Dear Dr. Bleiweiss,
As you know, when we brought Noelle to you last fall, she was essentially incapacitated from the problems related to Lyme disease. The three months of treatment she had previously received from our local "Lyme expert" had failed to stem the progress of the disease, even despite the "magic" 28 days of IV antibiotics. While her previous doctor overlooked her actual condition and declared her "cured", you carefully assessed her condition and then attacked her illness. While she underwent a long and tumultuous period of progress and backsliding, your treatment has ultimately given her back her life, and she is now, essentially, symptom free.
Needless to say, we were shocked and saddened to learn, today, that you have decided to close your practice. We appreciate that this certainly had to be a most difficult decision for you. While Noelle's progress has been truly gratifying, there is always that fear in our hearts that she may again need the kind of concern and aggressive, individualized treatment you have given your Lyme patients. We feel we may never find a doctor who can replace your unselfish devotion to your patients' total health, nor your relentless efforts to better understand Lyme disease and its treatments. You can certainly be proud of your record for helping your patients, many of whom other doctors had considered hopeless and abandoned. Should you decide to reopen your practice in the future, please be sure to consider Noelle your patient.
On a more personal note, if there is a way that Gayle and I can help or support you, either now or in the future, please ask. We join your other patients who feel that we owe you so much that we could never repay you. God bless you for being there when Noelle needed you most. We all wish you best of health and luck as you proceed.
Signature
Postscript: Two days after the letter on the other side was written, Dr. John Bleiweiss was dead. Although he was "officially" considered a suicide victim, his death was actually the result of the Lyme controversy. He was persecuted as a doctor who healed his patients rather than follow the ineffective treatment regimens dictated by the insurance companies and their high profile doctors.
Dr. Bleiweiss, a Lyme victim himself, had dedicated his life to helping his Lyme patients. He had helped more than 1200 of the most seriously ill Lyme victims return to useful and productive lives by carefully customizing antibiotic treatments for each and teaching them how to strengthen their immune systems by taking vitamins, eating properly, and taking care of themselves, He had patients that routinely came from as far away as Florida and Europe. Many of these patients, including my daughter, believe he had saved their lives….Dr. Bleiweiss recognized that the medical dogma on Lyme treatment did not lead to a "cure" for most victims. His research in medical journals was relentless as he worked to define new treatment protocols that would help his tough cases.
Often he told my daughter, Noelle, that she was one of his "most difficult cases"…she always seemed to react differently to the treatment than he expected. But, HE NEVER GAVE UP ON HER, as the other doctors had done. Despite medical evidence that Noelle had Lyme disease for ten years, she was NOT diagnosed until age 15. Then, her first two doctors treated her for 4 months for "sinus infections" and 4 months for Lyme using oral and IV antibiotics(for 28 days). She was declared "cured" even though she was CLEARLY WORSE after their treatments!!! But then Dr. Bleiweiss watched her closely as he treated her with a variety of oral antibiotics (the insurance company would not pay for additional IV antibiotics). After five months, she finally began to improve. He was so pleased to see her disease go into remission and so proud as she went back to high school and did so well!!! I can still remember the elated look on his face as she reported reduced neurological and other symptoms at each subsequent visit….
We later learned that Dr. Bleiweiss had been under attack for OVER SEVEN YEARS. Trumped up charges that had been disproved time and again in the courts brought him to the verge of financial ruin. Then, on Saturday, August12, 1995, the "Trenton Times" published an article: "State seeks license of Lyme disease Doctor". The information, leaked to the press, AGAIN made the same old charges and indicated that he would lose his license! He was closing his office, clearly in response to this renewed legal attack. But then, seeing the article early that day, he was pushed to commit suicide. Yes, it was technically the bullet that ended his life, but it was those who have turned to the political "dark side" of the Lyme controversy that REALLY pulled the trigger, killing this gifted healer.
No one will ever know what contribution Dr. Bleiweiss could yet have made to the sufferers of Lyme and other diseases. Unfortunately, his genius died with him. Publication of his book was also blocked, somehow, so even that legacy is now gone forever. After the death of Dr. Bleiweiss, my daughter relapsed twice, but she still managed to make up 1.5 years of high school.. We were SO PROUD when she graduated, on schedule, and in the to 10% of her class. We know that "Dr. B." would have been proud of her, as well. She is now doing very well in college…continues to suffer from Lyme symptoms…and we still live in fear that a relapse might come at any time.
Since Dr. Bleiweiss' death, the Lyme epidemic has continued. The current official statistics are misleading, however, since many doctors no longer report their Lyme cases for fear of being attacked, as was Dr. Bleiweiss. Every day, we think of "Dr. B.". He could have helped many other friends and family members who are now also Lyme victims. One friend recently died from Lyme disease due to the arrogant ignorance of HIS doctor, who WOULDN'T TREAT HIM! Even after 2 years, remembering the death of "Dr. B" still brings tears to our eyes…after all HE WAS THE DOCTOR WHO SAVED OUR DAUGHTER'S LIFE…and when He needed us, we could not help save his life!
When will the politics of Lyme disease END so this terrible disease will be the subject of the attack, rather than the doctors who treat Lyme aggressively????
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