Help the Hughes’ Hit Lyme Hard!
Donation protected
NOTE: This campaign was started on YouCaring.com and raised $19,300 of an $85,000 goal. I'm so grateful for the support, and am receiving treatment, although I still have a long road ahead of me. See updates for the latest. <3
As a proud Canadian citizen I never thought the day would come that I would ever have to be asking others to help my family and myself get through a health crisis, but with some gentle pushing from family, friends and a couple healthcare providers, the time has come. I started realizing about four years ago that something just wasn’t right my legs began to vibrate, and have been 24 hours a day over four years. Little did I know that that was just the beginning. It has gotten worse. Extreme pain, no energy, numbness, my mind...and it’s all from Lyme Disease!
I ran into a huge problem. A problem that no one should have to go through. I was tested for Lyme Disese back in 2016. The test came back negative. As time went on, more and more symptoms began to appear. My blood was drawn and sent to a licensed, reputable lab in California. The test came back positive, but they were tests from the USA. Canada test: negative. USA test: positive. They use different tests. You see the problem. Canada does not recognize that I have Chronic Lyme Disease and will not treat me.
Lyme Disease is the most common vector-borne illness in the world, it’s an epidemic. Recent research has found that the borrelia bacteria that causes the disease are resistant to antibiotic therapy, taking much longer and more aggressive treatment to erradicate, especially when diagnosis has been delayed.
Through much research I was able to find a doctor in the United States that has agreed to treat me at the center. I will be headed to the Stram Center for Integrative Medicine mid-April 2018. Dr. Stram believes that I have also contracted Bartonella and Babesia, two of many possible co-infections of Lyme. I will be receiving intensive treatment that is not available here in Canada. The cost of this treatment and expenses are not covered by OHIP. With everything that my family has gone through over these past four years, not once have I ever asked for help from others except for close family and friends. As you can well imagine, this is been a very stressful time for not only myself, but my husband, Evan, and my two children as well. Sarah is 11 and Michael is 8. My family has gone through far too much! I just need to get better!
Today, I ask all of you to help us out. If you kare able to give a donation and share that would be amazing!
If you are not able to donate at this time, then all I ask is if you would please share. Share, share, share! Each share gets that many more people a chance to read my story. Positive thoughts are always most welcome as well. I’ll take as many positive thoughts as you can all give. It’s unfortunate that our country is not able to look after me, but I have a feeling that the treatment that I will be receiving in the states will be what is needed to get my life back. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
- Shawna Hughes
FULL LIST OF MEDICAL DETAILS, SYMPTOMS, ATTEMPTED TREATMENT
Over the last four years, I have seen more than 20 different doctors/specialists/healthcare providers; including seven neurologists, 2 rheumatologists, an infectious disease specialist, an occupational doctor, a sleep disorder doctor, 2 naturopaths, a physiotherapist, an osteopath, chiropractor, 2 cardiologists, a massage therapist, doctors from 3 different pain management clinics, among others. I have travelled from St. Catharines to London, to Hamilton, to Toronto for a number of appointments over the years. As I am not able to drive long-distances, I have had to rely on family members to help out.
There have been a large number of symptoms that I had deal with. Some of the main symptoms are: the vibrating legs, memory issues/forgetfulness, hard time coming up with words, lack of concentration, blurry vision, allodynia, full body numbness, tingling feelings in face, feet, legs and arms, immense pain in back, hips and neck, weakness, sleep issues, chronic fatigue, unrefreshing sleep, muscle twitching, nausea, fevers, gait issues, stiffness, loss of appetite, flushing, chest pain, Raynaud’s syndrome, burning hands, tinnitus, dysautonomia - POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), dizziness/lightheadedness, loss of balance, vertigo, depression and anxiety, lack of energy, headaches and the list goes on.
There isn’t a single system in my body that hasn’t been affected there are some days that I can get out of bed and do what I need to do for the day (which is medical appointments more often than not). However, there are also days where I will spend most of the day in bed and taking a shower is even too much for me to do.
I have received a number of diagnoses over the years. Intrinsic Chronic Pain/Chronic Pain was the first diagnosis I had received. From there it was Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Thoracic Levoscoliosis, Somatic Symptom Disorder, depression and anxiety, Central Sensitization Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. November 2017 was a bittersweet day for myself I finally got word that I had tested positive for Lyme disease. I was elated that after all this time I finally found out what what the root cause of all my health issues were. I was also quite scared as I wasn’t too sure what the rest of my journey would become. I clearly remember having a panic attack after I processed it all. I then drove to see a friend of mine, got her pulled out of class so she could help me through this.
Over the years I have tried many different kinds of treatment to see if I could get any relief. These include: physio (TENS machine, IFC machine, reformer), Stretching, osteopathy, heat, chiropractic, acupuncture, Restorative Yoga (at a studio and at home), Thai Yoga Massage, massage, medication, psychological therapy, meditation, lidocaine injections, naturopathy, (detox IVs), medications, supplements and vitamins. I was at the point where I was willing to try anything to relieve the daily pain I was and I am in.
