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Hudak Hears Personal Stories of Those Suffering With Lyme Disease

Local MPP will work with MPP Toby Barrett to fight for people suffering with Lyme in Ontario

  • 23 July 2015
  • Author: Anonym
  • Number of views: 1380
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Hudak Hears Personal Stories of Those Suffering With Lyme Disease

“My doctor shrugged his shoulders,” says Mike of his experience seeking medical help for the constant pain, the debilitating exhaustion and ongoing sickness he was suffering from. “He suggested it’s just in your head.”

 

Sadly, Mike’s story differs very little from those MPP Tim Hudak heard when he hosted a roundtable discussion on Lyme Disease in Grimsby on July 17, when about a dozen people joined Hudak and MPP Toby Barrett to share their knowledge and enormously difficult experiences with Lyme.

 

“It certainly helped our understanding of the issues facing our constituents who have contracted Lyme, the obstacles the health care system in Ontario puts in their way, and the changes that are needed in our province to address the issue and get Lyme diagnosed and treated properly,” said Hudak, adding the touching, but difficult, personal stories of his constituents have renewed his drive to continue working on this important issue.

 

Lyme patients in Ontario face considerable hurdles in getting treatment, including unreliable testing in Canada and denial of U.S. testing results; lack of ongoing treatment because the province does not acknowledge Chronic Lyme; and as a result huge personal costs to seek treatment in the U.S.

 

MPP Barrett’s Private Member’s Bill that calls on the provincial government to build a framework that address vector-borne disease, including Lyme, was passed with all party support this summer. Following the roundtable, Hudak and Barrett said they will continue to work to ensure the province puts a proper framework in place to deal with Lyme; ensure those working on that framework include Lyme patients as well as a good cross-section of conventional and alternative health care practitioners; and demand the provincial government acknowledges Lyme and Chronic Lyme Disease; brings accurate testing to Ontario; and treats patients properly.

 

“I’m very proud of my friend and colleague,” said Hudak of Barrett’s work to get the bill passed, adding it is the first step in what will be a long and complex journey to get rid of the obstacles for Lyme patients in Ontario and address what is a growing threat in Ontario.

 

Hudak added he grew up playing in the woods near his home, and wanted the same experience for his daughters, but the rise of Lyme in the riding,  along with a health system that fails Lyme patients, means he is a lot more careful when he hikes with the girls.

 

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Meet Tim Hudak

Former MPP Tim Hudak had been in politics for 20 years and truly saw his role as an MPP as a way to help and support his riding of Niagara West – Glanbrook.

Learn More About Tim

Niagara West - Glanbrook

  • Pelham
  • Lincoln
  • West Lincoln
  • Grimsby
  • Upper Stoney Creek
  • Glanbrook

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