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Make Your Own!
Help Jami take a bite out of Lyme!
Started by: Jami Lason
Help Jami take a bite out of Lyme!
In April, 2016 I was diagnosed with Lyme disease. This diagnosis came after years of illness, misdiagnosis, medical mismanagement, and feeling like giving up. Learning what is wrong has been the first step. The past year and a half I have been receiving treatment and testing that has shown not only how bad my case of Lyme disease is, but how much of my body it has destroyed. At this point my life has been taken away from me. I have daily struggles with pain, blood pressure, heart rate, stomach issues, neurological issues, nerve pain, and more. Most of my life is spent in bed.
Now I am starting treatment at Envita Medica Center in Scottsdale, AZ. They only treat the sickest of the sick and I qualify. Envita uses an approach that combines convention medicine (like antibiotics) with homeopathic medicine (to support the body as the conventional medicines attack the bacteria). Unfortunately, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) still refuses to recognize what I have as a valid disease. This leave me to pay out of pocket for most all of my treatment (I will have coverage for my antibiotics.) This means that if I want to get well, I have to find a way to pay for it.
This fundraising site is to help raise funds for my extremely expensive treatment. Also, my treatment is helping future Lyme patients. Envita is a research center too. I qualify for several testing programs they will be running throughout the course of my treatment. These tests will help develop new testing methods to detect and treat Lyme earlier and more effectively in the future. So by supporting me, you are also support Lyme research! Thank you for your support!
Latest Update
Thank you so much to those who have contributed financially to my Plumfund. The official Plumfund will be ending soon, but my health journey continues. I have posted an update here... https://myuphillbattles.wordpress.com/2018/07/08/massive-update/ Thank you so much to all that have been supporting me on this long journey. I appreciate it so very much!!
Posted by Jami
July 8 at 7:50pm
It has been a long time since my last update. Mainly because we haven't known what is going to happen next for quite some time. My body did not respond to the last 8 week protocol, so my doctor ran a bunch of tests at the end of it and put me on a 3 week break until all of the results came back. Friday we met with my doctor to receive the results. The short of it is that the Lyme is still very active in my body. I am starting two new oral antibiotics. I am also going to do a new treatment they just started at Envita. It is called Apheresis. They are seeing great results for all patients, but especially for "non-responders" like me. Apheresis removes the blood from one arm, moves it through a machine that removes toxins, cleans the blood, and returns the clean blood to my other arm. I will have two treatments in May then we will decide what will happen next. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. This has been a much longer path than we could have ever imagined.
Posted by Jami
April 22 at 8:34pm
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Thank you to those faithfully supporting me in prayer as I continue through treatment. I would like to ask for specific prayers for funds to come through for my continued treatment. I have another bill of $18,000 due next Friday with no end in sight for my treatment. I know God is bigger than all of this and I get a chance every day to work on trusting Him to provide. I have completed three weeks of my new protocol and it has been a difficult adjustment for my body. I am not tolerating several of the medications/treatments. I am so thankful to be with doctors that don't let that stop them. They continue to find ways to work towards healing.
Posted by Jami
February 19 at 7:00pm
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I met with my doctor on Friday to discuss results of my bloodwork that was redone to see my progress as well as a new test to specifically see my Lyme and co-infection burden in my body. My Lyme bacteria number is off the charts and I am carrying every type of co-infection. I also have three nasty viral infections. The numbers for those have not gone down at all. This is very puzzling and frustrating for the doctor. Basically it means that my viruses and bacterial infections are stronger than anything they have been pumping into me. Today I began a whole new direction in treatment. Please pray with me that this treatment route with be effective in eradicating these infections from my body. Some good news was that my Vitamin D level is finally regulating (I receive a shot each week for this). Also, there is significant improvement with some of my hormones. My doctor adjusted my medication for progesterone and it is helping me sleep! Praise the Lord!
