NEWS: Told he was dying of ALS, California man turns it around with Lyme treatment
The San Jose Mercury News writes a follow-up story on Bart Fenolio, who last December was told he had two months to live. Fenolio has been in a nursing home since then, receiving Lyme treatment. Now he's well enough to go home.
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From the San Jose Mercury News:
Fisher: After long struggle with Lyme disease, Bart’s going home
Bart Fenolio still tires easily, needs a walker to get around and has occasional memory lapses. He knows it could take years for him to overcome the devastating effects of chronic Lyme disease.
But for a 70-year-old guy who had been told he was dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease and couldn’t breathe on his own or pick up a cell phone when I saw him six months ago, Fenolio looks pretty darn good. And he is counting his blessings.
"I’m just so lucky to have a family and so many friends who could advocate for me," he told me Thursday as he prepared to leave the San Jose nursing home where he has been recovering since December. "I’ve lost a lot of muscle mass — I’ve got no buns — but I’m finally on the road to recovery."
In January, I told the story of the former San Jose State track star, classic car nut and golfer who contracted Lyme disease from a tick bite but was misdiagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable illness. The long-time owner of a Campbell tropical fish store was bitten by the tick while walking his dog in Morgan Hill seven years ago and began to develop symptoms two years ago.
Only through the persistence of Heidi, his wife of 46 years, and their scientist son and social-worker daughter was Bart given a series of Lyme tests that came back positive. He says his doctors at Kaiser Permanente insisted he had ALS even though he began to improve with antibiotics, and he left Kaiser to get the treatment he needed.
Read your S J Mercury News article"Road to recovery leads home" dated 07 30 2010, re: Mr. Bart Fenolio. Is there any way to communicate with Bart or locate his Lyme Disease Specialist as I have 7 of 19 symptons listed on the Lyme Disease.org web site… but some symptons could just be old age. Thanks for the article.
You will need to find a Lyme Literate MD. Majority of Physicians have no clue on how to test/locate Lyme.
Because of their ignorance they blame symptoms on 'old age' or make up other diagnoses.
Many patients have been told their symptoms are "all in your head" until they locate a Lyme Literate MD–>lo and behold, Lyme +!
Look up on the Internet for Lyme Doctors in your area. (LLMD)
That is how I found mine and am currently receiving treatment.
Good Luck….
Kaiser does not want to treat any hard to treat disease. Lyme is one of them. If they can get away with it, they will say you don't have it. It is all about money when it comes to Kaiser. It is managed cost. Do not trust Kaiser when it may cost them money.
Would love to know what they gave him for meds. My husband tested postive for lyme disease in 2012. Was on Lyme meds for approx 10 months. Hubby diagnosed with ALS in January, 2013. Foot drop started in 2011. Breathing, swallowing bad, muscle atrophy. Went to India for embryonic stem cell therapy, 2/13. Developed aspirated pneumonia. Trached, Vented, and peg tube placed. Back in the states 5/13. Much stronger, feels better, still on vent. Weaning in rehab center. Would like to continue lyme meds but probably not possible in rehab. Just wondering what to do.
Donna, if you don’t treat him for Lyme there is no hope. He needs to see a LLMD for sure. Lyme treatment is long and hard and Lyme is disabling.
Check out the unedited video of Dr. David Martz who was diagnosed with ALS then found out he had Lyme. Antibiotic treatment “cured” him. Copy and paste urls into your browser. I hope they work!
https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=AwrTccHgduVULYgAF34nnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTB0ZWVkYm84BHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1lIUzAwMl8x?p=dave+martz+youtube+als&tnr=21&vid=6A4AF4EEB6E5FEBB6E4E6A4AF4EEB6E5FEBB6E4E&l=322&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DUN.607996988231909513%26pid%3D15.1&sigi=11r5j99sm&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvimeo.com%2F2074932&sigr=10ou7ft5g&tt=b&tit=Dr.+David+Martz+–+unedited+footage&sigt=113kq57f1&back=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Ddave%2Bmartz%2Byoutube%2Bals%26ei%3DUTF-8%26hsimp%3Dyhs-001%26hspart%3Dmozilla&sigb=132ahf9uu&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001
another speech at https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KIo9fbd.VU.mUAd2v7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTByZ2N0cmxpBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMg–?p=dave+martz+youtube+als&vid=04a8f3f9b58a617b6bfc168d4d2e18bb&l=11%3A20&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVN.608029509729256635%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DUY9FdULDV6M&tit=Dr+David+Martz+-+2011+IDA+Research+Award&c=1&sigr=11at6c8r0&sigt=11878cref&sigi=11r134aom&age=1330892997&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=mozilla&tt=b