Help Dilon receive treatment for late-stage Lyme.

Almost two years ago, my articulate, funny, chatty, loving, smart, talented (did background work on television shows in NYC/NJ) and motivated 28 year old nephew, Dilon Dickerson started to show personality changes, in addition to behavioral changes. We thought he was depressed; we thought he might be on drugs; we thought he might have brain damage from a one-car motor vehicle accident that he was involved in. My sister, Karen fought to have him seen and to have him treated. Primary Care, Neurology, Infectious Disease and Psychiatry – she took him to them all – she was desperately looking for answers. After a NYC production team called NJ police to have Dilon taken to a hospital, for a “wellness check” due to his unusual behavior – that is when things really starting going downhill. Finally, Karen begged a walk-in clinic to test him for Lyme. Dilon was found to have Anaplasmosis, which is a co-infection of Lyme Disease. He was initially treated with 4 weeks of Antibiotics, which had no impact. He barely spoke anymore, his eyesight had deteriorated, wasn’t sleeping, paced terribly (about 25,000-30,000 steps per day), and was eating as much sugar as he could get his hands on. It was recommended to have him seen by a Lyme Specialist, which he is currently seeing. Unfortunately, for everyone suffering from Late-stage Lyme and Tick-borne diseases – insurance does NOT pay for treatment. The Lyme specialist has done extensive lab testing, in addition to the Western Blot Lyme Test, and found that not only did Dilon have Anaplasmosis but he is also positive for Bartonella, Basesiosis and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. In addition, Dilon has had multiple MRIs, a Cat Scan, a Spinal Tap, The largest series of blood work, hair testing and brain mapping to rule out any other possible causes. Any one of these infections, left unchecked, can have devastating consequences. Unfortunately, it has been explained that these viruses are opportunistic and go to the weakest part of a person’s body, which was Dilon’s brain, from the car accident. Unluckily, his body and mind had been fighting 4 infections for about a year and a half, before receiving treatment. For the past 7 weeks, my sister and Dilon’s father, Tom and many passenger-side volunteers have been driving Dilon to Albany (7 hour total day between travel and treatment) 5 days a week, to get an hour of antibiotic infusions and an 1.5 hour of hyperbaric chamber treatment. The first 4 weeks were unsuccessful. Therefore, he was prescribed another 4 weeks of different medications. Currently, he is finishing up his last couple weeks of treatment before a new treatment regiment is prescribed. Treatment will be on-going into the future. If we get Dilon back – he will need speech, occupational, cognitive behavioral therapy and physical therapy. This current treatment regiment, lab testing, specialists, medications, gas and supplements (and previous hair testing and brain mapping) have already hit Karen and Tom for a current total(so far) of $25,000, out of pocket. Unfortunately, he is considered one of the worst symptomatic patients this office has seen. At this time, Dilon has not shown any improvements, if anything – he is even worse. He does not speak, and has little cognitive ability or executive functioning. The specialists and Dilon’s family are not giving up hope just yet. We will continue to seek treatments to get a sliver of our Dilon back. Karen was receiving Family Medical Leave which ran out on September 8th. Luckily, her employer will use her sick days and any vacation days that she had left, to cover her until the end of September. There is very little chance that Karen will be returning to work due to Dilon needing 24/7 observation.

Please consider a donation towards Dilon’s care and to assist his parents financially. Every single dollar adds up and will be appreciated. If you are unable to make a donation – prayers and “shares” are desired.