KEEP DR. Z FIGHTING FOR US
Improving the Lives of Many
ABOUT THE EFFORTS OF DR. ZACKRISON
So Many Have Been Helped
Lyme Disease is a growing issue throughout the world, and it is rapidly becoming a significant health crisis. It is one of the most difficult diseases to treat in the world. Lyme patients live a life of chronic pain, with various debilitating conditions that affect the mind and body.
These conditions leave patients searching for answers to their various symptoms, but with the lack of proper treatment, they experience little success, with a greater chance of reoccurrence. Lyme disease symptoms often resemble that of so many other diseases (MS, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, CFS, and many more) and because the conventional medical community continues to be misinformed about diagnosis and treatment, patients fail to receive the medical care necessary to restore their health fully.
Her methods, deemed unconventional by the Virginia Board of Medicine, have become the basis for her license being suspended, leaving her unable to further help and cure her patients.
The Virginia Board is against your rights to not only to choose your doctor, but to make medical decisions that best serve you. The Board’s allegations are against persistent Lyme, Tick Borne Diseases, use of antibiotics beyond 10-14 days, against the use of supplements, vitamins, homeopathies, and the entire scope of the practice of integrative medicine. We need to collectively make a great noise and make our voices heard regarding this injustice. We are all affected by this Virginia Board decision and it brings fear and worry to all Virginians who need medical treatment but are not allowed to choose what is best for them.
In order for our community to fight Lyme and many other diseases affecting us, we need to lend our support and help to Dr. Zackrison in her time of need as she prepares for her fight against the Virginia Board of Medicine.
In health, we thank you for your support and ask for your help in sharing the importance of treating Lyme Disease with traditional and new integrative therapies.
Please see below for information about the hearing, transportation, and ways you can help. Don’t miss the testimonials at the bottom and if you are a DrZ patient, feel free to add your own. Together, we can help this extraordinary doctor win this fight for ALL of us.
SUPPORT FOR DR. Z
FUND RAISING GOAL TO SUPPORT DR. Z
$100,000
Help us reach our goal.
PROCEEDS GO TO
Dr. Z's Legal Fees To Get Reinstated In Order To Continue Vital Treatment For Her Patients
So many have been helped Dr. Z. If you were a patient or family member of a patient reliant on Dr. Z's exceptional care, please make sure your voice heard. If you are able, please consider providing financial support for Dr. Z's legal defense through the GoFundMe account established by a former patient for Dr. Z's benefit.
GOFUNDME
All proceeds go towards Dr. Z's legal defense.
SIGN THE PETITION
Be heard.
COMMUNICATE WITH VIRGINIA LEGISLATORS
Educate them about the prevalence of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases in Virginia.
We must increase awareness of this issue. Use this map to find out who your representative is and how to reach her/him: https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/index.php/legislator?search=
Tell them your story and why this issue is so important not only to you, but all Virginians.
There are many ailments Virginians are suffering from and don't realize it may be related to Lyme or other tick-borne diseases. Symptoms such as chronic fatigue, joint pain, muscle pain, or neck pain could be signs of being infected and have been misdiagnosed.
"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together"
Vincent van Gogh
VIRGINIA BOARD OF MEDICINE DECISION FROM FEBRUARY 2020 HEARING
The Virginia Board of Medicine has voted to revoke the medical license of Dr. Leila Zackrison. While the final decision was announced, the board has yet to release its opinion detailing the rationale for its decision. Many of our members are Dr. Zackrison’s patients and strongly believe that she has been instrumental in helping them recover from Lyme and associated tick-borne diseases. Once the medical board’s written opinion is officially released, NatCapLyme will review it, convene a meeting to analyze it, and determine how best to help Dr. Zackrison if she decides to appeal this order.
We will keep you posted on any noteworthy developments as the process unfolds.
