Winery owner building research centre for Lyme Disease
ByJoanna Frketich
The founder of an Ontario winery with area connections is working to create a research facility for Lyme disease with the hope it will one day test and treat patients.
Rossana Di Zio Magnotta saw firsthand the lack of knowledge in Canada on how to diagnose and treat the debilitating disease as her husband, Gabe, travelled to Europe and United States looking for a cure. He died Dec. 30, 2009.
“There is no reason for people to die, lose their homes (paying for treatment in other countries) and go through all this stress and trauma,” she said. “We are not doing a good job of testing and treating.”
The CEO of Magnotta Winery Corporation, which has a crushing facility in Beamsville, wants scientific research to end a growing rift in the medical community over whether Lyme disease is a chronic illness that requires long-term treatment with antibiotics or an infection cured within 30 days.
Hello all,
I am greatly appreciative of Rossana Di Zio Magnotta, the CEO of Magnotta Winery Corporation, for her commitment to create a research facility for Lyme disease with the hope it will one day test and treat patients. I give her a big pat on the back, just like Jim Wilson and others at Canlyme, who are sticking their necks out trying to help the many people in Canada with Lyme Disease and its co-infections. It is a crisis and will get worse before it gets better; however i have hope in humanity!
This facility (and others not yet conceived) will help greatly many patients who do not have the necessary funding to go to Europe and/or USA for treatment. Fortunately through Canlyme, I was able to find several naturopathic doctors (NDs) in western Canada who were willing and able to provide the necessary testing and long-term treatment for my wife here in Saskatoon. FYI, Saskatchewan Health does not recognize my wife’s chronic illness because of their improper testing procedures, although we have had positive test results from Germany (twice) and USA (twice) – different tests; 3 different labs. I even wrote to the Premier of Saskatchewan, but all I got was one of these automated responses. Because of this dilemma, I can’t get a signature on the Canada Revenue Agency medical tax form for claiming my wife’s disability on our income taxes.
I agree fully with “There is no reason for people to die, lose their homes (paying for treatment in other countries) and go through all this stress and trauma,” she said. “We are not doing a good job of testing and treating.”
I would add that our Canadian Medicare system is doing a terrible job, due to politics, big egos, and big business. Our present medical system needs to be educated and overhauled with respect to chronic illnesses. And this education and training needs to happen with all the new MDs coming out of our medical schools. Also, most of our politicians need to be educated about this debilitating disease.
If it wasn’t for the fantastic NDs in this country, and the reliable testing labs in Europe and USA, my wife would be now bed-ridden and close to death. We are both extremely grateful to these wonderful caring NDs, who are helping patients regain their lives from this terrible disease and its co-infections.
In closing, some good news, my wife is very slowly getting better and no longer needs to use a wheel chair on our outings; thanks to the NDs. Also, we are still married (the power of unconditional love) and not broke yet; although I need to find full-time work again this coming year.
Finally as an internationally recognized applied research scientist in geology, I too wish for more “scientific research to end a growing rift in the medical community over whether Lyme disease is a chronic illness that requires long-term treatment with antibiotics or an infection cured within 30 days”.
All the best in 2014 and may a cure be found for chronic Lyme Disease
Irvine