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A Thunder Bay woman is looking to raise $40,000 to get herself and her son to Russia for specialized treatment for a skin condition that impacts 3 in a million people.
Judy Holmes says her 40-year-old son Adrian Barca hasn’t been able to get help in North America for his blastomycosis/pyoderma and that’s why they need to go overseas for the treatment.
“It’s super super expensive to go there and it means I have to take a month off work which I can’t really afford to do but it’s my son so I’m doing it. Do I want to go to Russia, no, but it’s our last hope and if he doesn’t get help for this he’s not going to make it,” says Barca’s mother.
You can visit their GoFundMe page by clicking HERE.
Holmes explains the treatment isn’t covered by our health care system and Canadian antibiotics and pain management have failed to provide him with any relief. She has concerns the antibiotics will stop responding to his condition.
Holmes adds her son’s back is almost fully covered in the open lesions and it continues to spread to other parts of his body. She notes they are very painful and need to be dressed twice a day sometimes more because they are constantly burning him.
She notes doctors and specialists in Canada haven’t been able to say what caused this disease in her son. The treatment in Russia isn’t available for the general public as it is currently in trials.
The phage treatment in Russia is said to have a 96% success rate.
