Help this Mom, Amy Joy Dyck, Stand Strong Again

https://youtu.be/HM0bsVVbBD8 

NUTSHELL

Amy Joy Dyck is my sister in law.  She is a beautiful Mom of two and has a wonderful husband.  Amy has struggled with an undiagnosed illness ever since I met her 17 years ago.  She was depressed, could barely walk and has since fought to find healing in almost every avenue available. FINALLY she has been diagnosed with Neurological Lyme Disease.  Amy has a $10,000 treatment protocol recommended by her doctor that she will start March 28th. The financial cost of finding health has been a heavy burden and it is pulling this beautiful woman and family down for too long. Please help support Amy Joy get back on her feet!



LONGER BACKSTORY

Amy Joy Dyck and her husband Tim are regular Canadians living in Langley BC. Almost regular. They’ve been married 14 years, have 2 children. Amy is my beloved sister-in-law.


When Amy was 20, when most young adults are digging into post secondary school and planning careers, she “hit a wall.” Something switched and her body stopped functioning the way a “normal” body would. She began to collect a myriad of debilitating symptoms, including brain fog, over sensitivity to stimulation, clinical depression, and consistent loss of strength and stamina to the point that she would crumble onto the ground and would have to leave work 3 times a week. Thus began a journey of discovery… what is this mysterious illness? Test after test came back without a clue and doctors began to doubt the legitimacy of her experiences.


Meanwhile, as anyone with a chronic illness knows, life goes on… she struggled hard to manage stress, work and pay bills. She learned to eat carefully and live healthfully. An incredible man proposed to her (the same one who carried her around on her “sick days” when she was too weak to walk) and they were married in 2005. Together they learned to work around symptoms, pursue wellness, to adapt, to find a way even without answers about what was wrong with her body. Slowly, over years, she found more resilience. She began to work more and dig into her life as an artist and art instructor.


LAST YEAR

17 years after her first crisis, and two children later, she again “hit the wall.” Wracked with pain, unable to drive, or walk without a wheelchair, foggy-brained, incapable of functioning or caring properly for her precious children (then 10 and 8) she and her family began again to hunt for an answer.


This time the medical system had begun to catch up with her and she was tested and diagnosed with Neurological Lyme Disease. This is a complex disease usually thought to have been transferred to a human through a tick bite and typically triggered through stress. It can be incredibly debilitating and difficult to treat and effects people of all genders and ages (though seems to favour women). Due to the complex way the bacteria attack the body and neurological system, Lyme disease can resemble illnesses like Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Lupus, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia.


Amy has improved in the last year because of complex Lyme treatments but she still sometimes struggles to do important and simple tasks such as walking from the car to the school to pick up her children. She continues to work as much as she can but has had to limit her hours due to physical limitations.


PLANS and COSTS

This past year of treatment for Amy has made a significant difference in her ability to handle daily tasks and keep working and teaching, but are currently costing the family approximately $800 - $1000 per month for supplements, antibiotics, alternative treatments, and specialist fees. Despite the value of treatments so far, she has reached a plateau and needs to move on to new strategies in order to gain ground.


Amy’s doctor is proposing a protocol that will offer her 2 week intensive “healing boot camps,” with a goal to kill down bacteria, reduce bad reactions to the die off, and get her off the antibiotics she has been reliant on for the past year in order to keep on her feet. This will involve daily IV antibiotics, recovery IV’s, special supplements and a careful self care regimen to support healing and recovery. Each of these 2 week sessions will cost at least $2,500, one beginning ASAP, and she will need a minimum of 2-3 sessions (costing between $5,000 and $7,500 total)


Amy and Tim are skilled at budgets and are already being financially supported by family members to help carry the burden of the cost ($800-$1000/month).


The money raised through this campaign will cover the costs associated with a minimum of two of these two-week healing protocols, with the hopes of a huge boost toward stability and healing for Amy.  As they are using Naturopathic care (having tried other treatments previously), most of these treatments are not covered by insurance or MSP.


AMY AND GRATITUDE

As Amy’s sister-in-law, I have witnessed Amy’s tenacity and perseverance at addressing her health mystery for almost 2 decades!  I don’t know anyone else who has gone to such lengths to find the cause to then a cure for her illness. The burden of pushing through this has weighed on the their family emotionally, physically and financially.  Where they could have been saving for a down payment on a home and their future, they have been covering medical costs and loss of income.


I am grateful for you reading this and considering a donation.  I am grateful for the giving.  I am grateful Amy has accepted my offer of setting up a GoFundMe Campaign for her.  This is her time to receive a leg up from her village.  I am terribly excited! I feel great anticipation and hope. Hope not only for funds to be raised, but for my sister-in-law to conquer this daily shadow that holds her back from the beauty she creates in this world.


GOAL

It is easy to quantify medical expenses and even loss of income. It is difficult to quantify what has been lost to diversion of money for almost 2 decades of treatments and loss of income.   Please share as you want and receive joy in seeing them supported through our efforts!!

With Gratitude,

Gillian


Goal #1 - $10,000
($7,500 medical expenses + $2,500 income loss & supplements)

Goal #2 - $10,000
(supporting their debt repayment)