The Difference of a Month
SO thankful for all of Our Friends who came together to Make The Relentless- Fundraising Event Come Together. It was a Beautiful time of Connection and Inspiration. Paul and I had the opportunity to share a part of our Journey and were met with so much love.
Photo by Mike Morse
Here is a glimpse of what was Shared :
It’s amazing what a difference a month can make.
Less than a month ago we were more than 2 months behind on our mortgage receiving warning letters of a notice of default
We had a medical bill for 18 thousand dollars due and Paul needed to go back in for treatment immediately
Paul had spent more than 40 days straight at a medical clinic in Mexico and was experiencing intermittent paralysis on the entire right side of his body
We had just received a neurological Lymes Disease diagnosis with a prognosis of at least 12 more months of treatment.
Due to his illness Paul had been unable to work for 8 months of the last year
We had finally concluded that bankruptcy would be our only solution and we found out we were disqualified because of W-2s from 2-3 years ago.
I had three kids who missed their daddy, a home we were on the verge of losing, currently mounting medical costs exceeding 100 thousand and a husband in desperate need of help.
In what felt like a final cry in the dark I asked Paul to make a video and we invited people into our story, into the most vulnerable and perceivably the darkest moment of our lives.
And this was the response -
Friends and family members called and sent us money directly - whatever they could afford,
People shared our story with words of encouragement and affirming their witness to our journey expanding long before this time of struggle.
Other friends pulled out their creativity and found a way to create green energy from their talents, their resources, their facilities, and purely from their will to see us cared for and to see Paul healthy again.
In less than 2 months time you all have participated in raising over 57 thousand dollars!!!
We are filled with Hope, humbled by the Outpouring of Generosity, and in Awe of what can happen when a community comes together.
In the yogic traditions they speak of turning your Karma into your Dharma. That is to say taking what comes to you in life and transforming it into something greater than yourself, letting it become your mission and using it to uplift the world around you.
With the support we have received and the talents of our good friend David Moya we are using our journey to create docuseries- documentary - a field guide of sorts so that others won’t have to walk their journey to health blindly.
Prior to finding the clinic in Mexico Paul had seen hundreds of different Drs, looking for answers ranging from the most natural and holistic of practitioners to some who advised some of the most invasive of surgical procedures .
Even with insurance we had accrued hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of medical debt in the last 8 years before finally receiving a proper diagnosis for an illness that has been present in his body for the past 20-30 years.
It is no longer just about us.
This past weekend I had an opportunity to sit down and interview Dr Klinghardt
who is one of the leading and most most progressive Drs on the frontlines of Actually Curing Lyme Disease- they are curing this disease, as well as cancer, Parkinson’s, creating supportive solutions for Autism, along with many other degenerative and invasive illnesses
Photo by Mike Morse
But on average a patient has been to 33 different medical practitioners looking for answers before walking into his office.
Currently if you look up Lyme Disease as defined by the CDC will read that it is a tick borne Illness with a red bullseye rash and it is treated by 2 weeks on antibiotics.
What this means is that if and when your treatment falls outside of this incredibly limited definition - insurance can deny your claim.
Like I said, this is bigger than us.
And now that we have seen what we have seen and know what we know we cannot sit idly by.
Thank you for being with us personally in this journey and we ask that you continue to follow, continue to share so that we not only find healing for Paul but to help others who do not have the honor of knowing you all first hand .
Thank you for your love, your support, and for your presence. We could not have made it this far without you.
Steph Johnson
