At nine months old, Otis was LymeLight Foundation’s youngest recipient to be granted an award.
Otis’ mother, Kali, was diagnosed with Lyme and Babesia when she was living in California as a young adult. When Kali found out she was pregnant, she made the decision to move back home to Vermont, where her mother lived. A Lyme-literate doctor prescribed antibiotics and supplements for her treatment protocol. She was taking 32 pills daily throughout most of her pregnancy.
“We hoped this was enough,” Kali told LymeLight. “Apparently, it was not.”
Soon after giving birth to Otis, his symptoms began to develop. As a newborn, he seemed to constantly have a rash. Otis had terrible trouble sleeping—tossing and turning and moaning all night long. Every night, right before bedtime, he would break out in a sweat. “It is unbearable to witness,” Kali said. “As his mother, it is so hard not to be able to do anything to make him feel better.”
The Lyme doctor put Otis on two kinds of antibiotics for his initial treatment. While his symptoms would seem to wane at first, inevitably after a few weeks on them, they would return. The doctor wanted to start a protocol of supplements to help support his immune system, as well as try alternative treatments like hyperbaric oxygen treatment. In addition to this, it was recommended that Otis be tested for metal and mold toxicity. As a single mother on Medicaid and food stamps, these tests and treatments were out of reach for Kali.
A LymeLight grant helped Otis get the hyperbaric oxygen treatments that he needed, along with supplements and expensive compound medications that were not covered by insurance. They were able to do testing and discovered that Kali and Otis were living in a toxic mold environment.
When reflecting on the journey she and Otis have been on, with immense gratitude Kali says, “I want to thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for being there for us at a time when I felt so helpless. LymeLight was there to support us so we could follow through with healthy treatment plans.”