Morgellons Research Foundation
A fellow artist and Fortean alerted me to this disturbing and mysterious disease a little while ago because she suffers from it... and thought that High Strangeness might be a good way to help get the word out.
Interestingly, I remember seeing a piece on this on the tube at some indistinct point of time in the past... however I don't remember much of it's content except the imagery... which, for me perhaps is not unusual, as it was a good chunk of time ago and the images were most memorable.
The disease is mysterious in several ways... the cause is unknown... the cure is unknown... it features non-healing lesions on the skin... within which strange fibers grow like spaghetti and emerge from the surface... with eerie attendant seed-like things inside the lesions and strange black specks outside on the skin... it causes weird crawling and biting sensations in its victims... and does significant and serious neurological damage to memory, concentration and causes depression as well as other difficulties. It has raised it's ugly head in all fifty states, with some very unusual geographic clusters in California, Texas and Florida. There are cases reported worldwide, so it is a problem for everyone, not just Americans.
For me, what's even weirder than the disease is the reaction to date of the medical mainstream... these people have classified it as delusional! What the hell is up with that? That is disturbing... seriously so... to me... and hopefully to you. The lesions and the weird fibers within are very real indeed... how they came up with that classification is beyond my comprehension... and doesn't do the Hypocratic Oath much good... it makes me uneasy and angry.
Please check this site out and help them if you can! Write the officials who claim to serve us...
Be well,
Ig
“Almost all people are hypnotics.
The proper authority saw to it that the proper belief should be induced and the people believed properly.” — Charles Hoy Fort
8 comments:
It's so beyond comprehension that people don't see through this, even though it's all been made public on the web. Here's a collection of repetitive highlights for those whose minds can allow them to have their eyes opened wide.
The Morgellon’s Foundation — named for an early description of a similar-sounding illness — wasformed in 2002 to help the people most doctors won’t believe. Some doctors interviewed said the foundation is dangerously reinforcing peoples’ mental illnesses.
But the foundation’s spokespeople said the knee-jerk diagnosis of delusions is the problem, not their questions or the evidence they offer. Morgellons’ members encourage further investigation into what they consider a health mystery. But they said researchers don’t seem interested in new data and dismiss their information as quackery.
Mary Leitao, a biologist and the executive director of the Morgellons Research Foundation, said doctors have become "a brick wall. They have their answer and they aren’t open to discussing the possibility they could be wrong.”
“They are so smug and sure they are right,” she said.
(Maybe because THEY went to med school, and YOU didn't?)
Mary Leitao of McMurray, Pa., she said she began the group out of desperation. Her son, Andrew, now 5, began complaining of things crawling on his skin and was breaking out in lesions when he was 2.
Leitao, who has a degree in biology and who has worked as an electron microscope operator and a chemist, saw the fibers and the “fuzzballs” in Andrew’s skin lesions. She took him to an infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
At first, she said, the specialist thought the skin condition was an unusual case of scabies and prescribed a cream-based medicine. When that didn’t work, the doctor assured her the lesions weren’t caused by anything infectious and Andrew was referred to a dermatologist.
Leitao said the dermatologist was initially fascinated by the blue fibers sprouting from her son’s skin lesions.
“The doctor looked at everything I showed him,” she said. “He examined Drew’s skin lesions using the handheld microscope I brought. He was so amazed at the blue fibers coming straight out of a skin lesions that he called his physician’s assistant over to look at them.”
She showed the doctor how the fibers glowed under an ultraviolet light.
“The dermatologist admitted he did not know what made the fibers, but was not willing to help me find out,” Leitao said. “His final diagnosis was eczema. He gave my son topical eczema medication, which did not help.”
As she left his office, she saw the doctor going out to lunch with his wife and 4-year-old son.
“Not a care in the world,” she said. “What is wrong with these guys? No innate scientific curiosity or human empathy?
“I realized I was on my own.”
(Rather humiliated and insulted, for some reason, wasn't she?)
It all started with a young boy named Drew...
When her son developed a mysterious rash her natural instinct was to look at a sample of the rash under a microscope. What she found was not what she expected, nor has the response from the medical community been what she expected, either.
A recent photo caption:
RECOVERING: Mary Leitao, director of the Morgellons Foundation, plays with her son Andrew, who is recovering from Morgellons' disease. Doctors had diagnosed Andrew with eczema, a common skin ailment although his symptons mirrored those with Morgellons' disease.
Leitao's motivations come from her 6 year old boy Drew. Four years ago, he began to feel the itch.
"He started describing bugs. He said, mommy, bugs, and he would scratch."
(Of course. mommy, he's a 2 year old. How else could he describe the sensation?)
Then came the sores that shed the fibers. Mary took drew to the doctor and the doctor said it was nothing to worry about.
(He got sores from scratching. Fibers, from everything, "adhered to" his sores, mom.)
"I was going to find an answer, or I was going to have to take my life, that's all there was to it."
(WHAT WAS THAT??? By gosh, now, she'll show 'em all! That's a woman with a mission.)
