Lyme Disease and related Tick Borne Illnesses:

Excruciating pain, debilitating cognitive dysfunction & chronic fatigue are symptoms frequently experienced by our fellow 10th District citizens suffering from chronic Lyme Disease. This tick-borne infectious disease and related co-infections (e.g., Babesia, Bartonella and other co-infections) have become the newest American epidemic - yet hardly anyone in government is even intelligently talking about it. Our families and friends are often misdiagnosed for years, becoming increasingly sicker and then are frequently left untreated or inadequately treated. It's clear that 4 weeks of antibiotics (the current standard of care) won't cure many patients.

Diagnostic tests remain inadequate after years of governmental neglect. Treatment guidelines are embroiled in epic controversy with some physicians being unfairly singled out for treating based on their assessments of the scientific literature. Several Honorable Physicians have been unfairly attacked for not following voluntary guidelines they know and can argue are flawed. These are the same guidelines that have been under investigation by States' Attorney Generals. What's worse, the citizens of Virginia are left to become sicker in what is becoming the biggest untold epidemic in America. If not addressed, Lyme disease will affect everyone in America through sick family members and yet undiscovered connections to a myriad of other co-morbidities.

When I am elected to represent citizens of the 10th District, I will insure that government agencies charged with characterizing this epidemic are held accountable by spearheading and insisting that new validated diagnostics are brought forward and that the use of antibiotics will not be arbitrarily denied to anyone when the patient and doctor deem it in the best interest of the patient. I will fight for our doctors to be able to use their knowledge without fear of arbitrary and capricious disciplinary action and to be allowed to dispense long term antibiotic therapy to patients with Borrelia [Lyme] infections. I will spearhead community efforts to educate, characterize and make treatment available for everyone in our community afflicted with this emerging & what is proving to be a devastating infectious disease.