There are three crucial cases American Physicians & Surgeons Educational Foundation (AAPS) is currently pursuing:
AAPS filed on Monday an expansion to its federal lawsuit against the Biden Administration and board-certifying organizations that threatened to, and sometimes have, revoked board certifications of physicians based on their outspokenness on matters of public policy. This includes doctors who advocated for ivermectin to treat COVID. In this precedent-setting lawsuit, AAPS seeks to establish that ABIM, ABOG, and ABFM have engaged in “state action” in threatening or revoking physicians’ board certifications, which are necessary to practice medicine in most hospitals. “The Biden Administration has also wrongly caused social media platforms to take down postings and videos.” ~ Attorney Andrew Schlafly
AAPS served a lawsuit on Oct 11, seeking to block the upcoming requirement that tens of millions of Americans provide their personal information to federal agencies beginning Jan 1, 2025. The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) imposes this new reporting requirement on more than 30 million entities such as small businesses, sports clubs, civic groups, and political organizations. With its threatened punishment of two years in federal jail, the CTA requires that tens of millions of ordinary, law-abiding Americans report their home addresses, birthdates, and driver’s license or similar personal identifying numbers to the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), the Complaint states. The CTA comprised only 21 pages, camouflaged among nearly 1,500 total pages in a rushed, end-of-year annual appropriation in 2020.
Building on two recent victories — one in Ohio to protect children from irreversible harm, after we filed a strong amicus brief against transgender procedures on minors, and the second in U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit (read our amicus) preventing taxpayer funds from being spent on transgender surgery — AAPS is proud to join a coalition led by the American College of Pediatricians asking the Supreme court of the United States to uphold a Tennessee law blocking transgender operations, and use of related drugs, for children.
I highly recommend reading Naomi Wolf’s work to understand the unbelievable devastation the COVID shots have caused, how some towns are voting to ban them, and how they truly are ‘crimes against humanity,’ because the FDA knew about this since at least early 2021 but tried to hide it.
Biden Admin Accused of ‘Murder,’ ‘Treason,’ ‘Genocide,’ and Use of ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ with COVID-19 Shots, 5G, Chemtrails, Mosquitos: Texas Lawsuit
Plaintiffs claim to have been “targeted with biological and technological weapons of mass destruction.”
A monumental lawsuit filed on October 15, 2024, in the Southern District of Texas accuses Joe Biden, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Alejandro Mayorkas, and other top officials of “murder,” “treason,” “genocide,” and facilitating the use of weapons of mass destruction.
The plaintiffs in Yellen et al v. Biden et al (Case No. 3:24-cv-00297) argue that the administration’s policies, particularly concerning COVID-19 vaccines, 5G technology, and chemtrails, are part of a deliberate plan to harm the American public.
The 114-page filing lists an array of alleged crimes that extend into multiple domains, demanding immediate court action.
The plaintiffs bring forth an expansive case against prominent government officials, including President Joe Biden, Dr. Rochelle Walensky (former director of the CDC), and Alejandro Mayorkas (Secretary of Homeland Security), along with other high-ranking members of various federal agencies, such as the FBI and FEMA.
The lawsuit also names numerous “Jane/John Does,” representing individuals within these agencies whom the plaintiffs allege are complicit in a mass-scale assault on U.S. citizens.
One of the lawsuit’s most startling claims is that the Biden administration’s actions amount to “genocide” under 18 U.S. Code §1091. (See link for article and lawsuit)
Go here to learn how agency capture is responsible for the chronic disease epidemic in the U.S.
Go here to learn how Big Pharma paid $1.06 BILLION to reviewers at top medical journals. Publicly available reviewer conflict of interest disclosures are rare.
Go here to learn how a complex campaign of deceit, fraud mass murder was meticulously orchestrated by the Medical Industrial Complex.
