Relative Something

This morning is another calm and beautiful day up at the lake. Picture perfect. It is odd to think about the comparison between the incredible serenity here as I write this, and the intense drama playing out at the same time on the east coast under hurricane Irene. It is very similar to something that is happening in the world of health and wellness related to a little spirochete or corkscrew-shaped bacteria named Borrelia burgdorferi that is the cause of Lyme disease.

Last night, Cyndie’s parents arrived for the weekend, and they brought a movie to watch called, “Under Our Skin.” It is a documentary that reveals the hidden story of the epidemic of Lyme disease occurring now that is being intentionally disregarded by a health care system and medical establishment willing to put profits ahead of people. It is shameful.

It boggles my mind that an intelligent society can fall to this level of collective depravity. Like many other despicable economic situations we have allowed to play out, corporate greed, banks and lending, farming and the food industry, oil & gas… we are letting the same thing happen directly with our health care. I guess the end result is the same. The food we have available to eat has become so processed in the last 30+ years, it is almost impossible to consume a healthy diet. It is getting increasingly difficult to afford a home or fuel for everyday life. Why not include doctor’s care and pharmaceuticals in the list of things that put individuals at risk for the profit of a select few.

My wife, Cyndie, has direct experience with Lyme disease, lending this documentary increased impact for us. She endured an undetected onset of the illness for some time, until one morning she woke up with undeniable neurological dysfunction, most notably, facial paralysis of Bell’s palsy. It took a chunk of time for the cause of her variety of ailments to be treated as Lyme disease, and when they finally did, administering long-term massive doses of antibiotics through a PICC line, she experienced significant recovery.

To this day, it is unclear whether the little bugger spirochetes still linger in her system. The bacteria can form a biofilm that serves to protect the organisms from the antibiotics. They have the ability to hide or mask themselves. The corkscrew shape allows them to drill through tissue, similar to the bacterium that causes syphilis.

Why isn’t syphilis an epidemic? Why have we managed previous illnesses like the HIV/AIDs afflictions with long-term drug treatment protocols? What is different now? Well, we now allow genes to be patented and there are huge profits available to those who control drugs and disease. Insurance companies have a vested interest in avoiding expensive long-term care. By working in collusion, doctors who stand to profit are serving on panels establishing treatment protocols. At the same time, doctors electing to treat patients outside of the unrealistic protocols that have been established, are prosecuted and their licenses revoked.

Meanwhile, there is evidence that this under-treated Lyme spirochete is turning up in the brains of Alzheimer’s victims. Why would we allow our health care system to become so dysfunctional that it allows people to suffer untreated?

There is a hurricane of illness out there, and the majority of people are unaware. It is a calm day of normal health from their vantage point.