Time for governments to step up on Lyme

RE: Lyme disease

It’s time all sectors of government stop being all talk and start taking positive action regarding Lyme disease.

I’m a Lyme survivor who spent two horrible years before getting properly diagnosed in the U.S. for Lyme and two co-infections. I had been sent from one doctor to another, most of whom told me they “knew nothing about Lyme,” “wouldn’t talk about it” or diagnosed me with some other disease. I was lucky enough to find help with a Lyme doctor in Plattsburgh, N.Y. This was all at my own expense. I also learned that one cannot rely on getting compensation for out-of-country treatment from my own province when it comes to a Lyme diagnoses.

It’s time our government started listening to and learning from those who know about this disease and stop procrastinating and simply telling people to “tuck their pants in their socks.” The bulk of the work being done on Lyme disease is being done by people who suffer from it. Our government has no idea how many Lyme patients there are in our country because most of us have been forced south for treatment and are not on our government’s radar. People cannot wait two weeks or six months for a positive or negative test reply. They need antibiotics right away and for a decent length of time to help rid them from this horrible disease.

It’s time our governments spent money on proper diagnoses and treatment for what is the next “global epidemic!” Sylvia Matthie, Dundas