Go here to read how leaked internal documents from The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) reveal the organization planned to ‘kill’ X, shut down popular social media accounts, censor non-establishment voices, and ‘bring back’ attacks on ‘anti-vax’ voices. (gotta love their 1984 name)
Under Dr. Fauci’s leadership, the allergic, autoimmune, and chronic illnesses which Congress specifically charged NIAID to investigate and prevent, have mushroomed to afflict 54 percent of children, up from 12.8 percent when he took over NIAID in 1984.
It’s important to mention here that Geo-engineering Watch Director Dane Wigington has been exposing the Federal Government’s Secret Weather Weapons System for decades and most recently with the man-made hurricanes Helene, Milton, and others in Acapulco, as well as the decimating fires in Hawaii which selectively burned some buildings and not others, and left trees standing.
Since the COVID shot rollout, nearly every country around the world is experiencing a surge in “aggressive cancers” in those under 50 years old. Cancer rates in young people are soaring by 79% while deaths are rising 28% and studies suggest the trend will continue to increase by 31% into 2030.
According to a top pathologist, Ivana Pavic, the frightening cancer explosion is due to a large bulk of the population receiving the COVID-19 shots. Pavic said that 65% of all carcinoma cases among those aged between 15 and 59 received one or more COVID injections, with a 55 percent vaccination rate overall in the same age group, which means the vaxxed have a 52% increased chance of getting cancer.
Between 40-50% of people will be diagnosed with cancer:
“The incidence of cancer is on the rise… It is going to become the commonest cause of death. And there are actually some simple lifestyle changes that people can make that can help reduce their risk.” ~ Dr. Paul Marik
Go here to read & watch videos on how Green Tea Extract (EGCG) is a cancer fighter.
a therapeuticketogenic diet high in fats and protein but low in carbs.
moderate exercise (aerobic heart rate) for 45-75 minutes three times a week, such as cycling, running, swimming, etc.
high-dose (non-toxic level) vitamin C by IV, PICC, or port three times a week. This major review paper shows 75-100g vitamin C IV, 2-3X week for 6-8 cycles as a promising anti-cancer agent
ivermectin daily at a proven safe dosage.
fenbendazole (or mebendazole) daily at a proven safe dosage.
daily vitamin/mineral supplements of safe levels of vitamin D, vitamin K2, zinc, magnesium, and potassium, with a lab test every two weeks to monitor liver and kidney function and potassium and vitamin D levels for safety.
Alternative Cancer Treatments: 18 Proven Interventions
Published On: October 21, 2024
Explore 18 proven alternative cancer treatments and therapies that can help manage side effects and complement traditional care for people with cancer.
Facing a cancer diagnosis can feel like navigating an endless maze with no clear direction. The overwhelming emotions and confusion that accompany such news are shared by many. While conventional cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy have a role to play, there’s a growing interest in alternative therapies that can complement or even replace traditional methods. Did you know that many alternative cancer treatments have been explored, offering new hope to those affected by cancer?
The use of complementary and alternative medicine is becoming more prevalent as patients seek options beyond conventional medical treatments. Alternative medicine includes therapies used outside of standard medical practices, offering different approaches to treat cancer. Integrative medicine combines both conventional and alternative treatments, aiming to improve outcomes and enhance quality of life.
One shining example in this field is Dr. Paul Marik’s “Cancer Care: 2nd Edition,” a comprehensive guide that challenges conventional cancer treatment paradigms. This newly updated edition is available as a free download on our site, or you can purchase it on Amazon, with all proceeds supporting our ongoing investigation into cancer research. By arming yourself with knowledge, you can take control of your cancer journey and explore options that may have been previously overlooked.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of 18 alternative cancer treatments and interventions that offer hope and empower you to make informed decisions about your health. This science-backed curation is based on over 1,500 peer reviewed references from the medical literature. Let’s dive in! (See link for treatments)
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**Comment**
This is what helping others looks like.