Posted by Jami
January 29 at 3:31pm
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I am so thankful for the donations that keep coming in to help with my medical expenses. The projected costs for my Lyme treatment continue to be around $65,000. In addition, I have weekly medical therapies I have to do. Ketamine Infusions - $400 per week Colon Hydrotherapy - $95 per week Lymphatic Massage $150 per week This adds an additional $2,580 of expense per month. I also have to have oral surgery which will cost around $2,500. Unfortunately, insurance does not pay for any of these costs. Lyme disease is a difficult and expensive disease to treat when it is as advanced as mine is. Thank you for those supporting me in this fight.
Posted by Jami
December 28 at 8:09pm
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Today I received a Christmas present from my doctor...a two week break from treatment! I just finished week 10 of treatment. For 8 of those weeks, I have had sinus problems and no voice. I am sad that I need to take a break due to being sick, but at the same time, since I'm sick, I am glad for the break. The surprising next step after the break is to have oral surgery. YIKES! Recently I had detailed images of my jaw done. The images revealed I have pockets of possible infection in three of the four places my wisdom teeth were. The images also revealed that a portion of a surgical tool was left behind during my wisdom tooth extraction! My doctor feels that these issues could be causing confusing inflammation in my head causing me to become easily inflamed in my sinuses. After oral surgery I will have two weeks of treatment to remove any additional infection stirred up by the surgery. After the two weeks, we hope for me to be ready to begin Lyme treatment again.
Posted by Jami
December 22 at 4:11pm
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Many thanks to those praying for my port to work correctly. I have now had 4 treatment days in a row that my port has worked perfectly. I am so thankful! My sinuses continue to be a major hindrance to my treatment process. Additional doctors and treatments are adding to my total cost as well as extending my treatment timeline. I am trying to focus on God's plan not my plan through all of this, but that is not always easy. Thank you for continuing to support me in prayer.
Posted by Jami
December 13 at 8:08pm
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I have a prayer request for my praying friends. I have had trouble with my port since the first week. I can have medication and fluids administered, but there is a problem with getting blood flow return through the port. We believe this is due to my extreme dehydration from my ADH insufficiency. Usually the nurses can try various tricks to get it working, but today the port was not cooperating. I had to have a special medication inserted into my port and then wait for two hours before there was finally blood flow return. Will you please join me in praying that this doesn't continue to be an issue? The procedure I had to have done today to get the port working is not only time consuming, but also expensive. I need for my port to start cooperating. Thanks prayer supporters!
Posted by Jami
November 27 at 4:35pm
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On Friday my doctors decided to move forward with the next phase of my treatment. This phase has been postponed for three weeks due to my sinus problems. My sinuses are not better, but the consensus was that moving forward might help push the sinuses to resolve. The next phase of my treatment involves IRAD therapy. IRAD stands for Insulin Receptor Antibiotic Delivery. This therapy has many benefits for me as it allows antibiotics to cross the blood brain barrier. The therapy should help with many of my neurological symptoms as well as help more aggressively kill of the bacteria in my body. IRAD is a process of safely dropping my blood sugar using insulin. Once my blood sugar is around 30, I am given an IV bag of antibiotics. Since my body is looking for sugars for my brain, all pathways open up and this is the opportunity to get antibiotics into my brain. Then I am able to eat healthy sugars and proteins while my blood sugar climbs back up. It is quite the experience!
Posted by Jami
November 18 at 6:33pm
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I am so thankful for each and every donate that has been coming in. It is so humbling to see people coming together to help us! Due to a flare up of sinus pressure/congestion (I've had it for 16 days now with no relief), my treatment has stalled. I am continuing to receive some of the IVs that I should, but I am falling behind in the next level of treatment. My doctors are trying everything they can think of to relieve the sinus pressure. Please pray that I will be over this soon and able to move forward to the next phase of my treatment. Thank you!
