Why do we call them experts? by Tom Grier

Why do we call them experts?

By Tom Grier

Whenever there is a new disease described in the medical literature; a small group of scientists, doctors and epidemiologists get very excited.

I am just old enough to remember the clamor and excitement about Lyme disease in 1975 because at that time when Alan Steere first described “Lyme Arthritis” in the medical literature.

I was a naïve microbiology graduate student taking classes at the Medical School in Duluth, and all the young minds and our mentors at the school were buzzing and hypothesizing about what could be causing this mystery illness in Old Lyme Connecticut.

When a new illness is discovered we want to be sure about certain things as soon as possible:

How is it spread?
Is it spread from person to person?
Where is it located?
Is it spreading or isolated and contained?
What are the symptoms?
Who does it affect?
What are the short and long-term consequences? Is there a test? Can it be treated?
Can it be cured?
Can we make a vaccine?

I can remember professors being very guarded and excited about this illness. It was almost like the challenge to find a cure for Polio; the medical community was being poked, and the soldiers of the medical-arts were ready for battle.

I remember with great clarity the absolute statements that were being told in 1977 to the medical students by the CDC and the country’s top medical experts.

Statements were continually issued about this new illness and nearly all of them had the undertone of:

Don’t worry. This isn’t a serious illness. And we are handling it.

In Clinical Science class, all of us were told that Lyme Arthritis was isolated to the NE USA and primarily in Connecticut.

We were told it was not contagious.

We were told it appeared to be only a rheumatoid disease and not life threatening.

We were told that the primary symptom was a rash.

We were told that it was self limiting and could resolve on its own.

In my old class room notes, I circled something I wore:

"Two weeks of tetracycline effective: has to be a bacteria or mycoplasma! Curable."

Like many others I assumed like most 20th century bacterial infections, that it was easily curable.

Mind you no one knew if it was actually caused by a virus, a parasite or a bacterium, but since tetracycline appeared to be effective, Lyme was treated exactly like a Strep throat with two weeks of a safe and inexpensive antibiotic.

Tetracycline was an antibiotic that was often used for to treat acne, and sometimes prescribed for years at a time.

(Funny how no acne cases have ever been cured by antibiotics. Acne must really be a serious illness!)

My point is: The experts got it wrong. They got it all wrong!

Almost everything that was important to know about this Borreliosis only found in Old Lyme CT, the experts got wrong.

The experts did not vacillate or equivocate; they made absolute statements to the public with absolute certainty, and were absolutely wrong.

And to my knowledge they have never collectively or individually apologized or recanted on their mistakes nor have we held them or their institutions accountable.


So why then do we still allow them to this day to be called Lyme-Disease experts when they have caused such international suffering and even deaths?

Yet we continue to allow them to dictate their opinions world-wide as absolute facts?

If you want to know the gist of my blogs:

It is simple: Let pathology and microbiology be our experts. If something is true, it can be put to the test.


I have a great deal of respect for the purity and sanctity of science, I never thought that in my lifetime I would see such corruption of science as I have seen by our own CDC and State Health Departments to turn their backs on Lyme patients and science.

Why they have chosen to be villains rather than heroes is speculation, but those that corrupt and purposely ignore the ever growing evidence of persistence of infection post-treatment are not our experts, but rather conspirators, and I will not accept their unconscionable acts as anything less than what they are:
corrupt.

Tom Grier

Next Blog: “Who Will Our Heroes Be?”
****************************************

Tom Grier asked me, BettyG, Iowa lyme activist/lyme group leader/llmd coordinator to post his blogs. He does not want to come onto the boards and reply.

Tom is super busy with all his lyme/co-infection research and making public talks of his findings.