ADD A TESTIMONIAL
Tell your story
TESTIMONIALS
For people whose health issues have always fit into the narrow constraints of AMA guidelines, it is easy to be purists in relation those constraints. Our family had comfortably lived with such trust in the established structure. That ease began to crack when our always healthy, vibrant daughter suddenly became very ill. For 17 years we have sought medical assistance from dozens of doctors, including world famous infectious disease specialists. We were very grateful to finally find one physician who was determined to solve the problems of our daughter's suffering. That was Dr. Leila Zackrison. She devoted herself to finding the correct diagnosis and ceaselessly trying to ease the damage done by years of insufficient treatment. Dr. Z. has probably kept our daughter alive and certainly has done a great deal to help her recover. This doctor has demonstrated more compassion and dedication to our daughter's healing than all other professionals combined. There are very few doctors in the nation who are willing to keep seeking solutions beyond the simple and obvious. Some who do are honored in the Washington Post Health section. In the case of Dr. Z, the reward has been to have her license revoked. Hundreds of patients who depend on Dr.Z.'s care have been severely impacted. If her license is not restored, many more lives will be affected and even lost. Virginia has the opportunity to be a leader for patients wanting freedom in their medical care, particularly if they suffer from Lyme Disease. Virginia should not only be a state with one of the greatest concentrations of infection but also a center for correct treatment. Please insure that the license of Dr. Leila Zackrison is restored immediately. Thank you.
Mary Ann
In 2015, I was finally diagnosed with Lyme Disease from my regular doctor. I had been bitten two years earlier, had taken the recommended dosage of Doxycycline, and forgot about it. I then had a full hip replacement, and starting having strange symptoms, for which I underwent many tests that showed nothing. When I finally found Dr. Z in January of 2016, she correctly predicted that this way a Lyme manifestation. We began my treatment and those symptoms disappeared and have not come back. I also have her to thank for eradicating a long history with UTIs....I had been tormented regularly by these infections, and she began a treatment that has completely eradicated these occurrences.
Please listen to us--every day researchers discover new information on how the body works...doctors need to stay current --Dr. Z is ahead of her time and studies what is happening with new knowledge being uncovered around the world-her treatments are a combination of knowledge, experience, skill and genuine caring for her patients. How will you allow me to receive the treatment I need?
Alexandra
Dear Virginia Board of Medicine Members, I am writing to support Dr. Leila Zackrison. Dr. Z, as we affectionately call her, is ahead of her time. Not everyone understands her methods, which is unfortunate to say the least. I was sick for a couple of years and I saw different specialist for my different symptoms. No one ascertained why I felt so sick, dizzy, and exhausted. I was awake for two hour increments at a time, sleeping for five hours in between. I had no life. No one was able to help me, nor was I diagnosed. I wasn't taken seriously by any of the doctors that I saw. My, now, healthy, friend, who had seen Dr. Z for her conditions referred me to her. Finally, I had answers and was under her care and treatment. Dr. Z tested my blood for a large amount of problems and she discovered a lot of problems! I am more than happy to share my lab results with you from Labcorp. Dr. Z digs deep to find out the exact problems and zeros in on them in order to alleviate the source, rather than mask the symptoms with pharmaceuticals as is common practice in the mainstream medical industry. Have I ever complained about little things? Sure, but mostly because she is so caring that she tends to get a bit overzealous, which is what I love about her. However, those complaints are nothing compared to the complaints that I have about the doctors that didn't bother testing me. The supplements that we used aren't covered under any insurance because they aren't prescriptions (chemicals,) but I choose to have this additional expense to restore my health. I am in excellent health now and I, literally, owe my life to Dr. Zackrison. I don't say that in a flippant manner; Dr. Z saved my life. If I had gone on as I was, I would have died. Please do not take her medical license away. Her sick patients depend on her more than you can imagine. My heart goes out to those patients that cannot see her presently. I beg you not to take her away from us. Please open your minds to think outside of the outdated pharmaceutical mentality. As you noticed, our country is realizing that so many practices are harming us. For example, organic produce, farmers' markets, essential oils, decrease in plastics leaching into our foods, electric cars, etc. are, now, mainstream ideas. We were blind to what we were doing to our bodies and our environment for many decades. Dr. Z's methods need to be realized by all. I am happy to be of any help in this matter.
