My very first stand-up routine (Chapt 18)

[ActiveMSers]

Dave Bexfield, author of Sit Down Before Reading and founder of ActiveMSers, did his very first public standup routine, speaking at an open mic night at 2018's HealtheVoices, the world's leading conference for health advocates. It's not what you think.

Dave was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2005 and was forced to start using a wheelchair in 2010. After 17 years and $2 million spent on his care—failing 7 disease modifying therapies, 5 clinical trials, and an autologous stem cell transplant—he discovered he had been catastrophically misdiagnosed. He has Lyme disease.

VIDEO, 5 min: https://youtu.be/Oi627DXrK5I

For more on Sit Down Before Reading, a Memoir: https://www.activemsers.org/sit-down-before-reading

For more on HealtheVoices: https://www.healthevoices.com/
Video footage courtesy of HealtheVoices.

[Pistachio]

Technically anyone can call themselves an LLMD. Who was reputable? Who was fringe? Who was straight-up quackers? There was no way to tell.

my PCP isn’t connected with hospital privileges to administer this type of infusion and zero other doctors locally were willing to help without a positive Lyme test—

Dave, I don't know if you ever got that ceftriaxone but I know an infectious disease doctor in Ontario who will prescribe it. I was very lucky to be referred to the head of infectious disease in my city. Of course, he has hospital privileges. He prescribed me a PICC line and IV ceftriaxone. Of course, that would mean travel but that's far better than no treatment.

And, FWIW....Canada has ZERO Lyme Literate MDs. None. Ziltch. We just don't "do" that here. The idiocracy called the medical establishment does not allow for it.