Lyme disease sufferers looking for more help from Canadian medical system
Chris Thompson, Windsor Star
Published on: May 27, 2016
Two years ago Francesca Ventimiglia was a healthy a vibrant aerobics instructor teaching as many as three classes a day.
Today she is wheelchair-bound, unable to walk, her sight and hearing impaired. She also had her breasts removed from a misdiagnosis of cancer.
Ventimigla has Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness that is caused by the bacterium borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted to people by black-legged ticks that get infected after biting mice or deer that carry the bug.
“We’re hoping to get her back,” said Francesca’s husband Joe, who figures his wife was bitten by a tick around their LaSalle home, although she didn’t notice it at the time.
My son-in-law has been diagnosed with Lyme Disease (California comprehensive testing results) and while he has been suffering for the past four years, he is no closer to getting any kind of treatment here in Ontario. He spent a summer from hell last year with migraines, his vision is beginning to go, he can’t remember significant events in his life that happened 2 years ago, he drags himself to work each day to support his family and comes home and collapses in his bed, often too weak to even eat a decent supper, his joints are extremely painful and one knee swollen on a daily basis and his doctor says, “Well, lots of people go to work in pain.” At 51, he is just too young to give up on life. Is there an Ontario doctor out there who is willing to help? What is wrong with our health care professionals in both Ontario and Canada that they are willing to stand by and watch people suffering in this way and do nothing?
Jennifer, I don’t know of anyone in Onatrio. I was diagnosed last year with late stage Lyme, Babesia. The doctor I see is Kenny DeMeirleir . He is from Belgium but goes to Reno, Nevada once a month to see patients. He will be there at the end of July. That is when I am going. The first visit is $750 us. Follow ups are $350us. Testing is additional.