Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Published: 09:08 PM, Sat Mar 10, 2012
Soldier's spirit is fighting fit as he recovers from mysterious illness
Editors note:
The Fayetteville Observer has monitored the progress of Chris Harriss for more than a year. A reporter and a photographer were present when Harriss began physical therapy, and, about a month later, when he got his first intravenous antibiotic treatment. Harriss' wife, Karin, has provided periodic updates throughout the year.
By Greg Barnes
Staff writer
Ayear ago, Chris Harriss' hands shook so badly that he couldn't consistently place a small ball into a big basket.
He could barely climb stairs and couldn't drive a car. His speech became so slow and slurred that it was almost incomprehensible.
A year later, after controversial treatment for Lyme disease, Harriss seems to have made an almost complete recovery.
At a physical therapy session last month, Harriss easily skipped across a rubber mat, taking the black squares one by two almost without falter.
His therapist, Becky Bliss, says Harriss has regained 95 percent of his physical abilities, the remaining impairment being mostly a little loss of balance.
...
Documents provided by Karin Harriss show that Army doctors initially thought he had encephalopathy. Then came a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease along with a combination of medications, including the neurotransmitter dopamine, that Karin Harriss believes did her husband far more harm than good.
The Parkinson's diagnosis was followed by a positive test for Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness that can attack the central nervous system if left untreated.
After the Lyme diagnosis, Chris Harriss received powerful antibiotics for a month. His wife said the antibiotics seemed to be making a difference, but the Army, following federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, stopped the medication.
...
After the Army stopped the Lyme treatment, Chris Harriss was sent to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he received a new diagnosis: Fahr's disease. The rare disorder is characterized by calcium deposits on the brain. Fahr's is a degenerative and irreversible disorder for which there is no known cure.
...
About the same time that Chris Harriss received the Fahr's diagnosis, he was transferred into Fort Bragg's Warrior Transition Battalion for physically and mentally wounded soldiers. That's where the Army began its medical evaluation board process to put him out of the service.
The Harrisses were introduced to Dr. David Weitzman, who told them that he had once treated a Fahr's patient and did not believe Chris Harriss suffered from the disease. Its symptoms, he told the Harrisses, don't manifest themselves so quickly.
Karin Harriss said Weitzman told them something else: The way your husband's condition is deteriorating, he probably has only six months to a year to live.
Medical records dated Jan. 6, 2011, show that Weitzman paved the way for Chris Harriss to begin seeing a controversial Lyme disease specialist, Dr. Joe Jemsek, in Washington, D.C.
...
Karin Harriss still isn't convinced that her husband suffered from Lyme disease, even though she believes the antibiotic treatments helped him immensely. She has documents showing that the Army has spent more than $100,000 to treat him for Lyme disease.
She wonders whether her husband's illness could be linked to the anti-malaria drug mefloquine, which the Army banned because of adverse side effects. Chris Harriss had to take the drug whenever he deployed.
Whatever the cause, there is no mistaking that Chris Harriss' physical condition has improved dramatically in the course of a year.
Full text:
http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2012/03/11/1156612?sac=fo.military
Soldier's spirit is fighting fit as he recovers from mysterious illness
Editors note:
The Fayetteville Observer has monitored the progress of Chris Harriss for more than a year. A reporter and a photographer were present when Harriss began physical therapy, and, about a month later, when he got his first intravenous antibiotic treatment. Harriss' wife, Karin, has provided periodic updates throughout the year.
By Greg Barnes
Staff writer
Ayear ago, Chris Harriss' hands shook so badly that he couldn't consistently place a small ball into a big basket.
He could barely climb stairs and couldn't drive a car. His speech became so slow and slurred that it was almost incomprehensible.
A year later, after controversial treatment for Lyme disease, Harriss seems to have made an almost complete recovery.
At a physical therapy session last month, Harriss easily skipped across a rubber mat, taking the black squares one by two almost without falter.
His therapist, Becky Bliss, says Harriss has regained 95 percent of his physical abilities, the remaining impairment being mostly a little loss of balance.
...
Documents provided by Karin Harriss show that Army doctors initially thought he had encephalopathy. Then came a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease along with a combination of medications, including the neurotransmitter dopamine, that Karin Harriss believes did her husband far more harm than good.
The Parkinson's diagnosis was followed by a positive test for Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness that can attack the central nervous system if left untreated.
After the Lyme diagnosis, Chris Harriss received powerful antibiotics for a month. His wife said the antibiotics seemed to be making a difference, but the Army, following federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, stopped the medication.
...
After the Army stopped the Lyme treatment, Chris Harriss was sent to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he received a new diagnosis: Fahr's disease. The rare disorder is characterized by calcium deposits on the brain. Fahr's is a degenerative and irreversible disorder for which there is no known cure.
...
About the same time that Chris Harriss received the Fahr's diagnosis, he was transferred into Fort Bragg's Warrior Transition Battalion for physically and mentally wounded soldiers. That's where the Army began its medical evaluation board process to put him out of the service.
The Harrisses were introduced to Dr. David Weitzman, who told them that he had once treated a Fahr's patient and did not believe Chris Harriss suffered from the disease. Its symptoms, he told the Harrisses, don't manifest themselves so quickly.
Karin Harriss said Weitzman told them something else: The way your husband's condition is deteriorating, he probably has only six months to a year to live.
Medical records dated Jan. 6, 2011, show that Weitzman paved the way for Chris Harriss to begin seeing a controversial Lyme disease specialist, Dr. Joe Jemsek, in Washington, D.C.
...
Karin Harriss still isn't convinced that her husband suffered from Lyme disease, even though she believes the antibiotic treatments helped him immensely. She has documents showing that the Army has spent more than $100,000 to treat him for Lyme disease.
She wonders whether her husband's illness could be linked to the anti-malaria drug mefloquine, which the Army banned because of adverse side effects. Chris Harriss had to take the drug whenever he deployed.
Whatever the cause, there is no mistaking that Chris Harriss' physical condition has improved dramatically in the course of a year.
Full text:
http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2012/03/11/1156612?sac=fo.military