Most doctors interviewed dismiss alleged evidence that medical science has overlooked what patients are calling “Morgellons’ disease” and insist that the patients are delusional.
Mary Leitao graduated magna cum laude from the University of Massachusetts with a BS in Biology. She has worked in various capacities for the Harvard School of Public Health, Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.
To reiterate...
When her son developed a mysterious rash her natural instinct was to look at a sample of the rash under a microscope. What she found was not what she expected, nor has the response from the medical community been what she expected, either.
And so...
This mother, it says, followed her "NATURAL INSTINCT" when her toddler conveyed he felt like he'd had bugs on him (how else can a tiny child describe itchy-crawling sensations?), and he developed a rash, then sores, which fibers adhered to, and she went FOR HER MICROSCOPE?! That's a "natural instinct" of a mother? Just listen to her, thinking that the dermatologist and his physicians assistant were so fascinated by the FIBERS SHE SHOWED THEM WITH THE HAND HELD MICROSCOPE AND A BLACK LIGHT SHE BROUGHT IN WITH HER!!!!!
WTF? Oh yeah, that was fascination they had all right. (ouch)
Why did she not learn what a diagnosis of ezcema meant, and when the topical medicine didn't work, communicate that to her son's doctor and try another one, like everyone else with a child diagnosed with eczema?
The preceding excerpts can be found in the following artcles:
http://tinyurl.com/gulng
http://tinyurl.com/lxkyx
Quite a mess she's created with her problem, and I see no end in sight.
Like most infants and toddlers with eczema, this little boy's skin is much better at the age he's attained, now. Same thing happened to me as a young child.
Never any updates on this child's condition, in all those four years, on her foundation's website, a foundation that she formed for, and due to, him...never dropping in there with any recommendations to her followers about treatments to assist them...never dropping in to tell them to stop causing further harm to themselves with pesticides, caustic agents, blow torches, etc.
They just can't see anything, thinking she's going to provide them all with a cure and they're all going to be part of some big class action lawsuit against the government, as well as to be rolling in the money from beaucoup malpractice suits.
God forbid the morgie-people are being listened to, with their movement, and this ends up resulting in new mental health legislation, since they have such a concerted letter writing campaign to capitol hill and all public health agencies.
It is a mental health illness; a psychopathological condition. It can be brought on by many geniune physical illnesses. I had the damn delusions of it myself for a couple of months. This woman somehow did it with her child.
According to what Dr. Jay Adams, a Carson City dermatologist who is president of the Northern Nevada Dermatological Association, said, was that doctors usually get a sense of the patient during the visit and may suspect they’re dealing with a delusional person. Being a dermatological expert, he agrees that, “Everybody has fibers and foreign objects on their skin, even things that live on them although we don’t usually like to think about it,” Adams said. “For the most part people don’t obsess about that. There definitely are a group of patients who have focused on the idea that things are crawling under their skins and will take extreme measures to prove that to you. It can take over their lives.” Adams said it’s possible some patients may be misdiagnosed with delusions when they actually may have a physical cause for their symptoms. But he said that’s rare. “I think that patients with (delusions) are a far more common answer than any of the patients who may really have parasites. Delusions of parasitosis is real. Most of the patients are delusional.” He said that under magnification, the samples usually turn out to be lint. As for the black specks and other things the patients get off their skins, he said it’s possible to scratch, and poke and peel away parts of the skin tissue or just collect the lint that can be found anywhere. “You don’t want to encourage people to further resist the idea that they are not infested with parasites,” Adams said. “It’s dangerous to reinforce their delusion.”
The medical books also have an explanation for family members or friends of patients who witness the strange fibers or parasites. It’s called “folie a deux” — a French term meaning “the madness of two.” If more than one person testifies to seeing the symptoms, then it’s called “the madness of three,” and so on. Thus, witnesses don’t count because being a witness is considered evidence of sharing the patient’s delusions.
Adams said he is not familiar with the Morgellon’s Research Foundation, but said it sounds like a “cult” in which the members reinforce each other’s psychosomatic symptoms.
Well...IT IS
God bless them all.
Vicious and cruel... from a frigidly cold individual without the balls to reveal his name.
Typical "It can't be, therefore it isn't" mentality. Typical attacks on the people who suffer, rather than any iota of curiosity, care or concern. No common sense, no logic, no thought, no science, no nothing.
You disgust me, debunker. Crawl back under your rock.
Last night on PrimeTime was a clip done on Morgellons. I would like to thank Primetime for bringing this research to light. Many people have morgellons and they are waiting for a cure. I would like to Thank Dr. Wymore at OSU for his passion in this research.
If anybody has or knows someone that has Morgellons and would like support - The Nurses at the New Morgellons Order would be glad to help give support. All the Nurses at N.M.O. have Morgellons and know what people are going through.
the New Morgellons Order : http://www.cherokeechas.com
CLICK ON MEDIA ALERT - NEWS COVERAGE TONIGHT 8/10/06
The also have a direct link to the OSU website for any donations that would like to be made for the research being done right now.
