Join Dominic's Fight for Health Recovery

Dave Giorgio here, and I've created this campaign to help one of the greatest human beings I have ever known.

Dominic Margiotti, an otherworldly songwriter/singer/musician, contracted Lyme Disease in 2018. This is no ordinary problem. He was misdiagnosed, and this insidious disease has wiped out his health in ways you can't imagine. For 6 years he's been wracked with the most unbearable pain (at times paralyzed and unable to move) and incapable of performing even the simplest aspects of existence. This while chasing after diagnoses and treatments to an extent that boggles the mind.

There's been well over 40 doctors. This doesn’t include the numerous physical therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, muscle correction specialists, nor the dozens of Nurses. At one point they even amputated a rib and a half thinking this would bring relief. To no avail! There's been constant, expensive medication, hospital stays (at one point Dom underwent 12 weeks on IV), detoxifying their house to the tune of $7000, not to mention loss of work.

Dom’s wife Helen, a living saint, has been caring for Dom around the clock and shouldering all of the costs of living and treatment. As you can imagine, their debts have soared to staggering levels.

There's a new treatment on the horizon that uses Supportive Oligonucleotide Therapy. The starting cost of treatment is about $6000, then $2000 every 6 months. However, with many tens of thousands of dollars of debt and for a family relying on only one paycheck, it's as far away as the moon.

Dom and his wife Helen could really use your help. Please donate and help this beautiful family get some much needed relief. Here's the full story:

Dominic and Helen were married in 2001 and had a great life. But tragedy struck in early 2018, when Dominic awoke with blinding pain. He couldn’t move or breathe without an ice-pick sensation stabbing his abdomen, back and spine. Simple things like twisting, bending, and reaching became impossible, and he could no longer do everyday tasks. Even walking took immense effort, and he was forced to use his hands to splint his sides in an effort to support the damaged, tender abdominal muscles.

Allodynia set in, and even the slightest touch of his skin caused lightning-bolts of pain to radiate through his body. Desperate for answers, they sought help from doctors and specialists, but no one could find the cause. Dozens of tests and scans were performed, but failed to find a reason as to why his body was racked with constant, intense pain and inflammation. Doctors tried various drugs in an attempt to mitigate his suffering, but things only worsened in the coming months, and the constant 9/10 level pain persisted. He could no longer sleep or eat... and his weight plummeted. His hands trembled and couldn’t hold a pen or do any fine movements. Then... severe anxiety, depression and brain-fog added another layer of hellish torment.

Due to chronic, unyielding pain and mental distress, he was forced to quit a job he loved-- working on audio books with long-time friend Dave Giorgio. But even worse was the loss of his true passion- writing and recording music... something Dom had loved since childhood.

In 2020, a ray of hope came when a surgeon noticed that two of Dom’s lower ribs were hyper-mobile. The ribs were suspected of scissoring down on intercostal nerves, causing extreme pain. So in July of that year, resection surgery was performed, removing his 11th and 12th ribs. But sadly, the elusive underlying condition would make surgical recovery a living hell. And even after months of physical therapy, pain-killers and various other treatments, the excruciating pain persisted. In fact, his condition worsened.

Desperate to escape this torture, other procedure were tried: Nerve-blocks, epidurals, lidocaine, steroids, ethanol neurolysis, facet injections, cryoablation, even botox. But in the end, they only made things worse. And despite having health insurance, the medical bills were piling up. Dom could no longer do any household chores or basic tasks. All responsibilities fell to Helen, who worked full-time while doing all the shopping, cooking, cleaning... and simultaneously caring for Dominic.

Finally, in Fall of 2022, their friend Dina suggested getting tested for Lyme Disease. Dom had been tested in 2018, but the results were inconclusive- leading doctors to abandon the

possibility of Lyme. But in the years to follow, the inaccuracy of these tests was brought to light, and the medical community began uncovering some of the many mysteries surrounding the wretched disease. Their life was a daily battle, even through the midst of an unprecedented pandemic. Yet they continued to support and encourage each other- through the darkest times, when all hope seemed lost.

Most doctors who are educated in Lyme (commonly called, “Lyme-Literate Doctors) are forced to operate outside the boundaries of healthcare insurance- due to the CDC’s outdated requirements and various other issues. Sadly this leaves disabled, pain-riddled people paying huge out-of-pocket expenses. But with no choice, Dominic and Helen sought out a Lyme doc in NJ. This time, test results not only proved positive for Lyme, but also showed toxic levels of mold in his blood. He was also diagnosed with other tick-borne co-infections, as well as Mast Cell Activation Syndrome- an autoimmune-like disease where the body is in a constant state of allergic reaction, creating vast amounts of histamine, inflammation, and intractable pain.

After a home-inspection, mold was found in the basement and immediately remediated by a professional team. Again the bills were stacking up, but they had hope that this new diagnosis would finally start the road to recovery. But it hasn’t been that easy. Lyme is an evil disease, and when in one’s system for years, becomes neurologic in nature. Treatments vary greatly from person to person, and can be extremely difficult to navigate. And anyone who’s battled Neurologic Lyme and Mold Toxicity can tell you that the treatments are often worse than the disease. Such is the case for Dominic.

A year after treatments began, his conditions only worsened. In September of 2023, he was admitted to Columbia Hospital in NYC, and given high doses of IV antibiotics. Weeks later he was moved to a sub-acute rehab center for a month, to continue IV treatments and physical therapy. During that time, their cat Frodo had also gotten sick and stopped eating. Helen took him to several vets who did everything they could. But eventually she had to make the difficult decision to put him to rest the day before Dom was released to come home. The IV treatments continued at home for several weeks, in addition to months of oral antibiotics and other meds and herbs. But sadly, any minor improvements these treatments made were immediately lost upon stopping the meds.

Dom’s health was rapidly declining. His feet, ankles and legs were swollen with edema, and his abdomen was distended and painful. Again he was hospitalized and tested for everything. This time it seemed that his gallbladder stopped functioning.

Filled with a thick sludge and black stones, doctors had no choice but to remove the toxic organ... leaving Dom to endure another hellish recovery in a sick body. Since then, Dominic

and Helen found a new Lyme doctor and started new treatment. They’ve been doing the best they can, but slowly drowning in a sea of medical bills. And due to the delayed medical diagnosis, Dom’s been denied Social Security Disability income- despite working all of his life.

There are many more expensive tests and treatments to come on his long road to recovery. And this couple desperately needs your help. So we’re asking for you to join in and support Dom and Helen... in any way you can.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read their story..