Suicide: Travis Wilson, 23 - Lyme Disease & Morgellons Disease
CaliforniaLyme
NOT seeing an LLMD btw but was dually diagnosed as this by a local
oncologist and had been on vancomycin in the local hospital repeatedly
w/o cure-
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Travis Wilson, 23 - Lyme Disease & Morgellons Disease - RIP April 23,
2006
Published: Tue, 08 Aug 2006
Death #418
(Click Image for Travis' MySpace Profile)
Cause of Death: Complications from Lyme Disease & Morgellons "Disease"
Age: 23
Location: Leander, TX
Related Article(s): The Fiber Disease
Travis Allen Wilson, born on December 29, 1982, died on Sunday, April
23, 2006, at the age of 23 from complications of Lyme disease and
Morgellons disease. Travis was born in Olympia and lived most of his
life in Shelton. He lived for a time in Tenino, and for the past three
years had resided in Leander, Texas.
Strange sickness: Mystery disease horror story
Thursday, May 18, 2006
By LAURAL PORTER, KGW Staff www.kgw.com
What sounds like science fiction was real life for Portland's Dr.
Beverly Drottar.
Her story is enough to make your skin crawl. Her horror story is
repeated across the country and is grabbing the attention of at least
one senator and The Centers for Disease Control.
The disabled family practice doctor felt like bugs were crawling under
her skin.
"If I fully tell people what has gone on with me medically, they think
they're in the twilight zone," said Drottar.
She woke up with the feeling that fluid was flowing just below her
skin. Often black or blue hair like fibers protruded from her skin, she
said.
Morgellons Research Foundation
"I thought I had been exposed to asbestos. I thought I was having
asbestos fibers come out of my skin. I was pulling long, thin, small
hair-like fibers that were extremely sharp that could literally pierce
through my finger nails," Drottar said.
In addition to the feeling of bugs and the fibers, Drottar also
suffered from severe depression, chronic fatigue and a weakened immune
system. As a result, she had to give up her family practice, Drottar
said.
The worst part, she said, was that doctors didn't believe her symptoms
were real.
"I was practically bedridden and my physicians thought it was
depression and treated me with psychotropic drugs. I was absolutely
terrified that I was going to be admitted to an insane asylum," she
said.
Drottar saw countless doctors and dermatologists who diagnosed her with
delusional parasitosis, but she's convinced what she had is real. She
said she was diagnosed with Lyme disease and believes her symptoms are
the result of Lyme and another illness she learned about on the
internet -- Morgellons disease.
Patients all over the country are reporting symptoms similar to those
Drottar described, according to the Morgellons Research Foundation Web
site. The organization is privately funded and was founded by Mary
Leitao, a biologist, whose young son has the same symptoms. The
organization reports more than 1,300 cases of people with Morgellons
disease nationwide.
Twenty-three-year-old Travis Wilson, of Shelton, Wash. also thought he
had Morgellons disease. His mother, Lisa Wilson, said he suffered from
the feeling of parasites living in his body for years.
"He would take Epsom salt baths. He bought every type of cream and
anti-parasitic product. We spent thousands on products he'd order from
all over the world," Wilson said.
Nothing worked. Like Beverly Drottar, Travis saw numerous doctors. His
suffering was excruciating, according to his mother.
"He would stomp up and down to try to get rid of these. He would take
shower after shower," she said.
Lisa Wilson took her son to the emergency room in Shelton. She said she
saw the fibers coming out of his skin.
"They were so large, I could see them with my own eyes, white and black
fibers coming out of his fingers. I told the doctor, 'come look at
these fibers. You can see the Morgellons,' " Wilson said. "The doctors
totally ignored us."
She said her son was also diagnosed with Delusional Parasitosis.
Travis found what he thought was his only escape from the pests that
plagued him. In April, Travis Wilson killed himself.
"There was no way to ease his suffering. People didn't believe him. He
had no hope," his mother said.
At least one physician does believe the disease is real.
"I feel terrible for them, because they are not crazy. They're sick and
we need to figure out what's going on," said Dr. Randy Wymore, a
microbiologist at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa, Okla. He is also
the volunteer research director for the Morgellons organization.
Wymore said he's seen the fibers.
"It's very easy to see theses fibers," he said. "Back in February, we
had a number of patients who came in. Every one of those patients, it
was very easy to visualize the fibers microscopically," said Wymore.
