I have had lyme disease for almost eight years, and have been bedridden for close to six of those years. For a long time I have been gnashing my teeth at the weak response by our Canadian leaders toward the escalating problem of lyme disease and other tick-borne co-infections in this country. So… it is with great excitement that I can finally pass on some wonderful news for Canadians! All Canadians.
June 20th, 2012 is the day that the following groups of people should pay careful attention to MP Elizabeth May’s announcement.
- Those who have lyme disease and are desperately trying to get some help in this country.
- Those who have friends or loved ones who are struggling with lyme disease and tick-borne infections.
- Those who know someone with lyme disease. (BTW, this group is getting larger as lyme disease continues to become more prevalent).
My prediction is that within a few years it will be difficult to find anyone in this country who doesn’t know someone with lyme disease. For now, the 20 million of you that currently meet the above criteria can help to get lyme disease treated seriously in this country (see end of this post for specific instructions on how to help).
Although Elizabeth May is the Green Leader, this bill is aimed at supporting all Canadians with a much-needed, coordinated national strategy to get rid of the massive roadblocks currently preventing quick diagnosis, timely and accurate testing, full treatment and longer term support and care. Excerpts from Elizabeth May’s statement on her web site give a little more context to her decision to offer support to the growing cadre of Canadians who are ill or disabled with lyme disease.
May will introduce a Private Member’s Bill calling for the development of a national strategy to address the challenges of the timely recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of Lyme disease. The bill also calls for funding for provinces and territories to implement the strategy.
“Lyme disease can be devastating. Too many Canadians are now disabled, deprived of the joy of family and friends, of school or work, due to Lyme disease. The public and the medical community need to be educated as to the increasing incidence and range of this disease,†said May…..
“Scientists are warning that a warming climate will expand the geographic range of Lyme disease-carrying ticks further into Canada, so it is imperative that we are proactive,†said May.
[From Elizabeth May, MP]
Details
- On Wed. June 20th, 2012 in Ottawa, Elizabeth May is planning to introduce a private member’s bill relating to Lyme disease. Look for a press conference that day and the reading of the bill by Elizabeth to our federally elected MP’s later the same day.
- The bill is multi-faceted, with detailed timelines that require adherence by the Federal Minister of Health at various stages, including when the conference must be convened, when the health minister would report back to MP’s, timeline for posting new national strategy on the official gov’t website, and many other critical details to ensure that the job is done right!
- CanLyme has been consulted at length by Elizabeth to make sure patient’s interests will be heard.
- Elizabeth is allowed to introduce one private member’s bill in her four year term. She has chosen to help Canadians with Lyme disease get their right to health care back.
How can each one of us help Elizabeth pass this bill?
We ALL need to do the following and ask for friends, & family wherever they live in Canada to do the same to support you and get this National Lyme Strategy Bill passed:
- Find out who your federal MP is. Click here.
- Contact your federal MP and if at all humanly possible set up a face-to-face meeting.
- Tell them your story, and how lyme disease affects you, your family or your friend(s).
- Tell them that you know others across Canada in the same predicament (like me, for instance)
- Tell them that you, your family or friend(s) are being denied the right to health care.
- Ask if you can count on their support to get this bill passed.
- Make sure your MP knows this is not just a ‘Green’ party bill, it is a bill that could affect every single Canadian including themselves, or their loved ones.
- Remind your MP to vote with their conscience as this is a private member’s bill; no party vote needed.
- Contact friends, family, acquaintances, people in your local communities. Let them know how important support is. Ask them to contact their MP.
If you need further information, check out Elizabeth May’s web site. Also, use my contact page to ask for assistance, or to find out how to include your picture in the display of Canadians suffering with lyme disease – this display will be part of Elizabeth May’s press conference scheduled to occur before the bill is introduced in parliament on June 20th.
I have received a number of “contact form emails” from readers who have not been able to leave a comment. I am not sure what is wrong, and have very limited energy to deal with it. Don’t want to open the floodgates to hundreds of spam comments every day – hopefully I can figure something out. Let me know via the contact form on the “About Us” page if you have trouble leaving a comment. David
Thank you so much for this detailed post! I’ve added some info to my blog as well, and hope to add more after the delegation to Caledon Town Council on June 12.
This is criminal, that so many of us Lymies have to suffer, lose jobs, mobility, friends, funds, organs and more through neglect and withholding of information. Let’s hope and pray it will stop and that we will soon be able to enjoy the health care we used to take for granted!
Best to you, caregivers, and the strength to help David on his road to healing.
I too have had Lyme a long time and was undiagnosed for years, until I became quite crippled with left-sided partial paralysis. Canadian Labs all came back negative for Lyme and co-infections. I had to pay out of pocket for US tests to get the true picture. That is just wrong! Now that my case is chronic and advanced, antibiotics wouldn’t be very effective, even if my doctor was allowed to prescribe several antibiotics long term, which they are not, because, according to Health Canada, there is no such thing as chronic Lyme. I’ve opted to help myself rather than wait for our biased health system to take notice. I bought myself a Rife machine and am slowly eradicating the bugs. Many Lyme patients have collapsed neck veins and require CCSVI, (liberation therapy via venoplasty) but of course, none of that is covered for us either. We are non-entities and that needs to change.
@ Marlene Spies: It is really encouraging to hear that town councils are listening to local lyme disease concerns. Perhaps their listening skills will trickle upwards so that the Ontario and federal governments will begin to take notice. MP Elizabeth May is working on the latter. On the other hand, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care has an inexplicable fortress mentality when it comes to lyme disease. Keep up the great work Marlene. You have been through a lot and are really making a difference.
@ Bonita Poulin: Yes, I firmly believe that proper use of a frequency machine plus other alternative strategies and lots of detoxification can go a long way for those who are patient and unwavering. I am so glad to hear that you are slowly eradicating the bugs! If you and I and tens of thousands of others raise our voices to demand an end to selective hearing on the part of leaders and health care decision makers, we can certainly make a difference. It was recently drawn to my attention that the PHAC website for Lyme Disease has quietly changed to now say the following about treatment times and types of Lyme: “Several antibiotics can treat the illness. The sooner treatments starts, the better. Most cases of Lyme disease can be cured with a 2-4 week treatment of doxycycline, amoxicillin, or ceftriaxone. People with certain neurological or cardiac problems may require intravenous treatment with penicillin or ceftriaxone. Cephalexin is not effective. Patients diagnosed in the later stages of the disease can have persistent or recurrent symptoms requiring a longer course of antibiotic treatment.” Not quite there, but moving in the right direction! Now we need some legislative teeth and some action! Go Elizabeth May!
Elizabeth May’s Lyme Bill will be tabled in the House of Commons on Thursday, June 21st. So the press conference and the introduction to the Bill have slipped by 1 day, but cannot slip much further, since the session ends the day after and MP’s don’t “sit” again until mid-September. See my latest post for details.