UPDATE: Jan. 2025
Please read ‘Ranking the Top 19 Terminal Cancer Repurposed Drugs’ and the fact AI freely proclaims a 3-cent drug to be potentially superior to a 12-BILLION-dollar FDA darling. This ranking will change as AI ‘learns’ more and when the information is censored by ‘the powers that be.’
Dr. Marik has been vilified by the medical machine yet instead of taking his marbles and going home he continues on helping patients and doesn’t even ask a dime for it.
My kind of doctor and an example to us all.
So what’s the reason Marik has become government and Big Pharma public enemy #1?
“Our health care system is a hoax. My advice to you is don’t get sick, don’t go to the hospital because they’re going to kill you.” ~ Dr. Paul Marik, 2nd most published critical care physician in the world.
To prove this point, go here to watch Greg Reese’s brief video on how the term ‘brain death’ was created so that viable organs can be taken out of living people. They don’t even check the brain waves but give them paralyzing agents so the person doesn’t move. When they cut into them, their heart rate and blood pressure goes up which is a pain response. There is a huge demand for organs and it’s a lucrative business. Linked to this nightmare is the fact the opioid epidemic leading to drug overdoses deaths increasing by 500% creates the perfect formula for harvesting organs.
This video shows Marik explaining how 4 independent studies show remdesivir increases your risk of dying by 3%. It increases your change of renal failure by 20%.
“The federal government will give hospitals a 20% bonus on the entire hospital bill if they prescribe remdesivir to medicate patients. The federal government is incentivizing hospitals to prescribe a medication that is toxic.” ~ Dr. Paul Marik
The reason for this insanity becomes clear when you learn that while remdesivir costs about $3K a course, but ivermectin only costs the WHO 2 cents, yet reduces risk of death by about 50%.
Marik is candid about the fact that doctors are targeted and face severe risks to their careers for prescribing off label meds for COVID (or any disease for that matter and a constant issue with Lyme literate doctors treating tick-borne illness.)
Go here to listen to Marik teach how to ‘De-Spike’ naturally by activating autophagy.
“Cyanide kills you quickly. Spike Protein kills you slowly, and so it’s as toxic as cyanide. But this is a slow, progressive organ dysfunction leading to death.” ~ Dr. Paul Marik
Dr. Andrew Jones DVM discusses the Tippens protocol for humans as well as pets.
Tocotrienol and Tocopherol forms (all 8) of Vitamin E (400-800mg per day, 7 days a week). A product called Gamma E by Life Extension or Perfect E are both great.
Bio-Available Curcumin (600mg per day, 2 pills per day 7 days a week). A product called Theracurmin HP by Integrative Therapeutics is bioavailable.
SAPI2022AONM_221203_013821 Go here for Eva Sapi’s slides titled, “Potential Connection of Borrelia Infection and Breast Cancer“. She also addresses “Mixed Biofilm in Other Infected Skin Tissues.” There is a particular slide that shows where in the human body that Borrelia biofilm is found.
DS, Lee ES, Adunyah SE. The antitumor potentials of benzimidazole anthelmintics as repurposing drugs. Immune Netw. 2020;20:e29. doi: 10.4110/in.2020.20.e29. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
Mukhopadhyay T, Sasaki J, Ramesh R, Roth JA. Mebendazole elicits a potent antitumor effect on human cancer cell lines both in vitro and in vivo. Clin Cancer Res. 2002;8:2963–2969. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Sasaki J, Ramesh R, Chada S, Gomyo Y, Roth JA, Mukhopadhyay T. The anthelmintic drug mebendazole induces mitotic arrest and apoptosis by depolymerizing tubulin in non-small cell lung cancer cells. Mol Cancer Ther. 2002;1:1201–1209. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Martarelli D, Pompei P, Baldi C, Mazzoni G. Mebendazole inhibits growth of human adrenocortical carcinoma cell lines implanted in nude mice. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2008;61:809–817. doi: 10.1007/s00280-007-0538-0. [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
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Chiang RS, Syed AB, Wright JL, Montgomery B, inlavs S., Sr Fenbendazole enhancing anti-tumor effect: a case series. Clin Oncol Case Rep. 2021;4:2. https://www.scitechnol.com/peer-revie…. [Google Scholar]
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Al-Douh MH, Sahib HB, Osman H, Abd Hamid S, Salhimi SM. Anti-proliferation effects of benzimidazole derivatives on HCT-116 colon cancer and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2012;13:4075–4079. doi: 10.7314/APJCP.2012.13.8.4075. [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
Background: The Borrelia species is recognized to cause a myriad of non-specific symptoms among Lyme patients. It has also been documented in the literature to have the ability to incite autoimmune responses. Despite this, very few clinical cases have ever put together the autoimmune connection to such infections, including in Crohn’s disease.
