Fort Erie couple with Lyme disease hopes for relief in Germany
Lyme disease has turned the Wilson family’s world upside down.
Amanda, 42, and Jeff, 44, are a Ridgeway couple who have spent close to $150,000 combatting the disease, which both have been living with for years.
Amanda was the first to contract the disease in 2014 — the result of a tick bite that took place either while she was golfing or while on a walk along the trail near the Peace Bridge during her lunch break as a Canada Border Services Agency employee.
Amanda transmitted the disease sexually to her husband Jeff, who made the difficult decision to close his family business of 43 years, Wilson Flooring, to focus on their health.
Jeff ’s choice to close the flooring company his family has owned for 43 years was not an easy one. “The last couple of years have been some of the best years of the business which have made the decision to close very difficult but it is the only option to get our health back,” he says.
A Go-Fund-Me page has been created for the couple, who is hoping to raise $50,000 for hypothermic treatment in Germany for both of the parents of 17- and 25-year-old children.
Amanda learned just days ago that she has been accepted to the clinic and will be admitted this month.
Similar to another method offered by a facility in Florida, this option overseas has a 90 per cent success rate, Amanda says.
She will be sedated for several hours as her body temperature rises to the point that bacteria is killed, she explains.
“This is what’s going to help me — I’m more than confident in it,” she says.
The Go-Fund-Me page set up for the couple, called Amanda and Jeff’s Last Hope, has raised more than $18,000 toward their $50,000 goal.