Hi everybody. My name is Carly Aherne. I am setting up this Go Fund Me page on behalf of my sister, Jamie Aherne. Jamie is 23 years old from Dublin, Ireland.
She is currently about to begin treatment in Augsburg, Germany for Lyme disease and many co infections.
If Jamie had a choice, nobody would know of her illness, she has hidden it well to this point. She is a very private person and proud. Unfortunately, we have no choice in keeping her illness private any longer as we need all the help we can get in getting her better.
For years, Jamie has been suffering undiagnosed. Doctors assumed she had Fibromyalgia and did not entertain the idea of further testing. We knew there was something much more serious wrong with Jamie. Her health and immune system have drastically deteriorated in recent years. She has seen nuerologists, rheumatologists and allergy
specialists. She has spent weeks in St. Josephs Harolds Cross for treament and therapies for pain and nothing made any difference. She has also had accupuncture
in the hope this would help. She has been on various strong medications for pain and they have had no effect.
Throughout Jamie's life she has been actively involved in scouts. From being a scout as a child, into Ventures in her teens and hugely involved thereafter. She has climbed mountains, glaciers, travelled to Uganda to help build a school after fundraising for a year with fellow scouts, walked the Camino and much more. She was in college studying music in the hope of becoming a primary school teacher but all these things in her life came to a halt because of her illness.
Jamie is constantly in pain. Some days she can barely walk or keep herself upright. She has to depend on a crutch or wheelchair a lot. She is experiencing visual dysfunction, fatigue, brain fog,chronic pain, short term memory loss, severe migraines and sensitivity to sounds, to name a few of her symptoms.
The lack of recognition and specialists in Ireland meant that Jamie had to undertake expensive travel for answers. We feel we have been let down by the Health System in Ireland as Jamie's concerns were dismissed continuously.
As I said in the beginning, all of the intensive tests Jamie has been for in Germany indicate that she has Late Stage Lyme Disease and Co-infections which are believed to have been contracted through an infected tick nine years ago ( then fourteen years old ). It has affected all her internal organs and immune system. Every day is a struggle for Jamie, she does as much as she can day by day, which is becoming less as time goes on.
Because Jamie has been living with this disease for so many years,it makes treating it even harder, and the doctors are uncertain of how many rounds of treatment Jamie will need to get rid of this disease. Jamie's chronic condition cannot be treated in Ireland. It is also not officially recognised here which means our health insurance is not of any use. Treatment available to Jamie at this moment is in a clinic in Augsburg,Germany. It is extremely expensive to receive this treatment along with the other costs associated with travelling abroad for treatment.
We have been able to pay for travelling, blood tests and consultations over the past few months due to the generosity of close family who have loaned us €20,000 which will have to be paid back. Jamie's first round of intensive treatment is due to commence this month which is the beginning of her long road to getting better.
We will need to raise in the region of €60k. Our goal is extremely ambitious but we estimate treatment,travel and accomodation to cost roughly this amount.
All we want is to get Jamie better, and for her to get her life back, Please help in anyway you can, big or small, every cent will make a difference to my sister's, mine and my parent's (Joanna & Paul) lives.
Thank you.
She is currently about to begin treatment in Augsburg, Germany for Lyme disease and many co infections.
If Jamie had a choice, nobody would know of her illness, she has hidden it well to this point. She is a very private person and proud. Unfortunately, we have no choice in keeping her illness private any longer as we need all the help we can get in getting her better.
For years, Jamie has been suffering undiagnosed. Doctors assumed she had Fibromyalgia and did not entertain the idea of further testing. We knew there was something much more serious wrong with Jamie. Her health and immune system have drastically deteriorated in recent years. She has seen nuerologists, rheumatologists and allergy
specialists. She has spent weeks in St. Josephs Harolds Cross for treament and therapies for pain and nothing made any difference. She has also had accupuncture
in the hope this would help. She has been on various strong medications for pain and they have had no effect.
Throughout Jamie's life she has been actively involved in scouts. From being a scout as a child, into Ventures in her teens and hugely involved thereafter. She has climbed mountains, glaciers, travelled to Uganda to help build a school after fundraising for a year with fellow scouts, walked the Camino and much more. She was in college studying music in the hope of becoming a primary school teacher but all these things in her life came to a halt because of her illness.
Jamie is constantly in pain. Some days she can barely walk or keep herself upright. She has to depend on a crutch or wheelchair a lot. She is experiencing visual dysfunction, fatigue, brain fog,chronic pain, short term memory loss, severe migraines and sensitivity to sounds, to name a few of her symptoms.
The lack of recognition and specialists in Ireland meant that Jamie had to undertake expensive travel for answers. We feel we have been let down by the Health System in Ireland as Jamie's concerns were dismissed continuously.
As I said in the beginning, all of the intensive tests Jamie has been for in Germany indicate that she has Late Stage Lyme Disease and Co-infections which are believed to have been contracted through an infected tick nine years ago ( then fourteen years old ). It has affected all her internal organs and immune system. Every day is a struggle for Jamie, she does as much as she can day by day, which is becoming less as time goes on.
Because Jamie has been living with this disease for so many years,it makes treating it even harder, and the doctors are uncertain of how many rounds of treatment Jamie will need to get rid of this disease. Jamie's chronic condition cannot be treated in Ireland. It is also not officially recognised here which means our health insurance is not of any use. Treatment available to Jamie at this moment is in a clinic in Augsburg,Germany. It is extremely expensive to receive this treatment along with the other costs associated with travelling abroad for treatment.
We have been able to pay for travelling, blood tests and consultations over the past few months due to the generosity of close family who have loaned us €20,000 which will have to be paid back. Jamie's first round of intensive treatment is due to commence this month which is the beginning of her long road to getting better.
We will need to raise in the region of €60k. Our goal is extremely ambitious but we estimate treatment,travel and accomodation to cost roughly this amount.
All we want is to get Jamie better, and for her to get her life back, Please help in anyway you can, big or small, every cent will make a difference to my sister's, mine and my parent's (Joanna & Paul) lives.
Thank you.
Organizer
Carly Aherne
Organizer