Dear Friends, Family, and Fans of Merak and Mandy,

As we all know, our dear Merak is a bright, dynamic, talented young person, with a passion for the outdoors and team sports. He even dreams of being a professional Hockey or Lacrosse player, a dj, and a chef…., but an awful disease has stolen most of his energy and he has become increasingly housebound and bed-bound as it hijacks his mental and physical energy.  After over two years of missing out on more and more school, friends, fun, and his favorite sports, 12-year-old Merak has been diagnosed with Neurological Lyme disease, Chronic Immune Deficiency, and SIBO(a painful and hard to treat gut infection.) His school has granted him a medical leave of absence while the family focuses on his recovery. 
 

The tick bite was traced to 2012.  His symptoms started in 2013, but no one was able to determine the cause.  Over the last few years, Merak has experienced increasing tummy aches, low-grade fever, general malaise, rashes, debilitating fatigue, joint pain, light sensitivity, terrible headaches, and brain fog. Thankfully, this fall they finally found a specialist who could give them some answers, a definitive diagnosis, and a plan.  Unfortunately, Lyme disease is a controversial diagnosis.  Despite hundreds of thousands of patients finding reliable, life-changing treatments, the insurance companies refuse to acknowledge and therefore cover anything related to Merak’s illness.


Mandy is spearheading Merak’s care and they need our help!  Merak’s complex program of care and support requires Mandy to achieve optimal work/life balance as Merak undergoes his year or more of rigorous medical treatment. Mandy recently discovered that, she too is diagnosed with Lyme disease and she also needs treatment and rest. She needs our help in funding their wellness plan, as well as the ability to devote to Merak the in-person care and attention that will support his treatment and recovery.  There will be many trips to their specialty clinics that require travel, monthly Skype consults, medications and supplements, treatments, lab-work—and a great many other costs that are not covered by insurance.  The early stages of Merak’s treatment have cost as much as $3000 per month out of pocket.  Mandy's resources have been depleted and they need our help.


Please let’s all pitch in and contribute to giving Merak his full vibrant life and joyful childhood back. All donations are deeply appreciated, in any amount, no matter how small or large. We thank you in advance for your generosity and kind assistance during this challenging time.


Donations in kind such as housing (local and doctor visits in Denver), goods and services, airline and car rental points, errands, dog walking and pet sitting, even a friendly visit are all deeply appreciated, and can be arranged by contacting [email redacted] directly. There are so many ways we can chip in to make this easiest for them.  Please email Mandy directly if you prefer to donate by check or contribute outside the funding platform.  There are so many wonderful ways we can contribute to making this easiest for them. 


Whether you can donate or not at this time, please share this widely, and often, so all can have the opportunity to contribute to Merak’s and Mandy’s total recovery. 


Thank you all for such care in helping Merak and Mandy beat this disease!  The doctor said, “Don’t worry kid, we can fix this!!!”



Sincerely,

Renee (Merak and Mandy’s cousin and fan)