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Time Is Of The Essence!September 17, 2003The following is a Tick-Borne DiseaseVolunteer Network (TBD-VN) E-Petition alert.TBD-VN is a volunteer Lyme Disease activist group.The purpose of this E-Petition is to combine our voicesto inform, educate and hopefully influence the agenciesand people involved in removing Alisa Masterson's fouryoung children from her care.This E-Petition is also designed to alert the media in hopesthey will investigate and help inform the public of the roadblocksand penalties many Tick-borne disease infected people sufferwhile actively pursuing a diagnosis.The Masterson E-Petition will not be sent to any other person,agency, organization or publication than those listed on the petition.Further, this petition will not be used again for any other purpose.This petition is published online here: http://www.wildernetwork.org/Masterson_Petition.htmlIf you wish to support this petition, send ane-mail to the address provided. Write the words,"add my name to the Masterson petition",along with one of the following two choices:1. Your name, address,State/Province, and Country. - OR -2. Your name, e-mail address,State/Province, and Country.E-mail your response to following address:Masterson_PetitionFor more information, or questions contact:Masterson_Petition_InfoThank you for your time,The Tick-Borne DiseaseVolunteer Network--Tick- Borne DiseaseVolunteer NetworkE-Petition:September 17, 2003To:Social Services DepartmentChildren and Families Service429 - 433 Pinner Road,North HarrowHA1 4HNUnited KingdomTo Whom this may concern,It has come to our attention that Alisa Masterson's four children wereremoved from her care by the London Borough of Harrow's Departmentof Social Services on August 14th, 2003. Ms. Masterson is allegedly beingcharged with Munchausen's by proxy because she believes her childrencould have acquired Lyme Disease and/or other Tick-borne diseases andwas pursuing a diagnosis.We the undersigned believe the Borough of Harrow's Department of SocialServices should consider the following in their case against Ms. Masterson:1. Detection tests for Lyme Disease and other Tick-borne diseasesare unreliable.Researchers around the world are presently workingon developing more sensitive tests to resolve this problem.2. Diagnosis of untreated Lyme Disease and associated tick-borneillnesses can only be rendered by a physician who is experienced inclinically diagnosing late-stage and complex cases.3. There are over 350 strains of the Lyme Disease spirochete and dozensof other possible Tick-borne diseases. A patient can carry a multitude ofTick- borne infection combinations. Thus, individual patients can presenta multitude of different symptoms.4. The symptoms a Tick-borne disease infected patient experiences can be intermittent, chronic, wax, wane or go into remission.5. The earlier the infection is caught and treated the easier it is to eradicate.If the patient is not correctly diagnosed and treated in a timely manner the infection(s) can:A. Permanently damage virtually every organ in the victim's body including, the central nervous system, the brain, heart, lungs kidneys, eyes, etc.B. The infection(s) become harder to eradicate and the disease can turn into a persistent or chronic form.6. It is not uncommon for tick-borne disease infected persons to be misdiagnosed for the following reasons;A. Inexperienced doctors relying upon unreliable detection tests and outdated diagnostic recommendations intended solely for surveillance purposes.B. Inexperienced doctors unable to recognize the many presentationsand manifestations of symptoms of Lyme Disease, or the many different combinations of symptoms the Tick- borne disease co-infected patientcan present.C. Inexperienced doctors who believe a Lyme Disease diagnosis requiresthe patient to present a bulls-eye rash. Only about 50% of infected people develop this rash.D. Due to overlapping symptoms, Tick-Borne disease symptoms are commonly mistaken for other illnesses such as Fibromyalgia, ChronicFatigue Syndrome (ME), MS, ALS, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson'sdisease and many others. In addition, psychological/psychiatric symptomsand behavioral problems are rarely investigated as having an infectious spirochetal organism as the causative agent.E. Closed minded uninformed doctors believing their patient could notpossibly have a Tick-Borne disease because this problem does not existin their geographic area. Ticks know no geographic boundaries.Based on the above scientifically derived facts, the Borough of Harrow's Department of Social Services cannot logically rule Ms. Masterson'schildren do not have a Tick-Borne disease or a combination of Tick-Borne diseases. The Social Service Department in question has allegedly, eitherdue to inexperience or lack of knowledge regarding the infectious organisms that could be involved, ruled the children do not have Lyme Disease, basedon the results of unreliable detection tests. