with Lyme Disease.
Our story doesn't stop here, though. After the standard course of antibiotics were finished, Kim began to experience more subtle symptoms. She had trouble writing full sentences, remembering common words, and she tripped constantly and was unable to balance on one foot. These symptoms got progressively stronger with each passing day. Nearly one year after the initial course of antibiotics, Kim was re-tested for Lyme Disease and given a second course of antibiotics. Once again, her symptoms cleared for a few months and then slowly returned.
In 2017, a friend connected us with one of the nation’s leading experts on Lyme Disease who, at the time, was working at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Charlestown. After a 90 minute examination, the specialist discovered that, in addition to symptoms mentioned previously, Kim had no feeling on the left half of her body. We learned that the infection had penetrated Kim’s brain, causing major inflammation which impaired her speech, memory, and entire nervous system.
In May 2017, Kim left her job and began intensive antibiotic therapy for Lyme Disease. The side effects were debilitating: there were days where she couldn’t leave bed or speak coherently. Her short-term memory was so bad that she got lost inside of our own building, unable to recognize which apartment was ours.
Suddenly, after three months of treatment a miracle occurred: Kim's energy suddenly returned, words were flowing freely, she could drive around Charlestown without the dependency of GPS. She could also stand on one foot without falling. She described the feeling as if someone had opened a curtain and let the sunshine in. Over the next year, the feeling on the left side of her body started to return.
It's been nearly three years since Kim started the antibiotic therapy for Lyme. We’ve learned a lot in this time, including that Kim has likely had Lyme Disease since childhood. At 34 years old, she takes more prescription medication than a 75 year old heart patient. Her medical routine consists of self-injecting antibiotics twice weekly, swallowing a neon-yellow goop twice per day, taking an average of 30 pills per day alongside her breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
In addition to being expensive to maintain, these antibiotics are not meant for long-term use. Unfortunately, Kim relapses severely every time we try to wean her off of the medication.
After exhausting all other treatment options, Kim's doctor believes that going to Germany for Hyperthermia treatment is the best chance she has at experiencing full remission.
The trip will cost at least $35,000, and we need your help to get us there.
Medical expenses have been a huge burden for the last few years. Kim was unable to work full-time for two years after leaving Home Away Boston/Ronald McDonald House and recently had to empty her retirement account to pay off the credit card bills she had amassed while paying for years of doctor's visits and medication. Health insurance, prescription and testing co-pays, and out-of-pocket costs for specialists and supplements cost us over $1,200/month.
Anything you can do, whether you donate, share our story with your community, or spread awareness about the devastating effects of Lyme disease, we will be so grateful. We cannot do this without you.
Primary Expenses
- Three weeks of Kim’s Treatment: $25,523
- Three day partner Treatment for Scot: $4,447
- Twenty-one nights Room and Board for Kim and Scot: $3,162
- Two roundtrip flights between Boston and Munich: $2,620
- Roundtrip Transportation between Munich and Bad Aibling: $200
- Test for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases: $650
Other Expenses
- GoFundMe fees: 2.9% of total raised online + .30 per transaction
- Cost of hotel in Munich: $699
- Food and travel expenses in Munich: $500
About Hyperthermia Treatment and Klinik St Georg
Founded in 1992 as a Cancer facility, the Klinik has treated more than 800 Lyme patients since the year 2000, most of whom have reported significant improvements in their health. Many claim the treatment has cured them but this cannot be proven until an accurate Lyme Disease test is developed and FDA approved. The comprehensive Lyme Disease protocol includes numerous therapies with the key treatment being hyperthermia. During hyperthermia treatment, the entire body is heated to a target temperature of 106.8 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately six hours. The heat destroys the Lyme spirochetes which have invaded every cell and organ in the patient's body. This twelve-day protocol is followed by a five-day detoxification protocol which includes cleaning the patient's blood plasma. You can learn more about the Klinik by visiting their website: www.klinik-st-georg.de/en/klinik-st-georg/lyme-specialized-center/
You can follow our journey on CaringBridge , FaceBook, and Instagram. We will do our best to keep everyone updated during our time in Germany.
For those that would prefer to mail a check, please send to:
Kimberly Sheridan
449 Canal St
#1802
Somerville, MA 02145
The treatment is not covered by medical insurance and we need to raise $35,000 by March 15th to cover the cost of care.
When I met my wife in 2013, she was the most driven, energetic person I had ever met: she ran a non-profit organization by day, took college classes at night, had an active social life, and was always up for a new adventure.