Case presentation: A 14-year-old adolescent male with a previous diagnosis of Crohn’s disease was discovered to have underlying Lyme disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi infection. Identifying this as a potential cause of his autoimmune condition, an integrative medical approach was initiated, resulting in successful treatment and complete remission.
Conclusions: Lyme disease should be recognized as a potential trigger of autoimmune conditions, especially Crohn’s disease. This underlying cause is novel to the literature and may help many patients obtain the proper diagnosis so that curative treatment may be received.
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**Comment**
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a term that describes disorders involving long-standing (chronic) inflammation of tissues in your digestive tract. Types of IBD include:
Ulcerative colitis. This condition involves inflammation and sores (ulcers) along the lining of your large intestine (colon) and rectum.
Crohn’s disease. This type of IBD is characterized by inflammation of the lining of your digestive tract, which often can involve the deeper layers of the digestive tract. Crohn’s disease most commonly affects the small intestine. However, it can also affect the large intestine and uncommonly, the upper gastrointestinal tract.
Both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease usually are characterized by diarrhea, rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, fatigue and weight loss. Source
Routine childhood vaccinations among kindergartners in U.S. public and private schools were down the previous school year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
At the same time, the vaccine exemption rate increased from 3 percent to 3.3 percent for the 2023–24 year and increased broadly in 41 jurisdictions. In 14 jurisdictions, that figure jumped to 5 percent, it said.
Over the summer, a survey from Gallup found that “far fewer” people in the United States believe childhood vaccines are important. (See link for article)
Experts are onto them; however, and state the agency is using the report as “propaganda” to defend its vaccination program.
“The methods are shoddy, the data are untethered from reality and the conclusions are a preposterous fiction,” Toby Rogers, Ph.D., a fellow at the Brownstone Institute for Social and Economic Research, told The Defender. “This study is an advertisement on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry and it should be treated as such.”
Experts state the CDC relied on outdated disease and mortality statistics that led to “laughable” conclusions and ignored the real costs of adverse effects of vaccination.
Further, they reproduced the methodology from a 2014 paper Zhou and colleagues published in Pediatrics, estimating the health and economic benefits of vaccination for a single year, 2009.
“If there are two more conflicted journals to represent the benefits of the childhood vaccination program, you could not find them,” Mark Blaxill, co-author of “The Age of Autism: Mercury, Medicine, and a Man-Made Epidemic,” told The Defender.
Blaxill said:
“The profession of pediatrics is the delivery channel for the childhood immunization program, that’s why it exists. And the MMWR is put out by the CDC, which is recommending the program. So this is propaganda, and it is put out by those parties most interested in defending the outcome.” Source
Another perfect example of captured government agencies.
Kris Kristofferson’s shocking tale of Lyme-induced Alzheimer’s
By Dana Parish
Sept. 30, 2024
In 2016, I was floored by Rolling Stone’s cover story on Kris Kristofferson’s Lyme-induced Alzheimer’s.
