KARL’s Story by Mualla Akinci McManus:
Karl McManus was bitten by a tick in July 2007 on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
A week later he developed flu-like symptoms but, due to a lack of knowledge about Lyme disease in Australia, the tell-tale signs and potential seriousness of the tick bite were overlooked.
Five weeks later Karl experienced more of the classic symptoms of Lyme disease and also began to lose dexterity in the fingers of his left hand and to get muscle wasting.
In November 2007 Karl was misdiagnosed with multi-focal motor neuropathy (MFMN) and given an immuno-suppressive agent which worsened his condition, so the treatment was stopped.
It was not until April 2008, when we sent his blood to a US laboratory and his tests came back positive for Lyme-disease bacteria, that our suspicions were confirmed.
However, Karl could not find a doctor in Australia who would care for and treat his neuroborreliosis.
Without proper monitoring he continued to deteriorate.
Karl passed away suddenly on 14 July 2010.
His decline and death was due to a refusal by the medical system to accept he had Lyme disease and treat him accordingly.
He did not want anybody to suffer like him ever again. Read more at karlmcmanusfoundation.org.au
Karl McManus Foundation on facebook
Doctor Speedy and ME in search of medical honesty
One has to admire the widow for her steadfast battle with the Austraian health Authorities.
ReplyDeleteI first heard of this through this blog
http://lymegreenaustralia.blogspot.com/
and it is good to hear that a doctor in Australia has several patients... he treats for Lyme Disease
Dr Mayne
http://www.drmayne.com/
Superb blog post, I have book marked this internet site so ideally I’ll see much more on this subject in the foreseeable future!
ReplyDeleteThis is very bad news and so shameless for doctors. Sometime patients and them relatives have to suffer from this type of situation because of doctor's fault. This is very bad incidence in medical department.
ReplyDeleteThis is very bad news and so shameless for doctors. Sometime patients and them relatives have to suffer from this type of situation because of doctor's fault. This is very bad incidence in medical department.
ReplyDeleteI live in Australia, this does not surprise me. Most in the medical community here do not believe in FM or ME/CFS either. Considering how common ticks are in many parts of the country this is a worry, I can remember regularly picking ticks off after playing with our dogs as a child in Nth QLD. My sister was told she had Lyme Disease a while back after being bitten by a tick, she also lives on the northern edge of Sydney. She has some very interesting symptoms, though as far as she is concerned she has been treated. It is not a well known disease here. There is a shortage of GPs & specialists & you are lucky if you can get in to see one. It can take months to see any specialist unless your condition is considered "life threatening" such as cancer or a severe heart condition. They are not interested in being "educated", it is pointless to come in waving a copy of the latest research from Stanford, they see that as a sign of hypochondria. I have been given pretty short shrift for daring to question specialists & it is not so easy to just go & find another one, you have to hope that your Dr will be willing to refer you for a 2nd opinion purely because you are not satisfied. They will not see you without a referral. Some will not see you without a referral from another specialist! It saddens me that a country that can produce such ground breaking research & achievements in so many fields including medicine, can also harbour such a narrow minded conservative medical community.
ReplyDeleteThis is very shameful thing for the doctor. This situation can happen with anybody but god bless those patients. I came across your blog through google. It will be really appreciating for us if you keep publishing these things. I will definitely keep visiting your blog for more updates. Wish i could add conversation with you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for exchanging your thoughts with us.
Wheelchair Shop in Delhi
keep up the great work!