Urgent Help Needed for Heidi's Fight to Health and Hope!

My sister, Heidi Gillette, is in serious need of help. Heidi was bitten by a tick almost 19 years ago. Due to her doctor’s negligence, her Lyme disease went misdiagnosed for a few years. During that time, she became bedridden with a whole host of symptoms. She had horrible brain fog, systematic pain throughout her entire body, recurring fevers, tremors, Bell's palsy-like symptoms, she was unable to grasp things with her hands and would just drop everything. Her legs often gave out and she couldn’t walk. One of her very worst symptoms was her stomach pain. She was unable to eat or drink and this landed her in the hospital more than once, and caused many ER visits. The doctors never could figure out what was wrong with her as all GI tests came back normal. We finally located a doctor in Fond Du Lac, WI that knew something about Lyme disease and she was diagnosed. Her stomach never improved with treatment and she landed in the hospital again. She became so malnourished that she lost over half her hair. She couldn’t eat or drink anything and keep it down. This time a doctor suggested an antidepressant as certain ones can help with unexplained stomach pain. After time, this allowed her to be able to start eating again. Her stomach pain never went totally away and sometimes she would have a few days in a row where the pain was nearly unbearable. The next 15 years were filled with different doctors and treatments. Most of the doctors who treat Lyme aren’t covered by insurance. Heidi hasn’t been able to work, so most of her treatment costs, which were thousands, went onto credit cards. She has had multiple surgeries as well due to the lyme causing a host of issues through her body. My sister has never been able to lead a normal life. She's never been able to plan anything due to never knowing how she will feel, and spends much of her time in bed. For those of you that know Heidi, that is not who she is. She has tried to have a small weekend job and she also was going back to school for a while. She had to stop both due to this awful disease. Her stomach pain is definitely the worst of her symptoms, but she still struggles with so many things. She is a fighter and very rarely complains. She's my hero. Lyme, and the complications from it have robbed her of so much.

Six weeks ago, the antidepressant that has allowed Heidi to eat all these years stopped working. Since then, she’s had many trips to the ER again and is unable to eat. This has been a very scary time for Heidi and all of us as her family. It is incredibly heartbreaking to watch your loved one in so much pain and be unable to help. Her anxiety is through the roof and she’s just so, so scared. We are all trying to trust Jesus in this situation and pray daily for him to heal Heidi, and to point us in the direction we should go. She also was just diagnosed with mild fatty liver and her organs aren’t operating as they should. This is very scary as we are afraid some of her organs are starting to fail. She has had many years of anti-biotics, malaria drugs, countless medications, supplements, and a pic line and they have taken a toll on her system.

We have many things Heidi needs to try to regain her health but we can’t do this on our own. We need help. I’m asking and praying for God to provide. Heidi’s life hangs in the balance right now. She cannot keep living like this. She lives each day in constant pain, crying out to God for help. She is terrified and I am too. My sister is my very best friend and I will do anything to help her. This is what Heidi needs at this time:

1. PRAYER. Please, please, pray! Pray for God’s healing hand to touch Heidi. Please pray God leads us in the right direction for help. Heidi can’t be the only one to ever have something like this so pray God directs us to people who know what’s going on. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors she encounters. Please pray for strength and peace for Heidi. Words can't describe how awful it is to live in a constant state of pain.

2. Brain Biofeedback. This helps with anxiety, emotional health, and can help force brain waves back into normal patterns. The cost is about $2,200.

3. Lyme treatment through Doctor Horowitz in New York. She has to travel to NY once a year to see him and it’s all out of pocket treatment. It averages $10,000 a year by time you factor in the travel and monthly treatments.

4. Treatment at Biologix in Franklin, TN. She would stay there while they work on her immune system, organs and receive more treatments. Cost is about $ 15,000. It's a short term center but has wonderful reviews.

5. I'm also asking for help with her current debt from her treatments. She has been paying on it for years and has $25,000 left. It is impossible for them to get ahead with all the monthly costs of her current treatments and exploring other doctors/treatments.

We urgently need your help. To know Heidi is to love her. This would bless her so much. We are unable to get her the help she needs without your help. So please, please, give what you can. Even if this reached 50,000 people somehow and you all gave a dollar, we would meet our goal. This is what I'm praying for. Please share and do what you can.

Above all, please lift Heidi up in prayer. We know that Jesus is the great physician and knows exactly what is wrong. The future is scary right now and I can't imagine a future without my best friend and sister in it. We are all scared at the magnitude of her illness and all the "what ifs" but we know God is bigger than what is wrong. Please join us in praying and we would love it if you would add Heidi to any prayer chains you may know of.

Thank you so very much.