Brandon Valdes' Mold-Lyme Recovery

Meet Brandon
Brandon is 24 and has lost 50% of his brain function due to complications of Lyme disease and mold toxicity. Lyme can be deadly. According to the NIH, there are possibly over 1,200 Lyme-related suicides in the US per year; we will not let Brandon be one of them.

Brandon was a typical child, rarely sick, very personable, athletic, and a strong student. Until High School. Practically overnight he became withdrawn, plagued by anxiety, and so fatigued that he had trouble getting to school every day. He started complaining of headaches and digestive issues. He started college but was no better.

Crisis Point
In his second year of college, he started having difficulty retaining what he was reading, had trouble following what his teachers were saying and became increasingly socially withdrawn. He called his mom (Lauren) in a panic one day because he had garbled speech, intense headache and pressure, and loss of balance. Lauren, fearing that he was having stroke-like symptoms (at 20!), brought him directly to the emergency department where he underwent various tests including a CT scan and MRI of the brain.  All tests came back normal. Unfortunately, due to the general lack of awareness of Lyme and mold illnesses, Brandon was discharged the next day with a sole recommendation to seek a psychiatrist. Since Lauren and her daughter Brianna have Lyme disease and know that the Lyme test Brandon was given in the hospital has a 50% false negative rate, Lauren brought Brandon to her Lyme doctor. After proper testing, it was revealed that Brandon had Lyme, Bartonella, Babesia, mycoplasma, and severe mold toxicity. He did not respond to the antibiotics that he was prescribed nor the herbal protocols. The gluten, dairy, and sugar-free diet (all typical Lyme and mold treatments) did not help. His health continued to decline. He has been out of school since. He has extreme fatigue, is unable to follow plots on TV, retain anything he reads, play video games, do sports or spend time with friends. 

Hope But At A Cost
With Lyme disease, you often need a strong advocate who is your detective and champion.  This person is Lauren.  After years of receiving various types of treatments from a variety of doctors, Lauren has found the modality that is right for Brandon - Sponaugle Wellness Institute (SWI) in Florida. 

Desperate to help their son, Lauren and Emilio, Brandon’s dad, started treatment there on May 24th, 2021. Upon intake, they found that in addition to Lyme, co-infections, and mold toxicity, Brandon has parasites and petroleum additive toxicity. After the doctors at Sponaugle interpreted Brandon's PET scan, showing 50% decrease in 'typical' brain function, they estimated that his stay would be much longer than the 12 week average. He is receiving IV infusions of antibiotics, antifungals, glutathione and other supplements. He has also received four exosome (a type of stem cell) treatments. 

Chronic Lyme is not recognized by the CDC. Therefore, treatments are not covered by insurance. The average 12 week stay costs $90,000. Lauren has already sold her home, repeatedly moved, and both she and Emilio have liquidated her retirement accounts, and done all the things we hope we never have to do to secure the financial ability to help heal their son. Emilio is helping where they can but he had a brain tumor removed in 2016 that left him legally blind and unable to work.

Please Join Us
I'm Stacey and I'm raising money for my dear friends and their son Brandon. The doctors at SWI said that Brandon's is one of the worst cases they've seen but are positive they can help him. He has shown great progress but still needs an additional 12 weeks of treatment that Lauren and Emilio don't have the resources for. We are $90,000 from being able to help Brandon complete the treatment he so desperately needs due to the advanced stage of the disease and the impact to his brain. While making your decision to support Brandon, feel free to reach out to me directly for additional information or, if you prefer, send your donation directly through Venmo to @bvaldes03.

Thank you!

Words cannot express our love and gratitude. We are so touched by your kindness, generosity and well-wishes - Brandon, Lauren and Emilio