According to Wymore, the fibers are visible with a low-level microscope
available at hardware stores.
"The problem is doctors don't look," Wymore said -- the first thing
that comes to mind for most physicians is that the person is
delusional.
Dr. James Hancy heads the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Clinic at
Portland's Oregon Health & Science University. He said he's seen
patients with similar symptoms and believes they suffer from a
compulsive disorder much like people who repeatedly wash their hands to
get rid of germs.
"The phenomenon here is very similar, except that we are dealing with
bigger critters," said Hancy. "Rather than bacteria, there is this
excessive concern, almost to a delusional standpoint of bugs or
parasites."
He conceded there could be something else going on with some of the
patients who believe they have Morgellons disease. However, Morgellons
is only a working name given to the illness by the Morgellons
organization and is not an accepted term by the medical community.
Hancy said doctors would be more willing to consider a different
diagnosis if there were peer-reviewed studies and published papers on
research into the fibers.
That's something Wymore said he's working on. His department is going
through an institutional review process so that human subjects can
participate in research. He also said his office is working with the
Washington county in which Travis Wilson committed suicide, to obtain
samples taken during an autopsy.
Wymore hopes his work for the Morgellons organization will help prevent
future suicides by people suffering from the feeling they're under
attack by bugs.
"I am very sad this happened. I hope we can try to make it so this
never happens again," he said.
Wymore said the medical community should take another look at the
illness.
"Don't simply assume a person is making something up, even if by chance
they are a bit anxious, or their behavior is a bit odd," he said. "They
deserve to be treated like humans with dignity and respect and get a
microscope and actually look at their skin."
Travis Wilson's mother hopes by going public with her son's story she
can help encourage more research.
"If you don't call it Morgellons, call it something. There is something
there. People are killing themselves. I don't want Travis' death to be
in vain. I want something good to come of this, if it just saves one
person's life," she said.
Meanwhile Drottar is battling her illness by trying to lead as normal a
life as possible. Unable to work, her volunteer work as a Girl Scout
leader gives her reason to get up in the morning, she said.
"The little girls love me no matter what. They're a joy," said Drottar.
She believes the cases of Morgellons being reported across the country
are just the tip of the iceberg.
"We are like ostriches sticking our heads in the sand. The medical
community is not prepared to deal with this issue yet," Drottar said.
Wymore agrees with Drottar.
"There is a lot of mystery involved with this and we really need to get
to the bottom of this," he said. Wymore is concerned Morgellons disease
could possibly be contagious. He said there are cases in the country of
multiple family members with what he calls Morgellons symptoms.
"It does suggest it could be contagious," he said, "but again, we don't
have any hard science to answer that question as anything other than a
guess, and my guess is no better than anyone else's."
The medical mystery has grabbed the attention of California Senator
Dianne Feinstein. According to the Morgellons Web site, California is
one of the states reporting the most cases of Morgellons.
In a letter to the Centers For Disease Control, Feinstein wrote, "I
have received numerous letters and phone calls from constituents
regarding Morgellons disease." Feinstein asked the CDC what actions the
agency is taking to work with state and local agencies regarding
Morgellons.
Three weeks after Feinstein's letter, the CDC replied to a citizen also
inquiring about Morgellons.
CDC Director Julie Louis Gerberding said the center is currently
looking into an appropriate course of action to address the nationwide
concern about Morgellons.
The move is too late for Washington's Travis Wilson, but Drottar hopes
one day more is known about Morgellons.
"I would like it if my primary doctor didn't raise her eyebrows when I
tell her I have Morgellons disease," she said.
Drottar's hope is echoed by hundreds of other Americans who say they
have Morgellons and just want a way to rid themselves of the pests that
plague them.
© 2006, KGW-TV
Doctors puzzled over bizarre infection surfacing in South Texas
Web Posted: 05/12/2006 10:51 AM CDT
Deborah Knapp
KENS 5 Eyewitness News
If diseases like AIDS and bird flu scare you, wait until you hear
what's next. Doctors are trying to find out what is causing a bizarre
and mysterious infection that's surfaced in South Texas.
Morgellons disease is not yet known to kill, but if you were to get it,
you might wish you were dead, as the symptoms are horrible.
