Ont. man believes he has Lyme disease, Canadian doctors don't, so he's going to Mexico for treatment
A man from southwestern Ontario is seeking answers after getting differing diagnoses from doctors.
Jason Hibbs used to be a volunteer firefighter in Drumbo, within Oxford County. In an interview with CTV News, he reminisced about saving lives. These days, though, he is looking to get his own life back.
Hibbs first experienced symptoms six-and-a-half years ago.
'I started getting sick the one day. Just got a real high fever, lost control of my arms and my legs, and went into the hospital,' the 42-year-old explained.
He underwent several tests.
'They just thought it was ALS,' Hibbs said.
From there, he went to see a specialist.
'It's just been non-stop MRIs, CT scans, EMG, spinal taps and everything just keeps coming back negative,' recalled Hibbs.
Since that time, his condition has only worsened.
'I basically can't walk. I can't move my arms. I can pick them up a little bit and touch my face like that,' he said, lifting his arms slightly. 'My legs start shaking, I can't eat on my own, my parents have to feed me, toileting, all that stuff.'
Co-workers and friends have also stepped up to help Hibbs.
'Several of us in the fire department, we take him to medical appointments,' said Patrick Ali, the fire captain in Drumbo, Ont.
His daughter also does what she can.
'I can help him put drinks in his hand and give him sips of his drink if he wants it,' Lylah Ali said.
While Hibbs has had a lot of help, he wants his independence back, so he began looking for more answers. Eventually, he connected with a doctor in Toronto who sent his bloodwork to doctors in Germany.
'It came back positive for Lyme disease, plus four variants that ticks can carry,' Hibbs said.
hyperbaric chamber Jason Hibbs Ontario Lyme disease
Jason Hibbs in a hyperbaric chamber. (Provided)
He then began exploring treatment options for Lyme disease, which included antibiotics and going into a hyperbaric chamber. But he said the doctor in Toronto got into trouble because those treatments went beyond Canada's standard of care for Lyme disease.
'I actually started regaining some control in my legs again,' Hibbs explained. 'Then once he got told to stop, his license was on the line for some stuff so we had to kind of back off.'
Dr. Elliot Jacobson, a medical doctor who treats chronic illnesses and is not involved in Hibbs' case, acknowledged that Canada lags behind other countries in terms of Lyme disease diagnosis and treatment.
'It's one of those areas of medicine where we have an incomplete sort of scientific evidence, and we rarely have 100 per cent evidence,' said Jacobson, who is also the medical director at Venn Med.
Complicating matters further, he said symptoms of Lyme disease can mimic other medical conditions.
'There's certainly a lot of controversy about how accurate the testing for Lyme disease is based on the history of how those tests were made,' Jacobson explained.
So, after years of hoping to get the help he needs in Canada, Hibbs decided he's not waiting for more tests. This weekend he will fly to Mexico to undergo a multi-week treatment plan, which is not permitted in Canada.
'The cost of treatment just for myself is $38,000 USD,' Hibbs said. 'There's going to be stem cells, blood transfusions, hyperthermia treatments and then the treatments where they induce a fever and stick me in this tube and heat it up.'
Hibbs said he wanted to share his story to raise awareness about the disease and treatment options in Canada.
'If it could happen to me, it can happen to anyone.'
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