I meet people with medical issues that are going unresolved and I, desperately, want to refer them to Dr. Z. She can help so many other people, Our medical system is broken and Dr. Z's methods are the solution.
Francine
Dr. Z is the only doctor that was able to help me get better. I am so grateful for her knowledge and care after I spent thousands of dollars with three other doctors. Please don’t take that from me…what is taking place is so unfair to those she is helping. We have rights to the health care we need and health care that is working…you are trying to deny us that right. This is America.
Tonya
Dr. Z has treated my friend and without her expertise I am sure the quality of life for my friend would be significantly impacted. She needs the services that Dr. Z provides as do all of the patients she who have to live with this disease.
Briana
My wife, Marjie, first went to Dr Zackrison, with symptoms that included sore muscles and joints, aches that moved around her body and confused thinking. The traditional medical community had been unable to find the problem. Dr Zackrison studied her medical history and carefully listened to her concerns. After testing and observation, Dr Zackrison diagnosed Lyme disease and prescribed treatment including IVs, traditional and integrative medicines and supplements. After completing the treatments, Marjie’s Lyme is in remission and her symptoms greatly reduced much to our relief. Dr Zackrison also treats other hard to diagnose diseases. My knees had been very sore for years before seeing Dr Zackrison. After testing, she diagnosed a chronic strep condition that had not been diagnosed during the rigorous annual physicals I received as a career Air Force pilot or by civilian doctors. Her treatments completely resolved the knee pain enabling me to keep running for exercise.
I have been treated by Dr Zackrison since approximately 2001. For 19 years, I have observed that she is an expert diagnostician, has great compassion for her patients and works to get to the root causes of disease and resolve them. She is one of only a few doctors in the nation who can effectively treat Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. We realize there is controversy within the medical community on the persistence and treatment of Lyme. However, based on personal experience, I have no doubt that chronic Lyme exists and can be treated.
John
I am a 69 year old female married for 45 years to a now retired Air Force officer. We moved all around the US together to John’s assignments until he retired from the military in 1994 and we settled in Alexandria, VA. I had received medical care since my marriage in 1973 to John from the military health system. I was a quite healthy with only a few visits each year and 2 healthy babies. In the late 1990s I began to feel something was definitely the matter inside my body. I had a number of visits with doctors at the Fort Belvoir Hospital and many blood tests and they couldn’t find any medical problem. I had brain fog that was continuing to get worse, I experienced unusual pains that moved around to different parts of my body with no apparent cause. I heard that Dr Leila Zachrison was an extremely talented and caring diagnostician as well as a rheumatologist which seemed like the specialty that I needed with my symptoms. She was amazing. She had read my long and detailed health history before we first spoke in person. I sat in her waiting room talking with other patients who were finding her treatment life changing. Eventually, I had a picc line inserted and began an IV antibiotic regime that lasted several months. The bottom line is that my Lyme is now dormant. I believe that Biofilms of Lyme can open up and become active under certain conditions. This is what happens with chronic Lyme. Today, I am well, walking and thinking clearly with my reactive arthritis being managed with anti-inflammatory meds and supplements. Dr. Leila Zackrison has given me back my life.
I find the Virginia Board of Medicine acted unethically in suspending her license and delaying her hearing, with no consideration of Dr. Zackrison’s or her patients’ rights and feelings. Lack of hope is the worst thing in the world for people who are ill. Patients need treatment choices like Dr Zackrison has provided when dealing with diseases that are poorly understood.
