Help the Hooks Fight Lyme Disease
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I am setting up a fundraiser for our dear friend, Ryan Hook, to help defray some of the medical costs associated with treatment of chronic Lyme’s disease. Ryan has been quietly and courageously battling chronic Lyme disease for over six years. This may come as a surprise to some of you as Ryan does his best to put on a smile and not succumb to the pain, sickness, and exhaustion he deals with on almost a daily basis. As members of Ryan and Carrie’s small group through church, we have watched Ryan go from a healthy, vibrant, hardworking and energetic man to a man who can barely function at times because of the pain, sickness and exhaustion caused by the Lyme’s disease. Through this battle, he has remained a selfless, kind and caring father, husband, son, and friend. He also has continued to provide for his family, emotionally, spiritually, and financially, despite his worsening health. The thing that I admire the most about him is that he never seems to question God or show frustration over seemingly unanswered prayers, he doesn’t complain, and he always looks outside of himself to see how he can be a friend to or help others who are hurting or in need.
Ryan has reached a crossroads with Lyme’s disease. His health continues to decline, the cost of ongoing treatment of the symptoms continues to climb, and he is in desperate need of a reprieve from the ongoing health issues he has faced for over six years. He recently found a treatment center with a very high success rate in treating Lyme’s disease. He has already undergone a week of testing. Tomorrow morning he will begin an intensive 6-7 week treatment regimen. Unfortunately, the treatment cost is not covered by insurance. Carrie has been battling their insurance company for the last few weeks with no success. Despite the incredible cost, they decided that they really do not have any other options at this time and that they are going to place their trust in a God who always provides. The initial treatment cost is $30,000 and follow-up treatment is an additional $10,000. This is in addition to the thousands of dollars in costs that they have already incurred fighting this ugly disease.
I am asking for your help for this amazing family in the following ways:
1. Pray fervently that this treatment will put the Lyme’s disease into permanent remission. Pray that their time apart will go quickly. Pray for Carrie and the kids to have peace, patience, and trust and guard their minds from fear and doubts.
2. Reach out to the Hook family to see how you can help them tangibly over the next several weeks, particularly while Ryan is away. I know from personal experience that they won’t ask for help, so if you see a need, please take the time to reach out and help. Some thoughts I have had would be meals, help with transportation for Addie, and help with outdoor work such as raking and snow blowing.
3. Send a note of encouragement or a card to Ryan during his treatment. His address is 30 Redwood Trail. Lake Placid, FL. 33852.
4. Prayerfully consider making a donation to help the Hooks pay for Ryan’s current treatment through this GoFund Me account. I know I have set the goal high, but $20,000 will only cover ½ of the cost of treatment and the Hook family has already incurred a burdensome amount of out of pocket medical cost for treatments over the last six plus years.
5. Please share this with others that may be interested in praying for, encouraging, and/or helping the Hook family.
More Info:
Many of you may remember that over six years ago Ryan had Bell’s Palsy which caused paralysis to the left side of his face. He didn’t realize it at the time, but the Bell’s Palsy was actually secondary to the Lyme’s disease which was weakening and destroying his immune system. Lyme’s disease can be treated with antibiotics if caught in the early stages. Unfortunately, Ryan was not aware that he had contracted the disease until it had already begun to impact multiple systems in his body. By the time he was diagnosed with Lyme’s disease, the disease had already progressed to the chronic stage. Upon diagnosis, he immediately began treatment with antibiotics. For the first couple of years, he took several rounds of antibiotics trying to treat the Lyme’s disease and infections that were secondary to the Lyme’s disease. The antibiotics would mask the symptoms temporarily, but then the symptoms would return once the treatment was done. The antibiotics also taxed his immune system even further.
Over the past six years, Ryan has seen over 20 doctors in different states, including doctors at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. He started with conventional treatment methods for the first few years, but found that the conventional treatment methods were not working. In fact, his symptoms were actually getting worse with shorter periods of remission in between. Over the past few years he has found some relief from holistic and natural methods of treatment. He has done everything he can possibly do on his own to give his immune system a boost including a very restricted diet, supplements, chiropractic treatments, and sauna therapy. These modalities have helped some with the symptoms, but have not been enough to put the Lyme disease into remission. In addition, the majority of these therapies are not covered by health insurance and have been very taxing to their finances.
In trying to understand Lyme’s disease and what the Hooks are living with, I did some of my own research. I read many stories and other GoFund Me pages with stories very similar to Ryan’s…healthy, active individuals whose lives were turned upside down by this disease. There is a lot of great information about Lyme’s disease. Here are a couple of quotes from https://www.lymedisease.org/ that might help you to better understand Lyme’s:
· Lyme disease is an inflammatory condition thought to be caused by the bite of a tick infected by bacteria.
· Lyme disease may spread to any part of the body and affect any body system. Typically, it affects more than one body system. In our survey, which drew over 5,000 responses, patients with chronic Lyme disease reported an average of three severe or very severe symptoms, with 74% reporting at least one symptom as severe or very severe.
· Early treatment can be very successful but the disease is much harder to treat in later stages. Rarely fatal, Lyme disease can however cause serious disability…
· The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 300,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease in the US every year. That’s 1.5 times the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer, and six times the number of people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS each year in the US.
· An LDo published survey of over 3,000 patients with chronic Lyme disease found that patients suffer a worse quality of life than most other chronic illnesses, including congestive heart failure, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and arthritis. Over 70% of patients with chronic Lyme disease reported fair or poor health.
