A hunting trip in 1991 changed Dan Boeholt’s life forever.
After shooting an elk, on what would have otherwise been an ordinary outing, Boeholt saw a swarm of ticks on the animal’s neck. He had never seen so many during his years as an avid outdoorsman.
“You usually would only find three or four,” said Boeholt. “This was covered in them.”
Boeholt wasn’t far from his vehicle and went to get a pair of pliers to crush as many of the bugs as he could. Boeholt wasn’t very concerned about Lyme disease as he was dressing the elk. He knew it was a possibility, but had heard the disease wasn’t as worrisome an issue in the Pacific Northwest as it was in other parts of the country. Boeholt had read in his hunting books that Lyme was, for the most part, a threat out east, a common misconception that has since been thrown out by doctors and Lyme experts.
When he was about halfway through the process, Boeholt felt a searing pain in his right forearm. He impulsively swiped at the area, knocking off a little dark spot that he thought may have been a tick. Not thinking much of it, he went about finishing up with the elk and went home.
“Everybody knew we had ticks, it was just not a big deal. I wasn’t concerned about Lyme, really,” he said.
A couple of days later, the bite swelled up to the size of a silver dollar. At that point, Boeholt knew something was wrong and called the health department. “They told me we didn’t have it here, so don’t worry about,” he said.
That response — that he didn’t have Lyme disease — was what he would hear from doctors for the next 19 years, until he was finally given a correct diagnosis in 2010, Boeholt says.
The bite slowly went down in size and went away, but about four months after the incident, Boeholt started getting tingling and numbness in his hands, as well as developing problems with his balance. He also began to experience fatigue and blurred vision.
When he would go to doctors and explain his symptoms, some would say Boeholt had multiple sclerosis, others believed what he was dealing was “in his head,” and suggested he take anti-psychotic medication or see a therapist, Boeholt says. Graves’ disease was another misdiagnosis, while some doctors thought Boeholt’s problems were related to being exposed to the chemicals he worked with at a print shop.
With misdiagnoses, came questionable methods of treatment, he said. One doctor who thought Boeholt had Graves’ disease chemically burned his eye before getting him ready for a test and another had a hunch that he had a compression fracture and gave him an electroshock treatment, Boeholt says. “(The doctor) shocked me so bad that for six months my wrist hurt so bad I could hardly use it.”
One of the hardest things about Lyme disease is correctly diagnosing it. It is referred to as the “great imitator,” as it produces symptoms that emulate a number of different disorders including multiple sclerosis, arthritis and chronic fatigue syndrome. The disease, which is caused by the bacteria belonging to the genus Borrelia, is transmitted via the bite of an infected tick. If it is treated early, the symptoms and disease can most likely be eliminated through the use of antibiotics. However, as in Boeholt’s case, late detection leads to more severe symptoms and is not likely able to be completely remedied.
In 1992, Boeholt began to have chronic symptoms. Before this, his fatigue, numbness and other issues caused by the disease would only occur intermittently. Some days he would feel fine, while others he would struggle to handle basic tasks around the house.
After numerous doctors and no certain diagnosis, Boeholt gave up on the medical system in 1995 and decided to go it alone. For the next 15 years, he went without treatment or medical care, having periods without any symptoms and others in which he would not be able to get out of bed.
“Up until I was diagnosed, I would go into survival mode. I would go through these roller coaster rides that could last for weeks or months. When I didn’t feel bad, I’d think, ‘Hey, maybe my body is coming out of this,’ but then I’d start going downhill again,” he said.
In 2010 a local doctor told Boeholt what he’d been wanting to hear for the past decade and a half: that it was possible he had Lyme disease. However, a blood test and a spinal tap came back negative for the disease. It was back to square one.
Frustrated, Boeholt looked into seeing a naturopath. After doing some research, he came across one in Seattle and paid her a visit. When looking at his past Lyme tests, she was disappointed and wanted to have him do another and have the results sent to Igenex, a lab in California.
The month long wait was well worth it, he said, as the results finally came back positive. Boeholt now had confirmation of a hunch he had for more than a decade.
When he received a diagnosis, Boeholt opted for alternative treatments instead of taking the common route of antibiotics. His naturopath recommended he use a Rife Machine, a device that uses electromagnetic waves in order to kill microorganisms that kill disease. The machines are not registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Boeholt had to purchase one online and pay for it himself.
The machine uses two glass tubes that give off electromagneticwaves and Boeholt places them under his arms, on his knees or near his neck every other day.
Boeholt also receives moxibustion treatments, a Chinese medicine technique that uses acupuncture and is said to strengthen the immune system.
“It’s been a tremendous part of the process, “said Boeholt referring to the treatments.
A naturopath in Beaverton, Ore., recommends supplements that Boeholt takes every day on top of using the Rife Machine, moxibustion treatments and applied kinesiology, in which the naturopath moves Boeholt’s body into positions designed to alleviate symptoms.
“If you aren’t feeling well and doctors aren’t figuring out why, it’s worth it to get a Lyme test,” said Boeholt. “I don’t want people to go through what I’ve gone through.”
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