Marjorie
I came to Dr. Z a few years ago after having reached a plateau with Lyme treatment elsewhere. Dr. Z uncovered loads of complexities that had previously been overlooked and patiently started unpeeling the layers of the onion to restore my health. She constantly amazes me in her brilliance and vast knowledge. As grateful as I am for what she has done for me, I am even more grateful to her for the incredible work she has done for my children. I truly don't know what would have happened to my family if not for Dr Z. We're not all the way there yet though and we really, really need the board to restore her license. As do so many others.
Wendy
After 20 years of hell I was one of the few that got help with diagnosed(verified) chronic Lyme. In a now closed clinic in Brunswick Ga. a brave Doctor treated me with a protocol of vitamins. I am now symptom free since 1999 and am soon 80 yrs . The lack of insurance coverage has created a path to the lack of innovation in the Medical field. No one having the results of this horrible parasite would not be in support of this Doctor. No one!
I have ALL my blood work,diaries,etc. to this day not one of the Doctors still practicing is interested in the results I was fortunate to have. The so called research hospitals also not interested. Perhaps it is the fortune one has to pay to get help.
Paula
Having a son with serious Lyme conditions from age 8-16, we were finally blessed with a doctor similar to Dr. Z. She literally saved his life. We don’t know Dr. Z, but in reading all this info I feel compelled to stand up for her and for everyone she cares for. We simply cannot be without any doctor willing to go the extra mile to give patients their lives back.
Shelby
I am a healthy, thriving 14-year-old because Dr. Z. saved my life. I contracted Lyme Disease when I was 8-years old, I would have been really really sick or dead if I had stuck with conventional treatment. Her method of treating Lyme Disease is not dangerous or unsafe. It is safe and effective. The conventional treatment is what is dangerous and unsafe! She is a true doctor and a true scientist.
Joshua
I contracted Lyme Disease almost 20 years ago. Until 2009 I had seen over 40 different physicians in the Tidewater area, received over 20 different forms of treatment, and approximately 7 different diagnosis. (none for Lyme and none were effective). As a result, my health continued to rapidly deteriorate. What I was told on many visits was, “well you don’t have Lyme because your blood tests are negative.” After waiting months to get an appointment, I even had an infectious disease physician tell me he did not know what was wrong with me. But, he enthusiastically indicated that there was some “great” information on the internet and I should check it out! In short, I was getting no useful medical help.
In 2009 when I met with Dr. Zackrison I knew she would not stop until she could find an answer. I was given a broad spectrum of test along with alternative and conventional medications. After some months of effective, caring treatment, I was finally well enough to return to work part-time.
In the beginning, (starting in 1996), I had constant flu-like symptoms, rapid heartbeat, fevers, constant pelvic pain, severe fatigue, dizziness, imbalance. In addition, I could not concentrate or hold my hands steady enough to write, I lost 16 lbs. in 2 mos. from no appetite and nausea. Tumors and cysts started appearing, for the first time, in my abdominal area resulting in over seven surgeries. Because of the impact of Lyme, I also lost my career after 19 years with our local school system.
Dr. Zackrison is a relentless medical detective who carefully and seriously listens to the nuances of the medical problems and issues my body is presenting during every office visit. She has the amazing ability to quickly understand how those problems/issues relate to one another and to their impacts on each of the major systems in my body. Through those relational understandings and her extremely professional medical knowledge, she is able to design and prescribe the best appropriate treatment for me. Every problem is listened to and treated with the highest importance. I walk away feeling like I am being treated with genuine care, concern and respect — positive feelings of hope and healing. Dr. Zackrison takes the time to make written notes for me so that I can refer back to them. Consequently, I rarely have questions regarding my treatment protocol. I am blessed to have the opportunity to have Dr. Zackrison and her staff supporting me with the challenges of this insidious disease.