The questions being asked about Morgellons disease are disturbing. Is it the result of covert bioterrorism? Is it a new stress-induced, psychosomatic epidemic? Is it a spiritual disease? Is it being brought on by fear? Is Morgellons disease a physical epiphenomenon of war-on-terror paranoia? Why is it peculiarly American? And why is it specifically clustered in Texas, California and Florida?
Interesting contrast here:
"I am a very sceptical person and feel like I am a person who is very logical and demands proof. My mom is not delusional, not crazy. No mental problems at all"
From the same person who wrote:
"Debunker,
If I could reach through the internet physically I would throttle you around the neck and choke you to death!! "
Yup. Totally sane and balanced. Definitely not psychotic or self-aggrandizing in any way.
It's too bad that people don't seem to understand that "psychosomatic" doesn't mean "not real." Psychosomatic illnesses are very real; they just respond to a different kind of treatment. Sad that people are so afraid of the "psychosomatic" label that they may be denying themselves and their children treatment that could help.
Of course, decrying the medical profession and screaming that they're not crazy is a much more productive approach than trying to look into all the options, even the ones you find unpleasant...
I've done a lot of web reading concerning this affliction since my brother contracted this ailement almost two years ago. I found some info on a nematode, "Steinernema Riobravis," that I think should warrant deeper investigation.As with everyone else that has this, he has tried everything. These parasite mutate very rapidly and have the ability to use the human immune system to mask themselves. Anyone who has to argue whether this is real or not better pull their heads out of their butts so they can see what is happening around them! Get out of the way and let those afflicted to be helped.
Once upon a time, doctors had no knowledge of bacteria or viruses. There were some far-sighted people who tried to suggest the existence of such things, but for the most part, physicians were sure they knew the causes of various illnesses.
The underlying principle of medieval medicine was the theory of humours. This was derived from the ancient medical works, and dominated all western medicine up until the 19th century. The theory stated that within every individual there were four humours, or principal fluids - black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood, these were produced by various organs in the body, and they had to be in balance for a person to remain healthy. Too much phlegm in the body, for example, caused lung problems; and the body tried to cough up the phlegm to restore a balance. The balance of humours in humans could be achieved by diet, medicines, and by blood-letting, using leeches. The four humours were also associated with the four seasons, black bile-autumn, yellow bile-summer, phlegm-winter and blood-spring.
And if you go back even further in time, we can talk about beliefs that various problems were caused by evil spirits.
Thank God there was a non-physician
by the name of Antony van Leeuwenhoek who discovered such things as bacteria and parasitic microscopic protists.
And thank God for a chemist/microbiologist (again, note, not a physician) Louis Pasteur, whose remarkable breakthroughs in microbiology confirmed the germ theory of disease. Yet how was his initial research viewed?
Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872, wrote, "Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction."
If you'd like, I can give you a list of people without medical degrees who have made major discoveries in medicine.
Just because it is common among doctors to say Morgellons is a form of delusional parasitosis doesn't mean it is true. (What was it that
Douglas Malloch once said? Oh, yes, "The biggest liar in the world is They Say.") I'm sure, if you give it some thought, you can think
of a number of things that were thought to be 'true' until proven otherwise. (The Earth is flat, anyone? The Dung Beetle sprang out
of the feces of animals....no eggs required?)
I don't "know" that Margellons is an actual disease with a real physical cause, such as a bacterium
or nematode. What I do know is that the only way to find out for sure is to research it.
At a time when people believed the earth was flat, anyone who gave support to an explorer who believed otherwise was considered encouraging the explorer's delusions. And there was a time when doctors thought anyone who washed their hands before surgery was totally wasting their time.
Let's look at this another way.
Supposing...just supposing....that Morgellons is determined, beyond a shadow of a doubt, to be of psychological base. I mean, after thorough research by the CDC, and other reputable researchers, it is proven once and for all that Morgellons does not have a physical origin. Wouldn't the time spent by the researchers have been put to good use....to remove all shadows of doubt?
Not that I think that is going to happen, mind you. I truly believe this is a real illness with a physical or organic cause. My ex-fiancee has it, and I was living
with her for quite some time. I saw
the fibers coming up from her skin, and they were nothing like any fibers she was in contact with. And I saw the hell she was going through when she felt the bugs crawling and biting sensation, and (while I'm no psychiatrist) this is a woman who I've never seen
show any signs of irrational, delusional behavior in the 14 years I knew her before we became engaged. She was one of the most down-to-earth people I've ever met.
Anyway, I suppose there will always be close-minded people like 'debunker' around. Thank God there are others who are willing to actually do research to find out the truth.
Zane
Alcuin wrote: If I could reach through the internet physically I would throttle you around the neck and choke you to death!! "
Yup. Totally sane and balanced. Definitely not psychotic or self-aggrandizing in any way."
Alcuin, he was responding to your tone. It was condescending, hostile, and completely dismissive of people like his mother with this affliction.
I don't have it, but I've heard of it more and more. This sounds like a terrible affliction.
If the Agrobacterium theories are correct, Monsanto's going to face a multi billion dollar lawsuit.
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