Hope for Amy - Lyme Disease Treatment & Expenses

The family of Amy Barbour Poole is humbly asking for your help in getting the medical care she needs.  She is battling Lyme Disease as well as long Covid and struggling financially.  Amy has three forms of Lyme that we know of, Borrelia burgdorferi, Bartonella and Babesia. Amy was diagnosed with the help of her chiropractor because all the doctors and specialists she has seen do not acknowledge Lyme if the CDC blood test does not show a positive result.  Her chiropractor suggested a Lyme test that can detect it in urine,and it came back positive.  Lyme’s first line of defense is to get out of the bloodstream. It is often misdiagnosed as other diseases and is usually never treated. Amy would be bedridden if it were not for her chiropractor. However, he has done all he can with what he has to work with; Amy needs an LLMD (Lyme-literate medical doctor), which is all cash for her. The initial visit will consist of 3 to 4 hours with the LLMD, learning her symptoms, running tests and starting therapy that day. The initial visit is $998 for the consultation and any additional scans, blood work, and IV therapy done that day. We estimate her first visit to cost between $3000 and $5000.

We have located an LLMD in Raleigh willing to help.  She has attended orientation and was able to speak with the doctor during that time. He said it would take at least eight months to get Amy stabilized before he can start treatment for the Lyme itself. He uses integrated medicine to treat the disease. It is believed that Amy has neurological Lyme, which causes most of her issues. Insurance does not cover any of her treatments. The doctor estimates that it will take two years for her to recover fully. Treatments for her Lyme, considered complex Lyme, will average about $15,000 every six months. We hope to raise at least $75,000 to cover her treatments. We want to raise more than that to cover household expenses. She has spent everything she has to get what medical care she can and to keep her household going. She has nothing else left to sell and no credit cards left to use. She has maxed out every option she has to get through the last nine months.

Amy has constant head pressure daily and at least two migraines a week. She has trouble with speech, walking, dressing, light and sounds, especially when tired. Amy sleeps at least 12 hours out of 24 hours a day. When she is extremely tired or overstimulated, she requires a wheelchair when getting in and out of the house and someone to assist her when walking. Amy gets very frustrated on bad days because she is so exhausted by just trying to do everyday things, like showering, dressing and getting in the truck. She has appointments several times a week with the chiropractor. These visits make her wildly “scrambled,” as she calls it, but have been able to give her some relief until we can get her in with the LLMD.

Amy is a mother of two beautiful children, Bryson, 17 and Lellon 12, and the wife of Mark. Unfortunately, shortly after Mark and Amy started dating, he came down with a case of severe shingles that left him disabled after 18 years of service to NCDOT. As a result, Amy is the provider for the household. She has been out of work since November 2, 2021.

Amy takes control and is a get-it-done kind of person. She puts everyone before herself. She started a journey two and a half years ago to take control of her health. Her Daddy passed away 11 years with a heart attack, as his mother did. Amy has worked hard on her health. Amy has always been the type to take care of everyone, and her life changed in October 2021.

Amy contracted what they believe was COVID at the end of October 2021. She initially tested negative, and no other COVID tests were done. Amy was so sick that she couldn't walk ten steps without gasping for air. She went through three rounds of antibiotics, steroids and breathing treatments, and only time made her gradually improve. Amy has not worked Since November 2, 2021. After slow improvement, her doctor concluded she had COVID and was a long hauler. COVID long hauler programs would not accept her as a patient because she did not have a positive COVID test.

In December, COVID activated her Chicken Pox Virus, and she developed shingles on the left side of her face at her eye and up her forehead. She continued to have all the symptoms of long hauler COVID as well. At this point, her doctor started referring her to specialists to see if any unknown problems were with her lungs and heart. Amy has developed Asthma from COVID. Her heart checked out okay. Amy started having severe headaches; nothing seemed to improve them. In February, the headaches became constant, she developed a studder, and her walking started to become affected. She was sent to the hospital for immediate evaluation. She had CT and MRI and was given medicine for her headache and told the speech and walking were mentally related. Her MD set her up with an LCMHC (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor), who she continues to see and has been her most prominent advocate. Her LCMHC has said numerous times that Amy has NO mental health issues, and she is fighting something medical. She has done a ton of research on Lyme Disease on Amy’s behalf.

In February, Amy went to a chiropractor she knows to see if he could help her with her migraines, as nothing else was working. He immediately started doing some tests in his office and told her he thought she might have Lyme Disease. He explained that Lyme gets out of the bloodstream first. Therefore, a blood test is usually inaccurate. He recommended a PCR test, done by checking a urine sample, through a company through DNA Connextions. It divides one urine sample into two samples and runs the same testing to conform to the DNA of ten specific microbes in Lyme. Amy has three of the worst forms of Lyme.

Since February, Amy has seen every specialist, and no one will treat her based on the positive PCR for Lyme. Amy continues to see specialists for her lungs, heart, and skin (she has formed ulcers on her leg), a neurologist, hematologist, LCMHC, stomach doctor and regular MD. She has received several MRIs, CAT scans, and blood tests and continues to have issues daily. We had hoped that the chiropractor could lay the Lyme down. However, hers is so complex that she will require an LLMD to help her.

We believe God is in control and know that Amy will get the help she needs. We are desperately asking for help from you. She is determined to get her life back, and her faith in God keeps her positive and motivated. Through everything, Amy knows what her purpose is through this journey. Her goal is to improve and fight legislation for people with Lyme Disease. Unfortunately, so many people like her cannot get the help they need, and insurance is a waste of money for Lyme Disease!

Thanks to everyone for reading her story and helping if you can. We appreciate every single donation, no matter how large or small. Every penny counts when it comes to getting Amy what needs to get well. We pray that God will bless you for your help with Amy’s care and household finances. We pray that you are blessed for the sacrifice that you are making for her. We know that times are very hard, and everyone is struggling.  We just want "our" Amy back and this Lyme specialist is our last earthly hope to get her there.

Word of encouragement can be sent to Amy at PO Box 45 Micro NC 27555.

 

Sincerely,

The Family of Amy Poole