My name is Michelle Baptisto. My husband has suffered for several years with chronic Lyme's disease. He has been diagnosed with several other illnesses and went through the treatments with little or no relief. About six months ago I was watching TV and on a program called Mystery Diagnosis they profiled a young woman who had all of the symptoms that Clarence had been suffering with. At the end of the program they said that she had Lyme's Disease. I did some research on my own as well as with the Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner we have seen for the past couple of years for other illnesses that we both suffer from. Any way we came across a list of symptoms, the list contained 83 known symptoms of Lyme's. Out of those 83 he had 65. I took him to the university hospital in Tucson and to our primary doctor and could not get either to listen to me. I finally knew what was making my husband so sick and could not get anyone to test him, or treat him. I finally found the ILADS web site and wrote and asked them for the name of the closest Lyme Literate doctor. I was going to borrow the money from my parents to get him as far as we needed to get him the treatment that he needed. The closest doctor they had registered was in New Mexico. After further research I found the L.E.A.P. and our angel Tina. She was able to give me the name and address of a Lyme Literate doctor that is in Mesa, Arizona much closer to home and we were able to get in right away. The first time we went to his office we both cried. We had finally found the doctor that would listen to us and knew what was wrong and how to fix it. It took a couple of months to finally get the port a catheter and everything in place for his treatment. He tested positive for Lyme as well as a few other co-infections. He was very sick, for a very long time. This past Monday July 23, 2007 he was released from treatment with a clean bill of health. God willing he will not have any relapses and will be able to go on to the next phase of our lives. He starts training in August for a heavy equipment operator. If not for the work that L.E.A.P. does we would have been so far in debt that we would not be able to get out of it. Tina was able to provide us with the doctor that saved my husband's life, as well as some much needed moral support. I can tell you that if not for her there was a couple of times that I was ready to give up. Thank You Tina and L.E.A.P. for all that you do-keep up the good work.
Michelle Baptisto, Arizona