Thanks for helping the Hook family fight Lyme’s disease!
Hook family,
We hope that you know that you are not alone in this fight! Many will be storming the gates of Heaven and interceding on your behalf. We may not be certain what God's will is, but we are boldly confident that He is a loving God who we can place complete trust and hope in! We love you!
Your Brothers and Sisters in Christ
Ryan has reached a crossroads with Lyme’s disease. His health continues to decline, the cost of ongoing treatment of the symptoms continues to climb, and he is in desperate need of a reprieve from the ongoing health issues he has faced for over six years. He recently found a treatment center with a very high success rate in treating Lyme’s disease. He has already undergone a week of testing. Tomorrow morning he will begin an intensive 6-7 week treatment regimen. Unfortunately, the treatment cost is not covered by insurance. Carrie has been battling their insurance company for the last few weeks with no success. Despite the incredible cost, they decided that they really do not have any other options at this time and that they are going to place their trust in a God who always provides. The initial treatment cost is $30,000 and follow-up treatment is an additional $10,000. This is in addition to the thousands of dollars in costs that they have already incurred fighting this ugly disease.
I am asking for your help for this amazing family in the following ways:
1. Pray fervently that this treatment will put the Lyme’s disease into permanent remission. Pray that their time apart will go quickly. Pray for Carrie and the kids to have peace, patience, and trust and guard their minds from fear and doubts.
2. Reach out to the Hook family to see how you can help them tangibly over the next several weeks, particularly while Ryan is away. I know from personal experience that they won’t ask for help, so if you see a need, please take the time to reach out and help. Some thoughts I have had would be meals, help with transportation for Addie, and help with outdoor work such as raking and snow blowing.
3. Send a note of encouragement or a card to Ryan during his treatment. His address is 30 Redwood Trail. Lake Placid, FL. 33852.
4. Prayerfully consider making a donation to help the Hooks pay for Ryan’s current treatment through this GoFund Me account. I know I have set the goal high, but $20,000 will only cover ½ of the cost of treatment and the Hook family has already incurred a burdensome amount of out of pocket medical cost for treatments over the last six plus years.
5. Please share this with others that may be interested in praying for, encouraging, and/or helping the Hook family.
More Info:
Many of you may remember that over six years ago Ryan had Bell’s Palsy which caused paralysis to the left side of his face. He didn’t realize it at the time, but the Bell’s Palsy was actually secondary to the Lyme’s disease which was weakening and destroying his immune system. Lyme’s disease can be treated with antibiotics if caught in the early stages. Unfortunately, Ryan was not aware that he had contracted the disease until it had already begun to impact multiple systems in his body. By the time he was diagnosed with Lyme’s disease, the disease had already progressed to the chronic stage. Upon diagnosis, he immediately began treatment with antibiotics. For the first couple of years, he took several rounds of antibiotics trying to treat the Lyme’s disease and infections that were secondary to the Lyme’s disease. The antibiotics would mask the symptoms temporarily, but then the symptoms would return once the treatment was done. The antibiotics also taxed his immune system even further.
Over the past six years, Ryan has seen over 20 doctors in different states, including doctors at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. He started with conventional treatment methods for the first few years, but found that the conventional treatment methods were not working. In fact, his symptoms were actually getting worse with shorter periods of remission in between. Over the past few years he has found some relief from holistic and natural methods of treatment. He has done everything he can possibly do on his own to give his immune system a boost including a very restricted diet, supplements, chiropractic treatments, and sauna therapy. These modalities have helped some with the symptoms, but have not been enough to put the Lyme disease into remission. In addition, the majority of these therapies are not covered by health insurance and have been very taxing to their finances.
In trying to understand Lyme’s disease and what the Hooks are living with, I did some of my own research. I read many stories and other GoFund Me pages with stories very similar to Ryan’s…healthy, active individuals whose lives were turned upside down by this disease. There is a lot of great information about Lyme’s disease. Here are a couple of quotes from https://www.lymedisease.org/ that might help you to better understand Lyme’s:
· Lyme disease is an inflammatory condition thought to be caused by the bite of a tick infected by bacteria.
· Lyme disease may spread to any part of the body and affect any body system. Typically, it affects more than one body system. In our survey, which drew over 5,000 responses, patients with chronic Lyme disease reported an average of three severe or very severe symptoms, with 74% reporting at least one symptom as severe or very severe.
· Early treatment can be very successful but the disease is much harder to treat in later stages. Rarely fatal, Lyme disease can however cause serious disability…
· The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 300,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease in the US every year. That’s 1.5 times the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer, and six times the number of people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS each year in the US.
· An LDo published survey of over 3,000 patients with chronic Lyme disease found that patients suffer a worse quality of life than most other chronic illnesses, including congestive heart failure, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and arthritis. Over 70% of patients with chronic Lyme disease reported fair or poor health.
Thanks for helping the Hook family fight Lyme’s disease!
Hook family,
We hope that you know that you are not alone in this fight! Many will be storming the gates of Heaven and interceding on your behalf. We may not be certain what God's will is, but we are boldly confident that He is a loving God who we can place complete trust and hope in! We love you!
Your Brothers and Sisters in Christ
Organizer and beneficiary
Lynne Garton
Organizer
Newton, IA
Ryan Hook
Beneficiary