Having almost died from heart failure after 12 “top” NYC doctors neglected to properly treat my own case of Lyme & Bartonella in 2014, I wanted every possible detail. I had a million questions.
I was introduced to Kris and his wife, Lisa, by a mutual friend, and honored that they trusted me to write an in-depth piece for my HuffPo column documenting his tumultuous health journey, from earliest symptoms of fibromyalgia and cardiac arrhythmias to severe memory loss, and astounding, significant recovery.
In light of the terrible news of his recent death, I couldn’t help but wonder if Lyme played a role, and felt compelled to shine light on this important story again. The media is largely ignoring it. Acknowledging the truth about chronic Lymeand the vastdriver of autoimmune, psychiatric and neurologic illness that it is, is touching the third rail.
I am also struck, again, by the uncanny overlap between chronic Lyme and LongCovid, from their dark politics and conflicts of interest, severe effects on the brain and body, to how they both can persist long after initial infection. It’s also notable that those with Lyme had worse COVIDoutcomes. There seems to be nothing a wily, misunderstood infection can’t do. Kris’s story is a perfect example.
I am forever grateful for the awareness he raised about Lyme and infection-mediated chronic illness. Sincere condolences to Lisa and the Kristofferson family.
Kris’s fierce, intuitive wife, Lisa, tells us how she shepherded him through a haze of missed opportunities and misdiagnoses and got him back.
When and how did Kris’s Lyme symptoms begin?
About 12 years ago he was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, which looking back, should have been the first indication that a test for Lyme was warranted. But we suspect he’s been infected with Lyme anywhere from fourteen to thirty years because he used to have these chronic muscle spasms, which is a common symptom.
We were in LA at the time, in Malibu, and I just don’t think doctors were looking for it or aware of it there then. But now we know it’s everywhere. There are signs on my local playground that say beware of ticks.
Can you describe his fibromyalgia?
He had massive, painful spasms all over his back and legs– it was so horrible- his nerve endings were causing golf ball-sized, painful contractions that we battled with acupuncture, heat and massage, then finally a spinal cortisone shot by a rheumatologist, and a low dose anti-depressant.
This eight-month period he was in so much pain he could not work. Two years earlier he had spent six weeks in the woods in rural, remote Vermont making a film called Disappearances. He was on the forest floor for much of the shoot, being dragged in a makeshift sling and carried by his son in the film, because he had been “shot” in the leg.
So, after so many years, how did he finally get diagnosed with Lyme?
During the aftermath of that film, Kris was diagnosed with moderate to severe sleep apnea, warranting a bi-level CPAP machine, which he tried and refused to use. He had painful knees and annual knee shots, a pacemaker for arrhythmias–which we now know could be from Lyme–so much Advil for headaches that he got anemic.
After a year of iron supplements and seeing a hematologist, he just wasn’t healthy-looking so I took him to an integrative doctor, Mark Filidei, at Whitaker Wellness Institute. Upon examining Kris and watching the muscles in his forearms constantly twitching, he announced, “He’s got Lyme disease,” and ordered a blood test. The first test from LabCorp came back suspicious, the second test by IGeneX was positive. This was in February 2016.
Excellent that the doctor knew to go to a reliable lab for Lyme like IGeneX. I also like MDL Labs. Most physicians don’t know that the tests are only about 50% accurate at the major labs and that Lyme should be clinically diagnosed based on symptoms. What did you do when you found out his diagnosis of Lyme?
Well, we got the news when we were on tour in the UK and Ireland, so immediately upon landing in the US, I went to a local pharmacy and picked up Kris’s prescriptions for doxycycline and alinia. Soon after, we also started hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the frontal lobe.
At this point, did anyone refer you to a Lyme-Literate doctor?
Yes, luckily, Kris’s cardiologist did her residency in New Jersey so she understood the cardiac involvement in Lyme and said go to a Lyme specialist. We began working with Dr. Steve Harris in California, who added antibiotic intramuscular injections to Kris’s protocol and is continuing to treat Kris.
