Week One of Treatment

So much has happened since we first learned that Tad’s Lyme could impact his overall health. We want to clarify for many people who are asking the question, “So he has Lyme instead of ALS?” No, that is not what we are saying. For those who don’t understand what an ALS diagnosis means, let me spend time talking about that first. ALS is not a disease in and of itself. ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) is a list of symptoms. When all else is ruled out–things like MS, Parkinson’s, etc.–the doctors make a clinical diagnosis that the patient has ALS. The symptoms for ALS include: imbalance, muscle weakness, fasciculations, slurred speech, and muscle cramping. Eventually the muscles deteriorate and the person is not able to eat, speak, walk, or breathe on his or her own.

The big question for researchers is, “How does this happen to a person?” They have not been able to identify a cause. I believe that is because there is not one cause. I am not a doctor, but I have studied the effects of poor nutrition, unforgiveness in a person’s life, stress, inflammation, and trauma on a person’s overall health. All of these things can come together for what I will call “A Perfect Storm.”

When we look a little into Tad’s life, we see a stressful career as an operations supervisor in a copper mine, a spirit of abandonment from when he was a child, poor nutrition that led to acid reflux as young as junior high age. Around 2010 the reflux was so bad that he developed a hiatal hernia that needed to be repaired. After his surgery in July of 2010, the recovery included an eight-week liquid diet. He mostly survived on Ramen noodles. Also around this time we spent many months in the woods which may have led to a tick bite (we have no idea when he was exposed). He started seeing his first symptoms on November of 2010–headaches, joint pain, imbalance, muscles locking up when he was stressed or cold–and he had his first MRI in February of 2011.  By that April we had the first neurologist say that it may be ALS and in August of 2011 he had it confirmed.

My last post I mentioned that soon after our initial diagnosis, the idea of Lyme was put into our heads. Of course anyone diagnosed with a fatal disease wants something to cling to. When we visited our first clinic (that will remain unidentified), they gave us such hope, but the $75,000 price tag seemed like a closed door to us. We prayed and put it in God’s hands. We agreed that if that was the right path for us, the funding would become available. We reached out to a few ,close friends and family before we publically released the news. One of my friends from high school contacted a naturalpath friend of his to ask his opinion. He said that he could treat us for way less, so we went to see him last week (June 12 was our first consult with him). We are going to start chelation to detox heavy metals and hydrogen peroxide to oxygenate the cells. Tad also has to change to an anti-inflammatory diet that will restrict sugar, refined flour, dairy and eggs. The good news is the total for the treatment will be around $4,500. Yes, you read that right–hundred not thousand! Our gofundme account currently has $4,100. Hello open door! We will still have to travel three hours away, two days a week for 15 weeks. We are in this for the long haul and trying to see the big picture. Watch this video of Tad to see him today.