https://www.witf.org/news/2019/06/lyme-disease-bill-would-change-coverage-amid-controversy-over-chronic-condition.php

Lyme disease bill would change coverage amid controversy over 'chronic' condition

Written by Brett Sholtis/Transforming Health | Jun 13, 2019 12:10 PM

Search...
Search
WITFNews|Arts & Life|Education|Watch|Listen|Events|Support|About
witfNewsLyme disease bill would change coverage amid controversy over 'chronic' condition
News
Lyme disease bill would change coverage amid controversy over 'chronic' condition Written by Brett Sholtis/Transforming Health | Jun 13, 2019 12:10 PM

Deer tick on body.jpg
A deer tick nymph crawls on a human body. (Andrew Nuss via Flickr)

With the sun shining and birds chirping on a warm spring day, it's easy to see why Anson Flake loves living at the edge of the woods in Enola. When he and his family bought the 10-acre property more than 20 years ago, it was the fulfilment of a dream.

"But, as we'll talk about, you know, there's a lot of ticks out here," Flake said.

Flake never expected one of those ticks would lead him to the state Capitol in support of a piece of legislation. However, at some point in the early 2000s, he contracted Lyme disease.

"I don't know if I got it here on the property-- which is very possible," he said. From paintball games to hikes, he and family and friends spent a lot of time outside.

He never got a bulls-eye rash, and he doesn't remember coming down with the flu-like symptoms that sometimes accompany Lyme.

Rather, Flake found out he had it the hard way. He was on a sales call in Texas when he got a pounding headache.

"The guy that I was meeting with said, hey, you're not looking so good. I said, I'm feeling terrible."

A doctor in Texas diagnosed him with meningitis, a rare complication of late-stage Lyme.

The doctor's quick response helped to save his life, and the meningitis was cured. But because he went so long without treatment, he had what doctors called "Late-stage Lyme encephalopathy."

Some of the symptoms were terrifying, Flake said.

"For me it was dementia-type symptoms. It was forgetting how to go places that I'd been to a hundred times."

It took years to be cured, but the 53-year-old said he feels great. However, because insurance only covers a few weeks of antibiotics, he said it took more than $50,000 of his own money to get better.

--------------------------
Dear RM Agents and Readers,

This guy got off cheap, for those of us who have dealt with symptoms on and off for 30 to 40 years, millions were and are often spent on recovery.

Many Blessings,
CrystalRiver