Leslie Feinberg: my last personal health update

Jan 11, 2011
34 notes

my last personal health update

I send my warmest thanks to each of you who has sent me a supportive message, and has asked about my health. I am suffering s serious medical setback at this time, which makes writing even more difficult.

As you may know, I have late-stage, decades-long undiagnosed Lyme disease and other serious co-infections. These are hard infections to eradicate in late, untreated stages, and are highly relapsing diseases.

I first let my closest loved ones, my Workers World Party leadership and the larger movement know, in the form of personal communication about my health crisis, just how ill I am and why my prognosis for cures to these tick-borne diseases is poor. I am no longer able to easily tolerate medications—pharmaceutical or herbal.

In terms of the medical politics that impact my life, however, there is a struggle raging about the Lyme epidemic that is referred to as the “Lyme wars.” You may, or may not be aware of the science or economics of this struggle, but it presents very serious economic ramifications and legal difficulties for people with Lyme and their doctors.

Therefore, I ask Minnie Bruce and my chosen family of loved ones, comrades and friends who care about my legal and medical health: Please do not narrate any medical details or treatment beyond this fact:

I’m researching the science, taking evidence-based steps, and using every medical tool available to me

I remain as you’ve known me: in struggle. I am approaching evidence-based care the way I try to do in every other step in life: not pessimistic, not optimistic—but scientific. Science is what I had been denied for more than 3 decades, leaving me to fight for my health from this medical condition.

I have put together research notes to explain more about how the medical politics of the Lyme wars are holding back development of scientific and societal understanding about the seriousness of the epidemic of tick-borne diseases. However, a serious medical setback calls into question my ability to finish that work.

If there are any good developments of a qualitative nature in my health—any change for the better in my prognosis—I will be the first one to notify everyone right away.

From this point on, if you ask me or Minnie Bruce or other members of my chosen family how I am, I wanted you to know from me that you’re not being personally shut out or cut off from communication when they or I maintain this answer only:

I am in battle and putting up as intense a fight as I am able, medically and politically.

yours in struggle,

Leslie Feinberg

Winter 2010