Skip to content

Fenwick family seeks support in Lyme disease fight

BY ZACH JUNKIN Special to the VOICE A Fenwick family is turning to the Pelham community for support as their son undergoes costly Lyme disease treatments in the United States.

BY ZACH JUNKIN Special to the VOICE

A Fenwick family is turning to the Pelham community for support as their son undergoes costly Lyme disease treatments in the United States.

Heather Eliopoulos explained the situation on a GoFundMe page that has been set up for her son, James.

“James has been struggling with symptoms of the disease without diagnosis for 4 years,” she wrote. “He had light sensitivity, chronic dizziness, chronic tinnitus (ringing in the ears), and headaches 24/7. These are just some of the symptoms he faces every single day.”

The 15-year-old James first started experiencing issues when he was 11. As time went on, his condition deteriorated.

“For the last three or four years my son has been developing symptoms, and over the last couple of years they have progressively gotten worse,” said James’ father, George, a teacher at A.K. Wigg Public School. “We went from doctor to doctor trying to figure out what was going on.”

While in medical limbo, the pain of his condition forced James to leave school, quit his job at Mossimo’s, and to stop playing hockey.

“James had to give up all the things he loved,” said his mother.

Unfortunately, the Canadian health care system was not able to come up with any answers for James and his family.

“We did not ever get an official diagnosis in Canada. The pediatric unit told him they thought he had depression and they gave him Benadryl,” said George.

Eventually, as more and more possibilities were eliminated, the family began to suspect James was suffering from Lyme disease. But the problem, says James’ mother, was that there are no reliable treatment plans for the illness in this country.

“There are no doctors in Canada who treat for chronic Lyme disease,” she said.

However, after a fortuitous meeting with another former Lyme sufferer in Niagara, the Eliopouloses learned of a clinic in the United States, the Sponaugle Wellness Institute, that specializes in diagnosing and treating Lyme Disease.

“We talked to a family in St. Catharines for about three hours about this clinic in Florida,” said George.

“They told us we had to try it. Their girl showed up in a wheelchair from the physical pain and ten weeks later she walked out.”

With such a ringing endorsement, and having run out of options north of the border, James and his family decided to give the clinic a shot. Unfortunately, the treatments are not cheap, and they are not covered by OHIP.

“Every step of the way, every blood test costs money,” said his father, who put the treatment’s cost at about $5,000 per week. The treatments usually last about 12 weeks. “It’s a lot for one family to bear.”

James began his first treatments three weeks ago.

Several groups so far have taken up fundraisers, including A.K. Wigg and Mossimo’s. The family has also raised about $13,000 of the $60,000 needed on James’ GoFundMe page.

“The response has been overwhelming,” said his father. “The support from the community has been incredible.”

George says the family hopes to see James return home sometime in May, but until then they are just happy for the sense of progress, and, perhaps most importantly, of hope.

“I can hear it in his voice,” said George. “He is just the happiest he’s been.”

Anyone interested in donating to the Eliopoulos family can do so online at www.gofundme.com/treatments-for-james-eliopoulos, or in person at the Voice office in downtown Fonthill, opposite Beamer’s Hardware, in the Sawatzky Dental building, Monday-Thursday, 8AM to 2PM.