In 2015, all of that energy and passion for life was taken away by a tick bite. Over the course of two months, we began witnessing what we would learn later to be telltale signs: prolonged fever, exhaustion, and severe neck pain. Kim was examined three different times by a primary care doctor who offered three different diagnosis ranging from a pulled neck muscle to spinal meningitis. After 45 days of crippling exhaustion and watching a series of small spots emerge and spread across her body, I dragged Kim to the Emergency Department at Massachusetts General Hospital. Within hours, she was diagnosed with Lyme Disease.
Our story doesn't stop here, though. After the standard course of antibiotics were finished, Kim began to experience more subtle symptoms. She had trouble writing full sentences, remembering common words, and she tripped constantly and was unable to balance on one foot. These symptoms got progressively stronger with each passing day. Nearly one year after the initial course of antibiotics, Kim was re-tested for Lyme Disease and given a second course of antibiotics. Once again, her symptoms cleared for a few months and then slowly returned.
In 2017, a friend connected us with one of the nation’s leading experts on Lyme Disease who, at the time, was working at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Charlestown. After a 90 minute examination, the specialist discovered that, in addition to symptoms mentioned previously, Kim had no feeling on the left half of her body. We learned that the infection had penetrated Kim’s brain, causing major inflammation which impaired her speech, memory, and entire nervous system.
In May 2017, Kim left her job and began intensive antibiotic therapy for Lyme Disease. The side effects were debilitating: there were days where she couldn’t leave bed or speak coherently. Her short-term memory was so bad that she got lost inside of our own building, unable to recognize which apartment was ours.
Suddenly, after three months of treatment a miracle occurred: Kim's energy suddenly returned, words were flowing freely, she could drive around Charlestown without the dependency of GPS. She could also stand on one foot without falling. She described the feeling as if someone had opened a curtain and let the sunshine in. Over the next year, the feeling on the left side of her body started to return.
It's been nearly three years since Kim started the antibiotic therapy for Lyme. We’ve learned a lot in this time, including that Kim has likely had Lyme Disease since childhood. At 34 years old, she takes more prescription medication than a 75 year old heart patient. Her medical routine consists of self-injecting antibiotics twice weekly, swallowing a neon-yellow goop twice per day, taking an average of 30 pills per day alongside her breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
In addition to being expensive to maintain, these antibiotics are not meant for long-term use. Unfortunately, Kim relapses severely every time we try to wean her off of the medication.
After exhausting all other treatment options, Kim's doctor believes that going to Germany for Hyperthermia treatment is the best chance she has at experiencing full remission.
The trip will cost at least $35,000, and we need your help to get us there.
Medical expenses have been a huge burden for the last few years. Kim was unable to work full-time for two years after leaving Home Away Boston/Ronald McDonald House and recently had to empty her retirement account to pay off the credit card bills she had amassed while paying for years of doctor's visits and medication. Health insurance, prescription and testing co-pays, and out-of-pocket costs for specialists and supplements cost us over $1,200/month.
Anything you can do, whether you donate, share our story with your community, or spread awareness about the devastating effects of Lyme disease, we will be so grateful. We cannot do this without you.
Primary Expenses
- Three weeks of Kim’s Treatment: $25,523
- Three day partner Treatment for Scot: $4,447
- Twenty-one nights Room and Board for Kim and Scot: $3,162
- Two roundtrip flights between Boston and Munich: $2,620
- Roundtrip Transportation between Munich and Bad Aibling: $200
- Test for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases: $650
Other Expenses
- GoFundMe fees: 2.9% of total raised online + .30 per transaction
- Cost of hotel in Munich: $699
- Food and travel expenses in Munich: $500
About Hyperthermia Treatment and Klinik St Georg
Founded in 1992 as a Cancer facility, the Klinik has treated more than 800 Lyme patients since the year 2000, most of whom have reported significant improvements in their health. Many claim the treatment has cured them but this cannot be proven until an accurate Lyme Disease test is developed and FDA approved. The comprehensive Lyme Disease protocol includes numerous therapies with the key treatment being hyperthermia. During hyperthermia treatment, the entire body is heated to a target temperature of 106.8 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately six hours. The heat destroys the Lyme spirochetes which have invaded every cell and organ in the patient's body. This twelve-day protocol is followed by a five-day detoxification protocol which includes cleaning the patient's blood plasma. You can learn more about the Klinik by visiting their website: www.klinik-st-georg.de/en/klinik-st-georg/lyme-specialized-center/
You can follow our journey on CaringBridge , FaceBook, and Instagram. We will do our best to keep everyone updated during our time in Germany.
For those that would prefer to mail a check, please send to:
Kimberly Sheridan
449 Canal St
#1802
Somerville, MA 02145
Organizer and beneficiary
Scot Ste-Marie
Organizer
Somerville, MA
Kimberly Sheridan
Beneficiary
