Stop the World I Want to Get Off!

by Dawn Irons, Editor

Just when you think you have seen and heard it all, invariably there comes along some new situation that completely separates your head from your shoulders with a new “wow factor”. This month has done just that.

As editor of the PHA, I get all kinds of letters. Some are for publication and others are for personal consumption. The last month has brought several letters that only affirm to me that we are on the right track with getting Lyme literate information to the masses. I received 2 letters from separate people saying how much receiving the PHA had given them a lifeline to others who are going through the same kinds of issues with their medical problems. Both of these writers said they had been suicidal, but felt so much hope in just knowing that others were out there with similar experiences.

There were a few more letters that arrived that I will briefly describe in a vague sense in the event they decide to send in an actual “letter to the editor”. I would not want to steal their thunder in telling their own story.

One family had 5 children all recently diagnosed with Lyme disease, along with the mother. One of the daughters has literally been bed-ridden for months and the mom had requested for special educational options from the school district in order to have her daughter do homebound instruction while she was unable to go to school.

Several months had come and gone with no word from the school until last week when the school nurse and a social worker showed up on their doorstep demanding she sign over medical releases for the school to receive the child’s medical records...some give and take was done and lawyers were involved as this mother is now, not only dealing with five Lyme infected children, one critically ill, now she is having a legal battle with the school system about her daughter’s need of special homebound education plans months after she filed the appropriate request with the school district.

As a former social worker, I know the trials this family is facing. It does not help the complete political controversy that is surrounding Lyme disease, diagnosis and treatment at this current time. They have a battle ahead of them...and this is just for one of the five children. If any of the other children digress to this stage of the illness there will be much more to deal with and red tape to handle.

Part of me still believes this is all a nightmare and I will wake up and the world will be “normal” again! But alas...the world keeps spinning wildly out of control as the “Lyme Wars” rage on.

Still another letter shared how one mom was having difficulty getting longterm antibiotic treatment for her chronic Lyme infection and her total bewilderment at how her daughter had a mild skin condition on her face (not acne, more of a rash) and the dermatologist, without a second thought whipped out his prescription pad and gave her 8 months of doxycycline for her child...no questions asked.

What is going on with this crazy messed up world? Stop the world I want to get off!!