Supporting Perry's Fight VS Tick-Borne Infections
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$6,458 raised of $6K CAD
60 donations
We never thought we would be abandoned by the Canadian health care system and have to fight against doctors to get help. Yet here we are, thousands of dollars in debt, fighting this battle alone, having begged doctors to help my husband who has suffered from so many symptoms.
We have been struggling on our own. But now I am asking - no, I am pleading - for your support in this fight.
Perry has suffered unexplained health issues for over a decade. Pain. So much pain - chest pain, kidney pain, abdominal pain, joint pain, muscle pain, the list goes on. Insomnia. Night sweats. Muscle twitching. Memory loss. "Brain fog". Zero energy. Blurry vision. Tingling in extremities. Numbness. Atrial fibrillation. Uncontrollable bleeding (nosebleeds that last over 30 minutes, some even up to an hour!).
These are but a few of the symptoms that Perry battles on a regular basis. Through self-research we discovered the world of Lyme disease and tick-borne infections that could explain all of his symptoms.
But Canadian doctors will not acknowledge these infections, will not test him for them, and will not treat him.
We were determined to go down this route, if not to at least eliminate it as a possible cause. The only way we could get tested was via a blood test from the USA (from a company called IGeneX). This test was $3700 and we had to go through a naturopath to sign off on the requisition form (another $1200 for required consultations and follow-ups).
The test came back positive for multiple tick-borne infections. Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever. Bartonella. Rikettsia.
And the worst of them: Ehrliciosis.
Straight from https://www.cdc.gov/ehrlichiosis/symptoms/index.html, check out the symptoms of this bacterial infection:
If antibiotic treatment is delayed, ehrlichiosis can sometimes cause severe illness. Early treatment can reduce your risk of developing severe illness.
Signs and symptoms of severe (late stage) illness can include:
- Damage to the brain or nervous system (e.g. inflammation of the brain and surrounding tissue (called meningoencephalitis))
- Respiratory failure
- Uncontrolled bleeding
- Organ failure
- Death
That's right. My husband could die from this. And we almost thought the end was coming this summer, when he was in the hospital for a week because of very concerning heart problems (he ended up needing cardioversion twice).
Can you imagine the love of your life being in a hospital for a week, alone at home with your son who just turned 1 year old, trying to keep yourself together and also work from home, unable to have friends or family come to support you and unable to even visit your husband at the hospital because of COVID-19?
These infections are serious. They are significantly reducing the quality of my husband's life and of the life of our family, and they are threatening his life.
Yet Canadian doctors will not help us. They say he doesn't have these infections (they "cannot accept" the test results from IGeneX), but have no idea what else could be causing his symptoms. We've seen countless doctors, cardiologists, and specialists, and he's been to the ER over 8 times in the last three years.
This summer, we pushed very hard to get seen by an infectious disease specialist, and had to beg her to test Perry with Canadian tests. She reluctantly agreed to test for Bartonella and Rikettsia (there is no Canadian test for TBRF). The test for Bartonella was inconclusive, and the test for Rikettsia was positive. Yet even with this, she would not treat him because she didn't think he had these infections. We pushed her to test for Ehrliciosis, but she refused, saying, and I quote, "I don't think you have this infection, and the Canadian government lab for this test requires too much paperwork and we need such a thorough and detailed medical and personal history, that I don't think it's worth doing this test".
No explanation. No answers. No treatment. All the while, my husband suffers in silence while the Canadian health care system does nothing.
We thankfully found a doctor in the USA that agreed to treat via telemedicine. We paid $950 just for a consultation (and each follow-up will be $500). We searched and searched for a way to fill a prescription from the USA - and we thankfully found a pharmacy in British Columbia that has a physician willing to co-sign the USA prescription and send us the medication by mail. We are in round 1 of treatment, but if it's not enough, we could be looking at long-term treatment (and long-term costs).
The Canadian health care system has abandoned us. They have left us to fight this battle alone. We have spent days and nights doing research. We have spent thousands of dollars on blood tests, consultations, personal equipment to monitor his health statistics (ECG for afib, stethoscope for galloping heart, blood pressure monitor for BP, and more), medical journals/articles, and so much more. Perry has had to miss days and days of work, some with no pay because of how badly these infections have affected his health.
We have been struggling with this by ourselves, completely alone. But now I am desperately seeking support from friends and family to help us in this fight.
All donations will go towards the debt we have amassed and the potential future costs of treatment (~$600 per month, including follow-up appointments and medication).
If you would like to offer financial support, please consider sending an e-transfer to Veronique.Servant @ gmail.com (remove the spaces) or donate via this GoFundMe. If you would like to offer emotional support as well, please feel free to drop us an email at the same address.
