Girl with Lyme blessed by Pope, but not by insurance companies
WNBC-TV in New York looks at the frustrating case of Julia Bruzzese, a wheelchair –bound 12-year-old who was blessed by the Pope during his US visit in September. She has since been diagnosed with Lyme disease and has started treatment. But, citing the IDSA Lyme guidelines, her insurance company refuses to pay for treatment.
WNBC-TV, Dec. 3, 2015:
From WNBC-TV, New York, Dec. 3, 2015:
By Pei-Sze Cheng
When Pope Francis touched down at Kennedy Airport, 12-year-old Julia Bruzzese was there to greet him. Sitting in her wheelchair, the pontiff put his hand on her forehead and blessed her.
“It means that he’s going to give me a miracle, to walk again,” the teen told NBC 4 New York afterward on Oct. 24, fighting back tears. “I know I will walk again because of him.”
And a miracle of sorts did happen, at least, in her opinion.
Dr. Ronald Stram in upstate Delmar, just outside Albany, was watching Julia and reached out to her family because he believed he could help. READ MORE.
One more extreme example of the Mafia criminal medical establishment. Insurance companies, drug companies, hospitals, only care about, not just a profit, but profits that suck life out. No care at all for sick people. I feel so very sorry for this young girl. I see in her desperate look, the same desperation I have felt for so long. And I had most of my youth. Like so many others, she is being robbed so young. I will pray for her. When can we sue the offenders in our Mafia medical establishment? When are we going to start suing them? When are we going to stop lying down and just taking it? When, when? Just complaining, which I do a lot, and with extremely good and justified reason, will never do any good. We have to demand, in any way we can, proper treatment. It is not that this beautiful young girl cannot be treated. It is that she is being refused treatment, in this case, by insurance companies. My husband saw a dentist this week. He now offers some real holistic dental treatment. I do not think because he really believes in it, but because he needs the business. He is giving in to demand. People are asking for it, and he is obliging, accommodating to his customers, We asked for no epinephrine, and other holistic services, and he is doing it. He is even doing rubber dams to remove amalgam fillings.
I’d like to sue the first doctor who saw me, who said the one band on my test was a false positive and wouldn’t treat me. She said it was “just arthritis” without even testing for other autoimmune disorders. But I know she’d just use the IDSA guidelines as her defense and I wouldn’t win.
I wonder now if it was because of my insurance. I have a cousin with different insurance and a different doctor who got treated despite a negative test. Even if she knew my insurance would refuse, shouldn’t I have the right to decide for myself whether I want to pay for it or not?
The fact that this girl is starting to get better is evidence enough for me that her doctor’s clinical diagnoses is right. Shouldn’t that mean something? I’m sure the family will get donations after having her story on tv. But why should you have to beg people to help you when you have insurance?
What is happening to Julia is criminal. Having said that, I would advise her parents to buy and read a copy of “When Your Child Has Lyme Disease A Parent’s Guide” authors: Dorothy Kupcha Leland and Sandra Berenbaum. This book will both validate what is going on with Julia and her family and give lots of practical advice on helping Julia. Good luck to everyone and may Julia continue to improve even if it’s just one small step at a time.