**UPDATE: Since launching this page on 2nd March 2020, the wonderful FAB team , friends and family have all signed up to do Tough Mudder on my birthday! 18th April 2020. So we've extending this page to accept donations and sponsorship for Court, Alex, Rach, Grace, Helen and Nicola who are now all doing the 5k Tough Mudder (more information below) to also raise money for my treatment. This will be a big challenge for lots of the team, but they're open to be challenged more - as long as the price is right. See more information at the bottom of the page.

My story

My name is Dave, I live by the sea in Worthing with my wife, Rach and cat, Milo.

The picture above was taken on our wedding day, about the same time that I was diagnosed with chronic Lyme Disease. Two days before this photo was taken, I'd called Rach to say I wasn't sure if I'd make it to the registry office because my symptoms were in full flow!

It's been a long journey to the truth, with several years being spent chasing the answer with the NHS. Before I got ill, I worked in international development, then moved to gardening to get out of London. In 2018, just before our wedding I was accepted to go on a life-changing training programme in America to become a gardener. But my diagnosis meant I could no longer go, putting my dreams of being a gardener on hold, and slowly elements of my life have slipped away as this disease gets worse.

This disease has taken over my life. We've started to share what it's like day-to-day to live with Lyme at @bulledwards. I would love nothing more than to get my life back on track so Rach and I can live it to the fullest. I'm fundraising to help us cover the costs of treatment, which we can't afford. I'd be honoured if you could help me get my life back!

How did I get ill?

I first became sick in 2014. I had no energy, felt sick to the bone and found it hard to get out of bed and even make breakfast. Doctors said I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a label for a set of symptoms, not a diagnosis. There was no effective treatment so I tried to manage this by changing my lifestyle and diet to gain some control back on my health and symptoms and have had several, albeit fleeting periods of remission where symptoms have eased.

Since 2014, I've had 4 severe relapses which have been much worse each time and last much longer (the current one has been for over 2 years). 

In 2018, I was lucky enough for the Lyme Disease Foundation to pay for a private blood test, from which I found out I had Lyme disease and various co-infections caught by a tick bite, probably whilst working overseas in international development in 2012/13. 

What is Lyme disease?

Symptoms include:

- Unrelenting fatigue

- Unberable joint and muscle pain

- Severe brain fog

- Fever like symptoms

It is like having the worst flu you’ve ever had but all day every day, multiplied by 100. At work I do reduced hours and it is classified as a disability. 

How does it affect me day to day?

My quality of life has deteriorated over the last few years to the point where I have to work part time hours and mostly from home as I don’t have the energy to get to the office (which is only 10 mins away). It has also massively affected by career plans and my trajectory of development - I had to stop gardening because of the latest relapse and can’t ever imagine doing it again in my current state.

I have no social life because I have to rest so much in order to work the few hours that I do. I have removed myself from all social groups and friendships have dwindled because of how sick I have been. It is awful as I used to be super social. It is a huge burden on my family relationships and is preventing me from living a full and colourful life.

My wife is my rock, my soul mate and the person who is helping me through all this.

Why can't it be treated in the UK?

In the UK treatment is woefully behind the times and despite having the set period of antibiotics, I did not recover (very common) and the system then fails because they don’t acknowledge chronic cases. 

What have I tried so far?

I have tried a plethora of supplements, diet and lifestyle changes, anti-bacterial and anti-viral treatment, meditation and a whole host of other interventions to improve my immune system and fight the war in my body.

I have recently been to a specialist Lyme Clinic in Poland and received further treatment in the form of IV antibiotics, IV supplements and SOT (which is a novel new treatment that reverse engineers the Lyme) but have been told because I have several co-infections present as well and I have had the condition for several years there is less chance of a full recovery on the current treatment path. This was also very expensive and has used up everything I/We had saved.

Why not just have antibiotics for longer?

I have already taken alot more than the NICE guideline recommendation for recovery and therefore am very reluctant to take more due to the wider implications of longterm antibiotic use.

The challenge is that the Lyme and Co-infections have destroyed several systems in my body - my gut, my mitochondria, my nervous system, my endocrine system, my detox ability. Every agressive treatment like antibiotics causes my body to go into shock (Herxeimer Reaction) as it struggles to deal with the quantity of bacteria and as they die they release endotoxins which trigger an immune response and a dramatic worsening of symptoms.

Antibiotics have also been shown to be ineffective in chronic cases of Lyme and cause substantial damage to the immune system and the gut which I cannot afford to make any worse than they are already.

What am I fundraising for?

After six years being ill, I need to get back to living my life (for both me and for my wife) - there is hope in a programme offered by St. George’s Klinik in Germany where they use whole body hyperthermia (WBHT) alongside a complementary approach of IV antibiotics, detox therapies and IV supplements that has shown great promise and many people have recovered fully. (See testimonials). The difference here is that the IV antibiotics are greatly enhanced by being taken at the same time as WBHT (16x more) and the extreme heat of the WBHT kills all bacteria within the body.

It is a two-week intensive treatment in the clinic plus months of ongoing support. 

Info on the clinic.

This particular clinic offers WBHT where the cellular temperature of the body is raised to 41.6c (just like having a very, very high fever) where all microbes like Lyme and co-infections are destroyed without damaging the body. It is done under sedation and is monitored extremely carefully by Medical Doctors and Nurses trained in WBHT. The body is then supported through IV treatment to help the body cope with the amount of bacterial die-off and to ensure a full recovery is made.

Why do I need such drastic intervention?

Recent tests have shown that the bacteria have destroyed my immune system almost completely. The figures relating to my white blood cell count are worse than a cancer/HIV patient and my natural killer cell numbers (the soldiers of the immune system) are at a lowly 1% where 15% is the absolute minimum required for good health and a functioning immune system. 

Tough Mudder team!

On 18th April 2020, Court, Alex, Rach, Nicola and Helen are all braving the elements to complete a 5k Tough Mudder challenge. None of us are athletic, I'm not sure if any of us can run 5k, and most of us are 5ft tall! So the obstacles of deep cold water, scaling walls and running will be a challenge.

We're open to be further challenged by any special requests that result in more money being given - if you want Rach to run through the electrified section whilst being film - you got it, just double your donation and write your request in your message here.

On the day the rest of the wonderful FAB team will be joining us as cheerleaders. It will finish with a pub celebration of Dave's birthday, and hopefully securing his future health! If you're in London on the 18th, please join us for fun, cheering and carbs after the run!