Rebecca
I came to Dr. Zackrison in September 2012. At the time I was an executive administrator for a large corporation with a lot of responsibility. Unexpected pain in my left hip, and knee joints were puzzling me. Certainly my 30 minute daily swim before work was not causing the problem. But my biggest concern was my struggle at work with concentration and fogginess. For example I would work hard to produce a complicated schedule of activities, and five minutes later, I could not remember hardly any of the important highlights. It was as if big erasers had wiped it away. I thought, “I just need to try harder”, and stayed awake at night worrying, praying and strategizing what I could do. Needless to say, it only got worse. When my primary care physician informed me that some tests came back positive for Lyme disease and that I should contact a specialist, I wasted no time. I have a friend whose family was treated for Lyme and she directed me to Dr. Z. Thus began my journey with the treatment of Lyme and other problems that resulted from my immune system being compromised. Dr. Zackrison took the time to explain the overall picture of my condition and how we could fight back and regain my good health. At first I felt overwhelmed; not only was the fog creating a problem, but I was in denial. So, I started bringing my daughter who was taking some courses on health and wellness to my appointments. She was so amazed at Dr. Z’s wealth of knowledge and approach. Dr Z wrote down instructions for me and my daughter took notes as well. We attacked Lyme, Babesiosis and other parasites using pharmaceuticals, homeopathic treatments, and herbs being careful to supplement my body and boost my immune system. It felt like I was at war. Eventually chelation intervention was recommend and I went for it. I had no problem tolerating the treatment and very rapidly started to have positive results. Neither Lyme nor Babesia have shown up in my latest tests. There are other issues that we are stilling working on, but, I feel like the clouds have lifted and we are winning this battle. What can I say except, Praise God for Dr. Zackrison and her team for their truly insightful approach to wellness.
I retired in June of 2013 and I’m enjoying every single day. Again – Thanks Dr Z!!
Margarita
I became an invalid from an unknown disease in 2000. Doctors could not find the cause. By the grace of God I diagnosed myself and began traveling 14 hours from home to see Dr. Joseph Burrascano, widely recognized as the world’s foremost Lyme specialist. He confirmed that I had Lyme, though I did not test positive until 18 months of treatment. Over the many years I saw him I gradually improved, but had reached a plateau and was still in great pain. When he closed his practice I was terrified of reverting to my previous condition (which was worse than death). He sent me to Dr. Zackrison. Her methods were very different than Dr. Burrascano’s and I was very skeptical, but in a short while I could see she had an insight into human health far beyond any doctor I had ever met. She not only kept me from reverting to my former condition, she brought me far beyond the plateau at which I had stalled. Her tender care gave me back my life; gave me back to my family. Not only has her healing heart and hand relieved my suffering, she has cured my son of problems that other doctors could not. I have raved so about her skills that family and friends have claimed her as their own and been cured of both minor and serious illnesses that other doctors had been unable to cure.
I have seen her work early, late and through lunch to accommodate her patients, and yet remain always cheerful, no matter the strain, always patient, tender and kind. Dr. Zackrison could easily have more free time, more money and fewer headaches by simply allowing her to be pushed into the patient mill mentality possessed by the average doctor, but then she could not give life, hope, and health back to those who desperately need it. The injustice done against her by those who possess not one tenth of the knowledge and compassion as does she, is an injustice to us all who rely on her for our very lives. As such, this fight is not only hers, but ours. We have been helped; do we now abandon those who come behind us to the mediocrity of the medical profession? No, we each have not only a stake in this, we have a duty; we cannot leave an angel of mercy to fight our battle alone. Pray for her to have the strength to bear the load she carries for us.
Shannon
Dr. Z, thank you. You are not thanked enough for all you do. I came to you two years ago a shadow of myself, a broken woman breaking more each day, weak and desperate to get my life back.
Today I completed my second half marathon. When I crossed the finish line, all I could think was “Thank you!” Two years ago, getting out of bed was barely possible. Thank you for your love, care, stable hand, and fierce determination. I am thankful for the education you have given me.
I wake up each day thankful not to be in pain, for the little things. Know that your work gives life; I am proof of it. I am thankful for my health because it is now giving me the ability to pursue my passions and spend time with family.
