May 21, 2020 at 10:41 p.m.
One family, one disease, one goal: Cure chronic Lyme disease
One family, one disease, one goal: Cure chronic Lyme disease
By Abigail Bostwick-
The son of St. Germain residents Brigette and Tom Ryan was barely more than six, however, when headaches, fever and fatigue confined him to the house and away from all the things he loved.
"Parker is a full of life," Brigette Ryan said. "He has a passion for playing basketball and you can find him shooting hoops in the yard at anytime of the day ... or at least that is how he is when he isn't suffering from Lyme symptoms."
Parker also loves to sleep, he'll tell you.
When the debilitating issues began for Parker, so did a complicated journey to diagnosis and relief for their entire family. For months and months, the Ryan family, including Parker's siblings Aleena and Carter, went to doctors and hospitals seeking answers. Parker would spend a week hospitalized and get a spinal tap before being diagnosed with Lyme disease in January 2018.
Doctors placed Parker on three weeks of antibiotics and his symptoms cleared. Devastatingly, it only took a week of being off the antibiotics for his symptoms to flare back. Medical professionals indicated "... it couldn't be Lyme symptoms still because he was treated ... and the Lyme was gone," Brigette Ryan said. "Another doctor told me that maybe Parker should see a psychiatrist because maybe his symptoms were all in his head. At this point we were willing to try anything to get our son feeling better."
The Ryan family took young Parker to an area alternative medical practitioner, who prescribed supplements.
"After about a week, we started seeing great results and Parker's bad days were becoming less and less. He was symptom free from April 2018 to October 2018," Brigette Ryan said.
The symptoms flared yet again, sadly - this time worse than ever. Parker was suffering from dizziness and days he was so tired he could barely get up.
"I began missing a lot of work and my momma heart couldn't handle being away when he wasn't feeling good. All I did was worry," Brigette Ryan said. "I ended up putting in my letter of resignation at a job that I loved so I could be there for our son when he needed me."
A more rigorous course of supplements was started, adding in tapping techniques along the spine and a rife machine which involves electromagnetic frequencies.
"Those three things helped eliminate his symptoms at the time. It has been two years and four months since Parker's diagnosis," Brigette said. "I would love to tell you that he has been cured, but sadly he has Lyme flare-ups every few months."
The Ryan family works to keep Parker's symptoms at bay and recognize early when he's about to enter a flare.
When a state-of-the art tick-borne illness medical center was established in Woodruff, the Ryan family was hopeful and excited.
"The Tick-Borne Illness Center of Excellence in Woodruff has been an amazing resource for us!" Brigette Ryan said. "The staff there truly care about their clients and really want them to feel better. They often check in on Parker and give suggestions to help. It is awesome that we now have a tick center in the Northwoods where Lyme is so prevalent. It adds a resource for those suffering and gives people a place to go."
Parker has no intention of slowing down as the summer season approaches, and so many adventures await.
"Our story is very similar to many other stories of individuals who have Lyme," Brigette Ryan said. "The more awareness we can raise for Lyme the more research will be done and hopefully some day there will be a cure."
Abigail Bostwick may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.