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Oakville and Burlington w om en call disease `ticking Lym e bomb' continued from p.25 Two of Fabers daughters, ages six and 11, also have Lyme, she said. Kravis says she' s also been a longtime Lyme sufferer. "I was a lawyer at a Bay Street firm in m y first career, then I was an executive at a bank for seven years until 2 0 0 6 when, at age 3 6 , I was struck down by a debilitating `m ystery' illness, leading to a prolonged period of severe disability. "I received the best care for a year until all m y doctors sent m e hom e with a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, and I was bedridden. All m y doctors agreed m y illness was clearly triggered by a `virus or bacteria' but no one could figure out which mystery bacteria or virus it was." She said it took six years and several hundred thousand of her own dollars to finally get a diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease in the U.S. "I discovered the horrible situation in Canada with no help or treatments. I finally w ent back to the U.S. and I did two years of antibiotics with an experienced Lyme doctor in New York state, which significantly changed m y life. "It' s been 11 years since I have been able to w ork and I am sickened and shocked by what I have discovered in terms of the magnitude of suffering and numbers of people w ho are in dire straits." Faber, 39, is a married mother of three daughters. She is a registered nurse with a background in emergency room nursing as well as comm unity case management. Faber said she initially got tested for Syphylis, AIDS and hepatitis, with all results coming back negative. "I was diagnosed (with Lyme) in 2 0 1 6 after more than 15 years of being symptomatic with over 2 0 `strange symptoms', and progressively getting worse. "It was m y family doctor, w hom after exhausting all avenues to figure out what was wrong with m e -- referrals to several specialists and thousands upon thousands of healthcare dollars spent on every conceivable laboratory and diagnostic imaging test - that she decided to test m e for L ym e.... "Bingo, the test came back positive. I initially cried for joy as I finally had a diagnosis and positive test. Little did I know that our nightmare was only just beginning. I was initially told m y test was a false positive," said Faber. ". . The truly tragic thing is that as an RN, I never considered Lyme as the culprit; afterall, I never had the `mandatory tick bite' or (the hallmark) `bulls-eye rash'. My only bite was behind m y ear, in 1983, in the Muskoka' s at our cottage. I was six years old." She has a host of ailments related to Lyme, said Faber. "I am currently on long-term disability due to often incapacitating symptoms of chronic Lyme disease, which include tachycardia (rapid or irregular heartbeat), m em ory problems, choking, coughing, migratory pain and profound fatigue." Faber says she has to lie down to function. "Most Canadian Lyme sufferers are medical refugees, myself included. W e are also being forced into debt because our own country' s healthcare system refuses to identify our suffering and illness as real," said Faber. ". . W e need our physicians and allied health professionals trained to recognize the well-documented clinical symptomology of this disease and to consider Lyme as a differential diagnosis from the very beginning." The Halton Region Health Department says there were 4 7 laboratory reports of serology (blood serum) testing conducted for Lyme disease in the region in 201 6 ; there were six confirmed cases for Lyme with one probable case. Between 2 0 1 0 -1 5 , there was a low of three confirmed cases and a high of nine (2 0 1 5 ) along with a low of zero probable cases and a high of two probables. Fo r m ore information, go to www. lymehope.ca. The group' s Twitter account is @ lymehopecanada. 29 | Thursday, April 13, 2 0 1 7 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com PRE-SEASON POOL HEATER SALE L BOOK YOUR INSTALL EARLY BEAT THE RUSH Solving " S in c e t 9% 2 NO CHARGE QUOTATION 905 - 845-0701 Email : scott@gasfix.ca Specializing in Sales, Installations & Service of: Raypak - Pentair - Sta-Rite - Hayward - Zodiac - Jandy K-CUP SUPERSTORE C O F F E E , HOT CH O CO LA TE & TEA The staff of You'nique Oakville has relocated to Interm ezzo Hair Studio GUY FIERI, CAKE BOSS, HURRICANE, WOLFGANG PUCK, AUTHENTIC DONUT SHOP, BARNIE'S BLEND, BARRIE HOUSE MARTINSONS, VAN HOUTTE, TIMOTHY'S,...AND MORE! 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