"These people will have like beads of sweat but it's black, black and
tarry," said Ginger Savely, a nurse practioner in Austin who treats a
majority of these patients.
Patients get lesions that never heal.
"Sometimes little black specks that come out of the lesions and
sometimes little fibers," said Stephanie Bailey, Morgellons patient.
Web extras
July 24:
Video: See the broadcast
Video: Extended interview with Dr. Randy Wymore
Video: Extended interview with patient Cindy Casey
To ask the CDC a Morgellons question, e-mail morgellon...@cdc.gov
May 23:
Web chat: Read the transcript of a Web chat with Ginger Savely
May 22:
CDC forming Morgellons task force
Video: Watch the broadcast
May 11:
Doctors puzzled over bizarre infection surfacing in South Texas
Video: Watch the broadcast
Web exclusive interview: Ginger Savely talks more on Morgellons
Web link: Morgellons Research Foundation
Patients say that's the worst symptom - strange fibers that pop out
of your skin in different colors.
"He'd have attacks and fibers would come out of his hands and fingers,
white, black and sometimes red. Very, very painful," said Lisa Wilson,
whose son Travis had Morgellon's disease.
While all of this is going on, it feels like bugs are crawling under
your skin. So far more than 100 cases of Morgellons disease have been
reported in South Texas.
"It really has the makings of a horror movie in every way," Savely
said.
While Savely sees this as a legitimate disease, there are many doctors
who simply refuse to acknowledge it exists, because of the bizarre
symptoms patients are diagnosed as delusional.
"Believe me, if I just randomly saw one of these patients in my office,
I would think they were crazy too," Savely said. "But after you've
heard the story of over 100 (patients) and they're all - down to the
most minute detail - saying the exact same thing, that becomes quite
impressive."
Travis Wilson developed Morgellons just over a year ago. He called his
mother in to see a fiber coming out of a lesion.
"It looked like a piece of spaghetti was sticking out about a quarter
to an eighth of an inch long and it was sticking out of his chest,"
Lisa Wilson said. "I tried to pull it as hard as I could out and I
could not pull it out."
The Wilson's spent $14,000 after insurance last year on doctors and
medicine.
"Most of them are antibiotics. He was on Tamadone for pain. Viltricide,
this was an anti-parasitic. This was to try and protect his skin
because of all the lesions and stuff," Lisa said.
However, nothing worked, and 23-year-old Travis could no longer take
it.
"I knew he was going to kill himself, and there was nothing I could do
to stop him," Lisa Wilson said.
Just two weeks ago, Travis took his life.
Stephanie Bailey developed the lesions four-and-a-half years ago.
"The lesions come up, and then these fuzzy things like spores come
out," she said.
She also has the crawling sensation.
"You just want to get it out of you," Bailey said.
She has no idea what caused the disease, and nothing has worked to
clear it up.
"They (doctors) told me I was just doing this to myself, that I was
nuts. So basically I stopped going to doctors because I was afraid they
were going to lock me up," Bailey said.
Harriett Bishop has battled Morgellons for 12 years. After a year on
antibiotics, her hands have nearly cleared up. On the day, we visited
her she only had one lesion and she extracted this fiber from it.
"You want to get these things out to relieve the pain, and that's why
you pull and then you can see the fibers there, and the tentacles are
there, and there are millions of them," Bishop said.
So far, pathologists have failed to find any infection in the fibers
pulled from lesions.
"Clearly something is physically happening here," said Dr. Randy
Wymore, a researcher at the Morgellons Research Foundation at Oklahoma
State University's Center for Health Sciences.
Wymore examines the fibers, scabs and other samples from Morgellon's
patients to try and find the disease's cause.
"These fibers don't look like common environmental fibers," he said.
The goal at OSU is to scientifically find out what is going on. Until
then, patients and doctors struggle with this mysterious and bizarre
infection. Thus far, the only treatment that has showed some success is
an antibiotic.
"It sounds a little like a parasite, like a fungal infection, like a
bacterial infection, but it never quite fits all the criteria of any
known pathogen," Savely said
No one knows how Morgellans is contracted, but it does not appear to be
contagious. The states with the highest number of cases are Texas,
California and Florida.
The only connection found so far is that more than half of the
Morgellons patients are also diagnosed with Lyme disease.
For more information on Morgellons, visit the research foundation's Web
site at www.morgellons.org.