Posted by Jami
November 14 at 12:40am
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Accessed! A whole new meaning for this word is found in my treatment. My port is under my skin. Being “accessed” means jamming a big needle through my skin and into the port. The needle is connected to a tube. The tube is then attached to my different IV bags. I stay “accessed” for up to five days at a time. While I’m accessed I have to keep the area dry. If you can see the yellow plastic (in the picture), that part is attached to my port is about the size of the port under my skin. The steri strips above the yellow is the incision. Everything seems to be healing well. I’ve been having trouble, though, with my port cooperating the past two days. At this point they think it is linked to my chronic dehydration problem. Please pray that no further interventions have to be made to get my port working more consistently. Thanks!
Posted by Jami
October 23 at 9:48pm
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Thank you for the prayers for my doctor's appointment yesterday. It went very well and we had A LOT to talk about that came forward through the testing. I am still processing all of it to a manageable summary. I will try to post more as it all starts to make more sense to me. The shortest summary I can give is that it is definitely not in my head--I am sicker than anyone realized and Lyme is actually a low priority for what my body is fighting right now. Praise God that the right tests were run to find out the right information this time. Praise God that my doctor is confident in a treatment plan. My doctor wanted an additional day of healing for my port before starting treatment, so I start tomorrow (Wednesday). The plan at this point is that I will go 3 days a week for 12 weeks. Each day that I am there I will be there for 3-5 hours. My parents are here now and I am thankful for a strong support system as this will be a grueling 12 weeks. Thank you for your continued prayers!
Posted by Jami
October 17 at 6:08pm
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Thank you for your prayers for my port placement surgery. The surgery was a week ago and it was a success. The picture shows my incisions two days post op on the left and one week post op on the right. I am thankful for a successful procedure and good healing. The surgery has triggered increase in some of my symptoms, so that has been difficult. Everything has been a little out of whack all week, but the surgery site is healing well. On Monday Greg, my mom and I go to Envita to meet with the doctor to discuss my test results. I will begin treatment on Tuesday. More updates to come!
Posted by Jami
October 13 at 5:55pm
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Tomorrow is a big day. Tomorrow I will be having surgery to have my port installed. The procedure is scheduled for 11:00 Arizona time. (1:00 for Central Timers and 2:00 for Eastern Timers) This port will be the access point for all of my medicine in the upcoming months. Treatment is scheduled to being October 17. I appreciate your prayers for the procedure, but also for peace for me. With my surgical history (12 surgeries in 14 years), going under the knife even for a "routine, simple procedure" is emotionally challenging for me. Thanks for your prayers and support!
Posted by Jami
October 5 at 11:21am
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My testing for Envita is finally complete! I had a total of 34 vials of blood drawn, did a 24 hour urine collection, a separate 12 hour urine collection, a nasal swab, saliva test, stool sample, scrapings of the insides of my cheeks, an IV chelation test with a shot, x-rays, and 3 more urine tests. They a truly checking every part of me. I will meet with the doctors sometime during the week of Oct. 9 to go over all of the results. I will likely start treatment the week of Oct. 16. Many of the more standard blood tests were able to be run under health insurance, but many were not. The total I owe for the tests so far is over $4,000! I appreciate those that are able to help. It is going to be a painful few months...physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially. Any way that you help in those areas for my family and me is greatly appreciated!
Posted by Jami
September 29 at 10:52pm
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25 Supporters
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- Anonymous5 years ago
- Anonymous5 years ago
- Anonymous6 years ago
- Laura Hickox6 years ago Thinking of you and praying for you in Wheaton and at Faith Cov Church
- Anonymous6 years ago
- Valery Robinson6 years ago Thinking about you and praying for God’s grace to release you from this disease. Hugs
- Chantal mcdonald6 years ago Jami, this is Chantal McDonald, Marcus’ mom. We met at the first prayer walk (or not sure what it’s called) but it was one of the first days of school and we walked around the school singing. I glimpsed you at the basketball game on wednesday but before I knew it, you had gone. I just want you to know that you are in my prayers!
- Richard J. Clancy6 years ago Best wishes.
- Anonymous6 years ago
- Anonymous6 years ago
- Show 15 more supporters
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