Shannon's Battle with Late-Stage Lyme Disease
Donation protected
A note from Shannon's friends: As a result of untreated Lyme disease, Shannon’s severe neurological problems, caused by brain inflammation, prevent her from communicating directly to you in a clear way, so we—her friends—have gotten together to write Shannon’s story below on her behalf.
Dear friends, family and strangers alike —
Shannon finds herself in the dire situation of needing to ask for help.
Most of you know Shannon as the healer/counselor/giver/communications coach. She has spent her entire life supporting others to heal and improve their personal lives and businesses. We have all benefitted from her gifted ability to communicate sensitive and difficult information in a way that allows for true personal transformation. Many of our successful relationships and businesses and livelihoods have been the direct result of working with her over the years and decades. And many of us have experienced her extraordinary service in various forms even while she has been ill. Many of us called her a “force of nature“ and it is hard to imagine Shannon taken down by something as small as a tick.
But that is exactly what happened six years ago when Shannon was suddenly stricken with a mysterious illness that overnight took away her ability to walk, talk, breathe, think, process information, etc. She was bedridden for 2 years, crawling on hands and knees due to extreme neurological disorientation and dizziness. She has been to over 20 doctors and specialist trying to determine the cause of her illness and has been misdiagnosed for years with MS, stroke, ALS, “anxiety syndrome”, chronic fatigue, brain damage, adrenal fatigue and on and on. Finally, it has been determined she has had Lyme disease all along. Unfortunately, that is the one thing she has not been treated for.
The good news is: now that she has a proper diagnosis she has found the strength and energy to go to back into battle to fight this vicious infection. This diagnosis has restored hope and her warrior spirit is rising to fight once more!
She has found a proper Lyme doctor and they have put together a treatment plan but the medical and living expenses to go through this protocol are out of reach financially for her. She has spent every penny of her earnings just keeping her self alive through the years with supplements and treatments that have been keeping her brain inflammation at bay enough to live. In short, Lyme disease has bankrupted her emotionally, spiritually, financially and physically. We are calling on her community to step in and help as she has done for so many of us over the years.
In addition to this challenging diagnosis and all of its life-depleting symptoms, Shannon recently had to move out of her home due to an infestation of bird mites. Unbelievably, this has forced her to have to dispose of her few material belongings to deal with this infestation while simultaneously trying to treat Lyme disease. It is all too much for her to handle alone.
Shannon’s immediate health care and basic living needs will be covered by this campaign. Those needs include:
▪︎ Getting appropriate ongoing testing and treatment. None of these are covered by insurance (and she cannot afford insurance now anyway) and they’re all very expensive.
▪︎Supplements
▪︎ Various therapies to help with inflammation
▪︎ Help with rent and bills
To understand Lyme disease and what Shannon and others have been through, this article is very enlightening. She asks that at the very least everyone read it in order to begin to educate and protect yourselves. Hopefully, together we can eventually eradicate this devastating disease!
“Any amount of support is welcome and will be deeply appreciated. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me get beyond survival mode and creating a future where I feel like myself again. The silver lining in the devastation is that I have a passionate commitment now to help all those who are suffering with Lyme disease. The return to health for me will be the beginning of my life‘s legacy. Lyme disease is the new AIDS. it is under-recognized, under-funded and under-diagnosed in the medical community. There is too much noise in the media for it to get the attention that it desperately needs. We must fight tirelessly for the millions who will come after us who will contract this disease and be destroyed by it. You have my commitment - I am devoting myself to this endeavor, and I won’t rest until there are proper diagnostic tools, funding, cures for this disease.
With my kindest regards and gratitude, “
Shannon
Dear friends, family and strangers alike —
Shannon finds herself in the dire situation of needing to ask for help.
Most of you know Shannon as the healer/counselor/giver/communications coach. She has spent her entire life supporting others to heal and improve their personal lives and businesses. We have all benefitted from her gifted ability to communicate sensitive and difficult information in a way that allows for true personal transformation. Many of our successful relationships and businesses and livelihoods have been the direct result of working with her over the years and decades. And many of us have experienced her extraordinary service in various forms even while she has been ill. Many of us called her a “force of nature“ and it is hard to imagine Shannon taken down by something as small as a tick.
But that is exactly what happened six years ago when Shannon was suddenly stricken with a mysterious illness that overnight took away her ability to walk, talk, breathe, think, process information, etc. She was bedridden for 2 years, crawling on hands and knees due to extreme neurological disorientation and dizziness. She has been to over 20 doctors and specialist trying to determine the cause of her illness and has been misdiagnosed for years with MS, stroke, ALS, “anxiety syndrome”, chronic fatigue, brain damage, adrenal fatigue and on and on. Finally, it has been determined she has had Lyme disease all along. Unfortunately, that is the one thing she has not been treated for.
The good news is: now that she has a proper diagnosis she has found the strength and energy to go to back into battle to fight this vicious infection. This diagnosis has restored hope and her warrior spirit is rising to fight once more!
She has found a proper Lyme doctor and they have put together a treatment plan but the medical and living expenses to go through this protocol are out of reach financially for her. She has spent every penny of her earnings just keeping her self alive through the years with supplements and treatments that have been keeping her brain inflammation at bay enough to live. In short, Lyme disease has bankrupted her emotionally, spiritually, financially and physically. We are calling on her community to step in and help as she has done for so many of us over the years.
In addition to this challenging diagnosis and all of its life-depleting symptoms, Shannon recently had to move out of her home due to an infestation of bird mites. Unbelievably, this has forced her to have to dispose of her few material belongings to deal with this infestation while simultaneously trying to treat Lyme disease. It is all too much for her to handle alone.
Shannon’s immediate health care and basic living needs will be covered by this campaign. Those needs include:
▪︎ Getting appropriate ongoing testing and treatment. None of these are covered by insurance (and she cannot afford insurance now anyway) and they’re all very expensive.
▪︎Supplements
▪︎ Various therapies to help with inflammation
▪︎ Help with rent and bills
To understand Lyme disease and what Shannon and others have been through, this article is very enlightening. She asks that at the very least everyone read it in order to begin to educate and protect yourselves. Hopefully, together we can eventually eradicate this devastating disease!
“Any amount of support is welcome and will be deeply appreciated. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me get beyond survival mode and creating a future where I feel like myself again. The silver lining in the devastation is that I have a passionate commitment now to help all those who are suffering with Lyme disease. The return to health for me will be the beginning of my life‘s legacy. Lyme disease is the new AIDS. it is under-recognized, under-funded and under-diagnosed in the medical community. There is too much noise in the media for it to get the attention that it desperately needs. We must fight tirelessly for the millions who will come after us who will contract this disease and be destroyed by it. You have my commitment - I am devoting myself to this endeavor, and I won’t rest until there are proper diagnostic tools, funding, cures for this disease.
With my kindest regards and gratitude, “
Shannon
Organizer and beneficiary
Nancy Federice
Organizer
San Francisco, CA
Shannon McCarthy
Beneficiary