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New merchandise arriving daily.
Floor Samples and Discontinued
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Plus Manufacturer’s Overstocks.
WeStlaKe
On Rt.122 at Westlake Village
(540) 721-2227
Thurs. - Sat. 10-6, Sun. 12-5
Hours subject to seasonal change
We Welcome
Also Visit Our 2 Full Service Stores in Roanoke
Open 4 Days A Week
Thu r sday, F r i day,
Sat u r day & Sunday
WESTLAKE
Area’s Largest Mattress Selection
Over 50 models to choose from
FREE
Same Day Delivery*
FREE
Removal of Your Old Mattress Set
**
6 MONTHS
Special Financing Available
**
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%
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not be undersold on any Full Service mattress
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Mattress Selection includes:
*
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$
597 or
more. Same day delivery not available Sunday.
Must purchase by 4pm. Some areas next day
delivery. See store for details.
**
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approval. See store for details.
***
If you find the
same mattress set in stock for less elsewhere within
30 days of your purchase, Grand will refund 125
%
of the difference. Verifiable confirmation required
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540.721.8822
13840 B.T. Washington Hwy.
Moneta , VA 24121
Then, Carolyn heard about a Lyme
disease forum being held in Roanoke,
by a task force appointed by Governor
Bob McDonnell for the purpose of
studying all aspects of the disease
and its impact on Virginians. The task
force was collecting testimony from the
public regarding the effect that Lyme
disease had on them and their families.
She almost didn’t go. She was tired and
it was cold and rainy. She’s happy today
that she forced herself to attend. She
even testified at the meeting, telling the
panel how Lyme disease had impacted
her own family. After the meeting, she
spoke with a member of the task force
who had 10 children, most of whom had
contracted Lyme. He told her he had
been to one of the best Lyme disease
doctors in the country, and that doctor
had recommend long-term intravenous
(I V) antibiotic treatment for patients
who had the disease for as long as
Dana had. It was through the task
force that Carolyn learned of Dr Joseph
Jemsek, an infectious disease doctor
and head of the Jemsek Specialty Clinic
in D C, a clinic specializing in extreme
cases of Lyme disease.
“It was a huge decision,” Carolyn
says, “but we decided to try the long-
term I V antibiotic treatment.”
Dana, like her mother, is a tiny
person. She had not tolerated oral
antibiotics well, and the long term I
V treatment is not guaranteed to be
effective. This treatment is also not
supported by many mainline doctors.
However, she heard positive testimony
regarding I V treatment from many
others fighting the disease. Another
thing to consider was the expense of I V
treatments. Although Carolyn and Dana
would not talk about the exact cost,
according to accounts on the Internet,
patients can expect to pay thousands
of dollars per month. At present,
insurance companies do not cover this
treatment.
Before starting Dana’s treatment
in July of 2012, Dr Jemsek and his
assistant, Nurse Practitioner Tara
Fox, tested her for all the possible
mimicking diseases, including: lupus,
rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis;
fibromyalgia, auto-immune disease and
chronic fatigue syndrome. All of these
tests were negative, confirming that
she had Lyme with co-infections.
It is believed that as many as 50% of
ticks carry Lyme and other pathogens
in their bite. Deer are the primary hosts
of adult ticks, and mice are “the Lyme
bacterium reservoir” according to the
task force’s report. Lyme disease is
present in all parts of Virginia and, it is
believed, across the entire country and
throughout the world.
Ticks vary in size from a poppy-
seed size nymphet tick to a sesame-
seed size adult tick. They all carry
other infectious agents beside the
spirochete that causes Lyme disease.
Lyme can be hard to cure if these other
infections are not also treated. Dana’s
treatment under Dr Jemsek treated all
the co-infections with different types of
antibiotics.
There is no serology test that
can “rule out” Lyme, the task force’s
report goes on to say, and physicians
should be educated to the fact that
“great caution should be taken when
a black-legged tick is attached and
especially if it is engorged”.
About half the people who get
Lyme may not even be aware they
were bitten and not all people get the
bull’s-eye rash. There are many rashes
associated with Lyme that look like they
could be a spider bite or skin infection.
Take pictures if you have a rash and
make sure a professional sees it before
it fades.
Pay attention to symptoms. Some
studies indicate up to 50% of Lyme
patients received false negative test
results. Doctors who are experienced
in recognizing Lyme disease will treat
when symptoms typical of the illness are
present, even without a positive test, in
an effort to prevent the development of
chronic Lyme disease.
Dana had chronic Lyme disease. She
spent 18 months virtually bedridden.
Carolyn, her sole healthcare provider,
used to help her down stairs in the
morning, and she would get into the
recliner and spend the rest of the day
there. She was so weak she even had
to be helped to the bathroom and had
to be bathed by her mother. The Smiths
were instructed in how to administer
the I V treatments and then one day,
when it seemed things couldn’t get
bleaker, Carolyn began to develop
symptoms herself. She was suffering
from headaches and fatigue, and was
experiencing some numbness in her
hands. She went from a physically
active life of running, kayaking and
tennis to having difficulty getting out of
bed and pushing herself through the
day.
“When I first got symptoms I thought
it was my imagination,” she says,
“because of what I had seen Dana
go through, but I couldn’t ignore the
fatigue.”
Tests showed that she, too, had the
disease. Her husband, Craig, was also
tested, but he remains healthy and
without symptoms.
“Craig staying healthy was a
blessing for Dana and me,” Carolyn
said, “He was so much help... the glue
that held us together during some very
trying times.”
The family clung to their faith to
help them through, lingering over
Dana’s Story Continued...
812 East Main Street, Bedford, VA 24502
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