But before this, wasn’t Kris misdiagnosed with Alzheimer’s?
Yes, for the past three years, he was treated for Alzheimer’s by two different neurologists. He was on two drugs for it, Namenda and Exelon patches. But finally, a spinal tap and functional MRI ruled out Alzheimer’s, so he quit those meds and the antidepressant for fibromyalgia. They also tested him for Lyme disease in the spinal fluid and it was negative but the doctor explained to me that Lyme does not live in fluid, it lives in tissue. It bores into tissue so you would really have to do a biopsy of the brain to find it.
That’s what makes Lyme blood tests so unreliable. I always encourage people suffering with Lyme symptoms or an autoimmune illness that’s linked to Lyme like MS, RA, Alzheimer’s etc to seek a second opinion from a Lyme-Literate doctor.
Exactly. People need to know this! I can’t wrap my head around why this information is not more widespread! Since Kris was diagnosed, so many people–even close friends of ours–are coming out of the woodwork telling us their stories and they’re not being heard. This is why Kris and I are glad to come forward. If it helps anyone, then great.
Were you told Kris was going to die from Alzheimer’s?
Well, no, but eventually Alzheimer’s is fatal, as is life. What we were doing was keeping him on these medications that would keep him from declining further for long stretches of time and then he would get worse and then he would plateau again. We had a very fatalistic attitude than none of us were getting out of this alive.
Why did you start transcranial magnetic stimulation?
The TMS targets the frontal lobe of the brain that was abnormal on the MRI. His neurologist is such a proactive, positive person and when she said, “let’s do this,” I was so ready to agree.
Can you describe his memory symptoms?
He could always remember songs, music is deeply embedded in the brain. The first thing I noticed was that he lost his keen sense of smell. The next thing I noticed was his spatial awareness was off. Like, if he would come out of the men’s room in the airport, he would start looking around and having no idea where to go. I had to watch him constantly, it was very consistent with Alzheimer’s. And he would do these mini-mental status tests where they have you remember certain presidents and things like that, and he was consistently failing them.
Did Kris think he had Alzheimer’s?
Actually, he has been complaining about having memory loss to his doctors for about 12 years and my understanding of Alzheimer’s is that you’re not even aware you have memory loss. That was a big clue to me that maybe it was not really Alzheimer’s. He would say “my memory’s shot, my memory’s gone.”
What were the doctors saying?
Well, after I questioned it, one of the head injury specialists that we saw looked at me and said, with a sad look on his face, “You really don’t want this to be Alzheimer’s.” I said, “It’s not that I want it to be something else, it just does not feelright to me.” Also, Alzheimer’s patients often fight things and don’t want to do certain things and Kris has always been a very compliant patient. That was another clue to me. Subtle things.
Do you think he felt hopeless?
I don’t think he even knew to feel that way, he just kind of floated. He did a film with the director feeding him lines and a teleprompter, and he is such a soldier. He never gives up.
What has treatment been like?
We had tremendous improvement after the intramuscular injections of Invanz, the Doxy and Alinia, thirty days of hyperbaric oxygen and twenty days of TMS of the frontal lobe. How it all worked is impossible to say but I can tell you that twenty days into theTMS, his personality was back. Of course, we are not done but that’s where we are right now.
Did he have Herxheimer reactions?
Oh, God, yes. He had three episodes of the most severe herxing. I wish I had him under medical surveillance because it was so bad. The first time, he violently threw up all over the hotel bathroom- the shower curtain- and he was so confused, he kept asking, “What’s happening? Why is this happening to me?” He was so disoriented. I’m gonna cry thinking about it.
Then it calmed down til the next evening when he had another episode in the restaurant bathroom where he kept saying, “What’s wrong with me,” and the way he was saying it, it was like when a little kid is confused. He just didn’t know why. Then, his third episode gave him a tremendous amount of shaking and spasming in his body, and again, the next day, he was totally fine. It’s the craziest thing. And so scary, I almost called 911.
