Kitchener woman trying to help sister who’s battling Lyme disease
Posted Feb 29, 2016 04:30:59 AM.
Last Updated Feb 29, 2016 10:38:36 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s an isolating, misdiagnosed, and under-reported disease.
Lyme disease is on the rise in our province and it’s affecting a family right in our own backyard.
Alicia Flatt from Kitchener is asking for our help in raising money for her sister Rebekah, who lives in Toronto.
They have set up a GoFundMe Page.
Rebekah is described as “a fun-loving, passionate, and caring wife and mother. She is an energetic go-getter who loves animals and the outdoors.”
One of the biggest challenges with Lyme disease is paying for the years of treatment.
Rebekah and her husband JP have spent around $7000 to just find out she has Lyme disease.
They are also working with a Lyme disease expert in New York to help treat the disease and the first appointment will already put them back $900 U.S.
They have had to dip into savings that were meant for a down payment on a house and, unable to afford it, had to cancel their wedding.
Alicia says Rebekah has been a bright light through all of this and was even hesitant to start fundraising since she would rather raise money for others.
“She said to me the other day that she can’t wait to get better…it’s going to take a couple of years for her to even receive treatment and get better but when she does, she wants to start doing Lyme disease awareness bike rides and raise money for other people who suffer with this.”
Rebekah is bedridden, sleeping 16 hours or more a day and struggles to spend quality time with her two stepdaughters and daughter.
But Alicia says her sister, who is also her personal hero, has always remained optimistic.
“She’ll try and spin everything in a positive way…she’ll say ‘Look my husband set up a nice little reading corner in our room – isn’t this nice!’ But what she is really saying is ‘Now I have a chair to sit in, I can’t walk down my stairs to sit in my living room but at least I can get out of bed and walk a few steps to sit in my chair.'”
Alicia says the big goal is to raise $10,000 – something that would help pay for treatment and travel costs to New York.
“I don’t know if that is something that is even within the realm of possibility but they’ve already spend $7000 and that’s money that they took out of their savings.”
More information about Lyme disease can be found here.
