IMPORTANT
- Lyme disease is a tick-borne disease.
- Stéphanie Lavoie, a 30-year-old Quebec woman, received medical assistance in dying after an eight-year battle with Lyme disease.
- Affected by a severe form of pathology, the young woman had significant difficulties with eating and could no longer tolerate contact with daylight.
In Quebec, Stéphanie Lavoie, originally from Drummondville, received medical assistance in dying after an eight-year battle with Lyme disease. In the absence of antibiotic treatment, this condition can develop into a secondary form responsible for various symptoms (localized pain, muscle weakness, fatigue, etc.). “The so-called “tertiary” form, later on, causes a wide variety of symptoms that may indicate other diseases (multiple sclerosis, neurodegenerative diseases, depression, for example)”completed Pasteur Institute. It is also called Lyme borreliosis, and this pathology is transmitted by ticks.
Lyme disease: “I’m at peace with giving up”
According to information from the Journal de Montréal, a 30-year-old young woman had been unable to eat properly for several months, and weighed barely 59 pounds, or approximately 26 kilograms. In the posthumous message he conveys TVA Nouvelles media the day after her death, Stéphanie Lavoie revealed that she was unable to join the ministry’s home intravenous nutrition program. “I’ve been told that I don’t have a diagnosis that fits the category that allows me to join this program. Is it ethical to let someone die because they don’t fit into one of the known boxes that we’ve identified?”she said.
Affected by an extremely severe form of the disease, the Quebec woman suffered significant pain and spent days in her room away from light. “After eight years of fighting, when I was strong with fantastic people around me, I laid down my weapons in peace”said Stéphanie Lavoie in a farewell message.
Lyme disease treatment failure
Touched by her story, many Quebecers helped finance her trip to Mexico for treatment at a clinic specializing in Lyme disease. Unfortunately, this therapy did not work. The young woman therefore wanted to thank the people of Quebec for the last time. “I am infinitely grateful to every Quebecer who believed in me, who supported me and who allowed me to dream, to hope longer, to continue my battles and to really feel that I tried everything.”