Rose Schwarz has been getting treatment for her chronic Lyme disease in Mexico for about four weeks now, and while some definite progress is being made to cure the Sechelt woman, more treatment is necessary.
More treatment will cost more money, so Schwarz’s father, musician Gary Gilbert, is planning a Benefit for Rose next Friday, July 11, from 9 p.m. to midnight at the Lighthouse Pub. Tickets are $20 at the door. Guests can enjoy Gilbert’s band, Dr. Fun and the Painkillers, as well as his new quartet, Dr. Fun and the Blue Line Trio. Guest band A.D.D. will also rock the stage.
It costs about $5,000 a week to stay at the private medical facility in Mexico where Schwarz is undergoing procedures such as stem cell treatments and IV therapies.
Her first week was very difficult, as she had an adverse reaction to one of the painkillers she was prescribed. The second week she started to feel a bit better, and now, for the first time in 12 years, Schwarz said she has “hope” she will be well.
June 25 was the young woman’s 26th birthday, and she made a video asking people to give more to help her stay longer even though she felt “silly and embarrassed” asking.
“The only thing I need is more time, and I don’t have more time, because we have no more money,” Schwarz said.
Because she has been sick for so long, Schwarz has many secondary complications doctors in Mexico are working to fix, including a malfunctioning thyroid, osteoporosis, severe nutritional deficiencies and secondary infections.
At MedGate in Baja, Mexico, Schwarz has a team of doctors working to pinpoint all her problems and try to cure them.
“They are excited to figure stuff out, which is so different because I just feel like every time I’m in Canada, I’m just like a nuisance,” Schwarz said.
In her birthday video posted to the Continuing Fight to Save Rose Facebook page, Schwarz said all she wanted for her birthday was to stay at MedGate longer.
“I really don’t want to go home because if I go home I’m just coming back to a very grim future of slowly going backwards again, getting sicker, with no one actively looking at what they can do,” she said.
In an effort to help the cause, Michelle Burns, captain of Mermaid Boat Tours, is donating 100 per cent of her profits from tours on July 11 to the Benefit for Rose.
Call Mermaid Boat Tours at 604-989-0068 for more details or to book your tour.
You can find out more about Schwarz’s stay at MedGate on Facebook through the Continuing Fight to Save Rose page.
