Help fund treatment for family suffering from Lyme & Mold disease

Our sweet cousin Angie has recently been diagnosed with Lyme Disease, Mold Disease and other related co-infections and has started extensive & expensive treatments to battle the illness and regain her health. The treatments are unfortunately not covered by any plans. This campaign was started to raise money to assist Angie with the huge cost of the treatments that she is currently undergoing.

Angie has always been a vibrant and active woman, but in early 2013 was diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Tendonitis in both arms which limited her mobility and was the start of her current struggles. As the months went on, Angie's pain continued to increase and the use of her arms in her jobs as a server and as a photographer resulted in chronic pain and numbness that would last days afterwards. She could no longer work in the occupations and even simple tasks, like driving or cutting vegetables, caused her great discomfort. Angie's doctor prescribed Tramadol to help her deal with the immense pain but it did not subside and for the next three years she continued to suffer and developed depression due to the loss of the life she once knew.

In 2016, Angie's symptoms started to worsen. She developed severe night sweats, which lasted for months and then stopped suddenly. She began to lose her hair and started having skin problems. Her doctor told her that she had adult acne, however, her skin conditions worsened over the next few years.

In 2019, she developed an infection in her eyebrows and eventually they all fell out. The infection then spread to her eyelids, she lost her eyelashes and eventually her vision began to deteriorate. In June, an Ophthalmologist diagnosed Angie with Narrow Angle Glaucoma.

By September of 2019, Angie started to experience memory loss. She would forget words and had trouble communicating in basic conversations. She suffered from extreme fatigue, feeling like she could never get enough sleep. Throughout these past three years, Angie saw numerous doctors but none could identify the cause of her deteriorating health issues.

Finally, in December of 2019, Angie met a specialist in Integrative Medicine who suspected she may have Lyme Disease. Tests were done, which had to be sent to Germany as Canada does not have the testing available, and she was diagnosed with Lyme disease and several other co-infections, including Mold Disease.

Lyme disease can damage any organ of your body. That includes your nervous system and brain, heart and joints. Lyme disease can remain dormant for weeks, months or even years, so it is very hard to detect when Angie may have obtained it. When symptoms do eventually develop, they can be severe and patients often need aggressive treatment. In addition to intravenous antibiotics, patients being treated for late-stage Lyme disease, often receive supportive therapies

Mold is also known to cause asthma and life-threatening primary and secondary infections in immune-compromised patients that have been exposed. Toxic mold exposure has also been linked to more serious, long-term effects like memory loss, insomnia, anxiety, depression,trouble concentrating, and confusion.

Angie finally has a diagnosis but has a long journey ahead of her to recover. She requires six hours of Intravenous Therapy and three hours of other therapeutic treatments each week and numerous daily supplements. Her treatment costs are up to $5,000/month.

To date, the specialist fees, testing and treatments have totalled $45,000. Alberta Health Care and Extended Coverage do not cover any Lyme Disease or Mold Disease diagnosis or treatments. This is a huge financial and emotional burden on Angie - a single mother - and her family, as these diseases can cost in excess of $100,000 to treat.

To make matters worse, Angie's three children, ages 14, 11 and 8, have now been diagnosed with Lyme and mold disease and will also need the treatments.

Please help by making a donation in any amount you are able so that we can help Angie deal with the exorbitant cost of her diagnosis and treatment for herself and her children.