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, the children in question were never tested for other possibleTick-Borne infections that can be acquired as sole infections or as co-infections of Lyme Disease.Based on our experience, Tick-borne Disease issues are best addressed by family members familiar with the patient(s) and in this respect, it would be in the children's best interest to be with their mother. The department of Social Services cannot scientifically prove Ms. Masterson's children do not have Lyme Disease or other Tick-Borne diseases based solely on the results of questionable detection tests and these factors seem to be the basis of confiscating Ms. Masterson's children.Ms Masterson has the basic human right to pursue any medical attentionshe deems suitable for her children. We recommend she takes her childrento a doctor with demonstrated expertise in diagnosing and treating Tick-Borne Diseases who has working relationships with laboratories that meet reference standards in Tick-Borne detection tests.Links to data supporting this position are provided below.We very much appreciate your help and attention in this matter.Very sincerely,The Tick-Borne DiseaseVolunteer NetworkCC: Ms. Manraj PallanShah Solicitors,168 Greenford Road,Sudbury Hill, Middx.HA1 3QZUnited Kingdom U. S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA),U. S. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT),Los Angeles Times, LA Daily News, The Detroit News,The Detroit Free Press, BBC, San Francisco Chronicle,Associated Press, The Washington Post, NY Times, NY Post,The London News Review, Guardian Newspapers, Harrow Times,Newsquest Digital, Review & Observer Newspapers,Bucks Free Press Group, Times & Chicago Tribune,Chicago Sun-Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer,Philadelphia Daily News, Children's Rights Alliance for England,International Action Center, Invisible Disabilities Advocate,Citizens Against Human Rights Abuse, USA Today, Time Magazine,Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, Christian Science Monitor,Baltimore Sun, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Dallas Morning News,Houston Chronicle, Miami Herald, Wall Street Journal,Washington Times, USA Today, KTVU, Dolly Curtis Interviews,FOX News, MSNBC, CNN, Larry King, Lou Dobbs, Jeff Rense,C-SPAN, ABC News, Nightline, CBS News, NBC News , BET,PBS, Berns Bureau, NPR, Pacifica Network News,Spanish Broadcast, National Review, World Media Foundation,National Enquirer, Star Magazine, ILADS, Lymesite References: 1. "Optic neuropathy in children with Lyme disease"Pediatrics. 2001 Aug;108(2):477-81.Rothermel H, Hedges TR 3rd, Steere AC.Division of Rheumatology/Immunology, Tufts UniversitySchool of Medicine,New England Medical Center,Boston, MA 02111, USA.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgicmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & dopt=Abstract & list_uids=213767422. "Gastrointestinal pathology in children with Lyme disease",Fried MD, Duray PH, Pietrucha D; JSTD 1996; 3:101-104http://www.jstd.org/abstracts/v3n2_96.html3. "Overview of Neuropsychiatric Lyme"Brian A. Fallon, MD, MPH Associate Professorof Clinical Psychiatry at the Columbia UniversityCollege of Physicians and Surgeonshttp://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/nyspi/flatp/lymeoverview.html4. Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases,Lyme Disease, Diagnosishttp://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/diagnosis.htm5. Division of Microbiology & Infectious Diseases,Diagnosis of Lyme Diseasehttp://www.niaid.nih.gov/dmid/lyme/diagnosis.htm6. "Neurological manifestations of Lyme Disease In Children"Dorothy M. Pietrucha, M.D., P.A.Pediatric Neurology3318 Route 33Neptune, New Jersey 07753Telephone: (908) 922-0337FAX: (908) 922-1631http://library.lymenet.org/domino/file.nsf/0/c8237a2ae855bac6852567c700120021?OpenDocument7. "All In Your Head?"by Robert C. Bransfield, M.D.http://www.lymealliance.org/research/bransfield/bransfield_1.php8. "The Mother of All Accusations"by Amy Silverman PhoenixNew Times: February 2-8, 1995 Volume 26, Number 5http://www.msbp.com/jan.htm9." 2000 Daily Express Doctors'Child Abuse Theory That Is Tearing Families Apart "By Lucy Johnston and Jonathan Calverthttp://www.msbp.com/tearing_families_apart.htm10. "FALSE AND HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE ALLEGATIONS OF MUNCHAUSEN SYNDROME BY PROXY"presented by Dr Helen Hayward-Brown.This paper was written in 1999 and presented to the7th Australasian Child Abuse and Neglect Conference in Perth.http://signup.pnc.com.au/~heleneli/paper.htm11. "A Controlled Study of Cognitive Deficitsin Children with Chronic Lyme Disease"Tager, Fallon, Rissenberg, Jones, Keilp, Liebowitzhttp://www.lymediseaseassociation.org/chronic_lyme_disease_in_children.htm 12. " The Children of Lyme Disease" Charles Ray Jones, MDPediatrician, Private Practice, New Haven, CT http://www.wildernetwork.org/LDpediatricfund.htmlFurther information is availableat the following supporting links:www.lymealliance.comwww.lymeinfo.orgwww.actionlyme.comwww.ilads.orgwww.lymediseaseassociation.orgwww.lyme.orgwww.lymenet.orgwww.ahmf.org/protect.htmlwww.msbp.comwww.igenex.comwww.mdlab.com www.wildernetwork.org/LDpediatricfund.htmlwww.wildernetwork.org/index.html--Once again, here's how to help;If you wish to support this petition, send ane-mail to the address provided. Write the words,"add my name to the Masterson petition",along with one of the following two choices:1. Your name, address,State/Province, and Country. - OR -2. Your name, e-mail address,State/Province, and Country.E-mail your response to following address:Masterson_PetitionFor more information, or questions contact:Masterson_Petition_InfoThank you for your time,The Tick-Borne DiseaseVolunteer Network __________ NOD32 1.513 (20030919) Information __________This message was checked by NOD32 Antivirus System.http://www.nod32.com