As a proud Canadian citizen I never thought the day would come that I would ever have to be asking others to help my family and myself get through a health crisis, but with some gentle pushing from family, friends and a couple healthcare providers, the time has come. I started realizing about four years ago that something just wasn’t right my legs began to vibrate, and have been 24 hours a day over four years. Little did I know that that was just the beginning. It has gotten worse. Extreme pain, no energy, numbness, my mind...and it’s all from Lyme Disease!
I ran into a huge problem. A problem that no one should have to go through. I was tested for Lyme Disese back in 2016. The test came back negative. As time went on, more and more symptoms began to appear. My blood was drawn and sent to a licensed, reputable lab in California. The test came back positive, but they were tests from the USA. Canada test: negative. USA test: positive. They use different tests. You see the problem. Canada does not recognize that I have Chronic Lyme Disease and will not treat me.
Lyme Disease is the most common vector-borne illness in the world, it’s an epidemic. Recent research has found that the borrelia bacteria that causes the disease are resistant to antibiotic therapy, taking much longer and more aggressive treatment to erradicate, especially when diagnosis has been delayed.
Through much research I was able to find a doctor in the United States that has agreed to treat me at the center. I will be headed to the Stram Center for Integrative Medicine mid-April 2018. Dr. Stram believes that I have also contracted Bartonella and Babesia, two of many possible co-infections of Lyme. I will be receiving intensive treatment that is not available here in Canada. The cost of this treatment and expenses are not covered by OHIP. With everything that my family has gone through over these past four years, not once have I ever asked for help from others except for close family and friends. As you can well imagine, this is been a very stressful time for not only myself, but my husband, Evan, and my two children as well. Sarah is 11 and Michael is 8. My family has gone through far too much! I just need to get better!
Today, I ask all of you to help us out. If you kare able to give a donation and share that would be amazing!
If you are not able to donate at this time, then all I ask is if you would please share. Share, share, share! Each share gets that many more people a chance to read my story. Positive thoughts are always most welcome as well. I’ll take as many positive thoughts as you can all give. It’s unfortunate that our country is not able to look after me, but I have a feeling that the treatment that I will be receiving in the states will be what is needed to get my life back. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
- Shawna Hughes
FULL LIST OF MEDICAL DETAILS, SYMPTOMS, ATTEMPTED TREATMENT
Over the last four years, I have seen more than 20 different doctors/specialists/healthcare providers; including seven neurologists, 2 rheumatologists, an infectious disease specialist, an occupational doctor, a sleep disorder doctor, 2 naturopaths, a physiotherapist, an osteopath, chiropractor, 2 cardiologists, a massage therapist, doctors from 3 different pain management clinics, among others. I have travelled from St. Catharines to London, to Hamilton, to Toronto for a number of appointments over the years. As I am not able to drive long-distances, I have had to rely on family members to help out.
There have been a large number of symptoms that I had deal with. Some of the main symptoms are: the vibrating legs, memory issues/forgetfulness, hard time coming up with words, lack of concentration, blurry vision, allodynia, full body numbness, tingling feelings in face, feet, legs and arms, immense pain in back, hips and neck, weakness, sleep issues, chronic fatigue, unrefreshing sleep, muscle twitching, nausea, fevers, gait issues, stiffness, loss of appetite, flushing, chest pain, Raynaud’s syndrome, burning hands, tinnitus, dysautonomia - POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), dizziness/lightheadedness, loss of balance, vertigo, depression and anxiety, lack of energy, headaches and the list goes on.
There isn’t a single system in my body that hasn’t been affected there are some days that I can get out of bed and do what I need to do for the day (which is medical appointments more often than not). However, there are also days where I will spend most of the day in bed and taking a shower is even too much for me to do.
I have received a number of diagnoses over the years. Intrinsic Chronic Pain/Chronic Pain was the first diagnosis I had received. From there it was Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Thoracic Levoscoliosis, Somatic Symptom Disorder, depression and anxiety, Central Sensitization Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. November 2017 was a bittersweet day for myself I finally got word that I had tested positive for Lyme disease. I was elated that after all this time I finally found out what what the root cause of all my health issues were. I was also quite scared as I wasn’t too sure what the rest of my journey would become. I clearly remember having a panic attack after I processed it all. I then drove to see a friend of mine, got her pulled out of class so she could help me through this.
Over the years I have tried many different kinds of treatment to see if I could get any relief. These include: physio (TENS machine, IFC machine, reformer), Stretching, osteopathy, heat, chiropractic, acupuncture, Restorative Yoga (at a studio and at home), Thai Yoga Massage, massage, medication, psychological therapy, meditation, lidocaine injections, naturopathy, (detox IVs), medications, supplements and vitamins. I was at the point where I was willing to try anything to relieve the daily pain I was and I am in.
Organizer
Shawna Marie
Organizer
St Catharines, ON