How is he feeling now?
He still has spatial awareness issues and short-term memory loss. He sometimes even forgets he has Lyme! He shook the hand of a lady the other day and she told him she had Lyme and he said, “Oh! Is it contagious?”
So, he really lives in the present and he feels good. We walked two miles yesterday. His physical health is incredibly good. All his symptoms of fibromyalgia, sleep apnea and twitching are now gone with the Lyme treatment. He has stayed off the two Alzheimer’s drugs and the antidepressant he was taking for the fibromyalgia. He is continuing to do treatment as needed. When I look back, his symptoms really should’ve caused his doctors to test him for Lyme and they missed it. Most doctors are just not looking for it.
It’s a balance trying to work with all these doctors and telling them that even if they don’t all agree, we have to keep Kris’s best interest and we have to acknowledge he is getting better with Lyme treatment. His internist does not trust the Lyme tests and doesn’t want him doing more antibiotics.
It’s alarming that so many doctors don’t seem to even want to understand the seriousness of this disease.
I know! You and Dr. Phillips did a great job of conveying that onyour Fox interviewlast week. Seeing that young girl on the special broke my heart. I don’t understand the stigma or lack of awareness. It’s like doctors don’t wanna touch it. I think what I am teaching doctors now is that there is no downside in testing for and treating for Lyme when you can’t find anything else that makes sense. Because not acknowledging Lyme can be so devastating.
I had one doctor say to me that unless you live in New Hampshire, you can’t have Lyme. I’m like, “Why won’t you acknowledge Lyme? What is it, a religion?”
With over five million Americans living with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, I have to wonder how many actually have Lyme and not Alzheimer’s, and what it will take for doctors to look for Lyme before giving someone a sentence like that. Malpractice suits? Complaints to medical boards?
Sadly, the average doctor doesn’t even check or test for Lyme, it’s not the norm. But they should! And now, with treating it, Kris is doing so much better than he was three years ago. I couldn’t even get certain doctors to look at his blood test and agree it was positive. But once he got his clinical assessment from his Lyme doctor, they all seemed to finally agree. And then we got him off all the Alzheimer’s meds and it was like, “I’ll be damned!”
How was Kris able to function on the road before his Lyme diagnosis?
Right before he started treatment, he had two fainting episodes where we got really worried about him. We were in Ireland and he was walking through the hotel lobby doors and he fainted. I grabbed him and yelled for help. He was completely passed out. This happened two nights in a row at exactly the same time, after his shows, walking back into the hotel lobby.
Thank God it was there because it was caught on camera and the hotel was nice enough to give us the footage to show our neurologist. Since then, I’ve learned that that is failure of the autonomic nervous system, which Lyme attacks.
Did he have any neuropsychiatric symptoms? You mentioned depression earlier. Do you think this was related?
In 1988 he was first given a diagnosis of clinical depression and he went on an antidepressant for a while but it was also in a period of a life where things were difficult. As he worked through his issues, he went off of the antidepressant and then went back on a very low dose because of the fibromyalgia symptoms.
In terms of other psych symptoms, it was more that his confusion would trigger anxiety. He would ask, “where are we going, what are we doing?” That kind of repeated thing. And that still persists today to some degree. It seems like most of the damage is in his short-term memory and spacial awareness.
Did any of that get better?
Not so much his working, short-term memory yet, but his whole personality came back after three years. I could cry now thinking about it. We were driving back from his sixth HBOT treatment and he looks over at me and says, “Wow, I feel like I’m back.” And I looked right in his eyes and I said, “OH MY GOD, HE’S BACK! It was like, WHOA!”
When you say his personality is back, what was it like before his Lyme treatment?