We greatly appreciate any and all support we can get.
Thank you so much for helping our family.
With love,
- Vero
We have been struggling on our own. But now I am asking - no, I am pleading - for your support in this fight.
Perry has suffered unexplained health issues for over a decade. Pain. So much pain - chest pain, kidney pain, abdominal pain, joint pain, muscle pain, the list goes on. Insomnia. Night sweats. Muscle twitching. Memory loss. "Brain fog". Zero energy. Blurry vision. Tingling in extremities. Numbness. Atrial fibrillation. Uncontrollable bleeding (nosebleeds that last over 30 minutes, some even up to an hour!).
These are but a few of the symptoms that Perry battles on a regular basis. Through self-research we discovered the world of Lyme disease and tick-borne infections that could explain all of his symptoms.
But Canadian doctors will not acknowledge these infections, will not test him for them, and will not treat him.
We were determined to go down this route, if not to at least eliminate it as a possible cause. The only way we could get tested was via a blood test from the USA (from a company called IGeneX). This test was $3700 and we had to go through a naturopath to sign off on the requisition form (another $1200 for required consultations and follow-ups).
The test came back positive for multiple tick-borne infections. Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever. Bartonella. Rikettsia.
And the worst of them: Ehrliciosis.
Straight from https://www.cdc.gov/ehrlichiosis/symptoms/index.html, check out the symptoms of this bacterial infection:
If antibiotic treatment is delayed, ehrlichiosis can sometimes cause severe illness. Early treatment can reduce your risk of developing severe illness.
Signs and symptoms of severe (late stage) illness can include:
- Damage to the brain or nervous system (e.g. inflammation of the brain and surrounding tissue (called meningoencephalitis))
- Respiratory failure
- Uncontrolled bleeding
- Organ failure
- Death
That's right. My husband could die from this. And we almost thought the end was coming this summer, when he was in the hospital for a week because of very concerning heart problems (he ended up needing cardioversion twice).
Can you imagine the love of your life being in a hospital for a week, alone at home with your son who just turned 1 year old, trying to keep yourself together and also work from home, unable to have friends or family come to support you and unable to even visit your husband at the hospital because of COVID-19?
These infections are serious. They are significantly reducing the quality of my husband's life and of the life of our family, and they are threatening his life.
Yet Canadian doctors will not help us. They say he doesn't have these infections (they "cannot accept" the test results from IGeneX), but have no idea what else could be causing his symptoms. We've seen countless doctors, cardiologists, and specialists, and he's been to the ER over 8 times in the last three years.
This summer, we pushed very hard to get seen by an infectious disease specialist, and had to beg her to test Perry with Canadian tests. She reluctantly agreed to test for Bartonella and Rikettsia (there is no Canadian test for TBRF). The test for Bartonella was inconclusive, and the test for Rikettsia was positive. Yet even with this, she would not treat him because she didn't think he had these infections. We pushed her to test for Ehrliciosis, but she refused, saying, and I quote, "I don't think you have this infection, and the Canadian government lab for this test requires too much paperwork and we need such a thorough and detailed medical and personal history, that I don't think it's worth doing this test".
No explanation. No answers. No treatment. All the while, my husband suffers in silence while the Canadian health care system does nothing.
We thankfully found a doctor in the USA that agreed to treat via telemedicine. We paid $950 just for a consultation (and each follow-up will be $500). We searched and searched for a way to fill a prescription from the USA - and we thankfully found a pharmacy in British Columbia that has a physician willing to co-sign the USA prescription and send us the medication by mail. We are in round 1 of treatment, but if it's not enough, we could be looking at long-term treatment (and long-term costs).
The Canadian health care system has abandoned us. They have left us to fight this battle alone. We have spent days and nights doing research. We have spent thousands of dollars on blood tests, consultations, personal equipment to monitor his health statistics (ECG for afib, stethoscope for galloping heart, blood pressure monitor for BP, and more), medical journals/articles, and so much more. Perry has had to miss days and days of work, some with no pay because of how badly these infections have affected his health.
We have been struggling with this by ourselves, completely alone. But now I am desperately seeking support from friends and family to help us in this fight.
All donations will go towards the debt we have amassed and the potential future costs of treatment (~$600 per month, including follow-up appointments and medication).
If you would like to offer financial support, please consider sending an e-transfer to Veronique.Servant @ gmail.com (remove the spaces) or donate via this GoFundMe. If you would like to offer emotional support as well, please feel free to drop us an email at the same address.
We greatly appreciate any and all support we can get.
Thank you so much for helping our family.
With love,
- Vero