I think describing it as flat is the best way to explain it. Because he is such a charismatic, funny, fun person and his intellect is so amazing. Over the course of treating him for Alzheimer’s, there was a slow slipping away.
Looking back over the years, how do you think none of Kris’s doctors caught this?
All these doctors were wonderful in treating him and caring, but nobody was finding the cause or connecting the dots. The neurologist suggested anti-seizure medications for passing out, the fibromyalgia doctor was giving him antidepressants for his body pain, his cardiologist gave him a pacemaker for his cardiac arrhythmias, his knees were sore, so he got annual shots from his orthopedist.
Nobody was connecting the dots at all.
It wasn’t until I took him to the integrative doctor, Dr. Filidei, that he looked at everything and said, “This looks like Lyme disease.” I’m just so grateful that he is so much better now. And I feel really lucky that our doctors are willing to work with our Lyme-literate doctor. I know that is not always the case.
I bet he saw the best doctors money could buy.
The most expensive doctors don’t necessarily buy you the best treatment, that’s one thing I’ve learned. It’s not like he’s immortal at eighty, but there’s not that big black void ahead of us anymore. He is so much better now than he was three years ago. We are back hitting the road again.
You must be so relieved, Lisa!
I am relieved! And now we’re at a point where we can acknowledge and look at each other’s deficits with humor. I am deaf in one ear and everybody is patient about that, and we laugh about it. It’s OK, everybody has a challenge.
We understand Kris’s deficits in spatial awareness and short-term memory loss and we laugh about it all the time. We laugh at him and with him and we make the best of it because Lyme is so tragic that if you don’t have something to counterbalance the sadness of that, it’ll take you down. The more we can get Kris to laugh, the healthier he is. Being on the road, the laughter, the music. It’s great medicine. And I understand that when you have Lyme disease, your quality of life will vary with each different person. You have to just do the best you can.
Also, I tell people to exercise because Lyme can only live in a low-oxygen environment. The more you get out and do some aerobic exercise to get oxygen flowing through your body― if you are able to do that― the better.
Do you have any Lyme symptoms?
Well, I don’t, but the doctor thinks I should be tested since it potentially can be sexually transmitted and he doesn’t want me to reinfect Kris as he’s getting better.
Are you happy with Kris’s care now?
Yes! The good news is that the doctors we have now support us going to a Lyme specialist and when they don’t know the answers to certain things, they tell me to ask him.
That’s really unusual and wonderful. Certainly, that was the opposite of my experience.
Yeah, what’s that about? Again, I just don’t get it. People are coming up to us all the time now with their Lyme stories and it’s just so tragic! Doctors are not looking for this and then people end up down the road so much sicker. It’s heartbreaking. I am fortunate my doctors are willing to admit when they are unsure about something and have Kris’s best interest at heart.
What’s life like now for Kris?
We’re on the road right now with Willie [Nelson] and the Haggard boys. Kris is doing what he loves, he’s eighty and he’s healthy – we just walked for four hours in the LA Zoo with our grandchildren.
He doesn’t remember bypass surgery, and so many things, but recently, he did this big Q&A in front of 600 people and my daughter and I were scared to death about how it would go, but it turned out to be the best, funniest thing ever.
And that’s the deal now, Kris is totally present and sometimes we forget he’s battling anything. At times, he’ll still say, “where are we going, what are we doing,” but he really rolls with it now. That’s just how it is. He is right here, right now. We’re jamming with it. It’s such a weird, beautiful journey.
Dana Parish is a singer, songwriter, author, and a major advocate for Lyme disease patients. She co-authored the book Chronic with Dr. Steven Phillips. This interview and other writings are available on her Substack newsletter Third Opinion. Click here to subscribe.
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**Comment**
And that is a typical Lyme/MSIDS story – which can vary in little details but overall explains what a chronic/persistent case looks like.
Notice the vast improvement with treatment.
A patient would not have this improvement IF they weren’t infected.
Madison Area Lyme Support Group 