I am launching full time into my own company, a platform that connects families and college student sitters to help build futures of children and students. This business, the children I cared for as a nanny sustained me and gave me a reason to fight for my health. Know that your work has given me the ability to impact others’ lives. My family thanks you too for bringing me back to them.
Maura
I became suddenly ill, overnight, in March 2015 with a variety of pain symptoms (peripheral neuropathy, back pain, joint pain, systemic tendonitis, and an intractable headache) plus terrible fatigue and malaise. After contracting mononucleosis presumably from Epstein Barr virus (both monospot and EBV titer were positive at the time), my body has never been the same.
I had a headache every day for 5 years- the first year and last years were the worst.
In between those 2 years, I was able to work. But I couldn’t for the first year- my immune system was suppressed enough for a year that I had terrible symptoms and went from working overtime hours as an RN every week while regularly exercising and being very active in social/family/community events to being unable to work or exercise at all and withdrawing from a lot of the other facets of life. That intractable headache was the worst symptom.
I think being on steroids for a few months that first year right after I developed those symptoms may have contributed to immune suppression and Lyme/co-infections becoming strong.
My symptoms improved for years 2, 3, 4 but then got worse. I met Dr. Zackrison after having these symptoms for 4 years. She treated me right away with IV antibiotics. Initially the headache became worse, but eventually it disappeared completely. She cured the intractable headache with aggressive treatment, and I am so happy and relieved.
Thank you!
Jocelyn
Words cannot express how much Dr. Z and her staff have helped both my wife and me during this extremely difficult period of our lives.
We both contracted Lyme disease, became physically debilitated, and saw many medical professionals to try and resolve the issue, but it wasn’t until we began visits with Dr. Z that we actually began to make progress.
I am now feeling nearly 100% again, and am on track to feel even *better* than I did before contracting Lyme in the first place. My wife’s health issues were much more dire and multifaceted than mine, but she has been progressing well under Dr. Z’s care, and for the first time we have hope that she will be back to full function again.
Dr. Z doesn’t treat her patients as mere numbers – she treats all of them as real people and truly goes above and beyond to help them in every way possible. She’s extremely systematic in her approach, doesn’t give her patients more/less than is necessary, and she’s always looking at the health of her patients from a global, long-term perspective, so that she can help them not only succeed in the short term, but for life.
Steve
I’ve been a patient of Dr. Zackrison for almost two years, and if she will have me, plan to continue using her services as my physician for the rest of my life. I respect her not only as a doctor, but as a person of utmost integrity and the highest moral principles. That is why it has been especially irksome to me to hear that there are those who are questioning her intentions in treating her patients. I’ve never met a doctor who has cared so much for us as individuals and who works so hard to treat our medical conditions in the most complete and effective way.
I came to her to treat one specific condition (Lyme) but she has taken all aspects of my health into consideration and has helped me with everything from asthma to post-menopausal symptoms. Her recommendations are always practical — she’s done extensive research so you know without doubt that what she is suggesting is the best route to go. She’s an outstanding communicator, able to give us a real understanding of so complex a disease such as Lyme.
How anyone can suggest that Chronic Lyme does not exist is beyond me. All they have to do is spend a day at Dr. Z’s office and hear from her patients whose lives were halted by this ravaging disease until they found their way to her office. She is a warrior against a ruthless foe of an illness, and this country owes her a mighty debt for her brave work in this field.
I earnestly hope her scientific brilliance will be recognized and valued, so she can continue to serve all those who are so much in need of her unique abilities and caring heart.
Julia
I am writing to share how Dr. Leila Zackrison has helped me!!!!!! When I came to Dr. Z I was experiencing, in layman’s terms, over 200 tachycardia incidences in 1 and a half years. I went several times to the ER and they could do nothing. I suffered from insomnia for 10 plus years, I woke up in June 1992 with constant moderate to severe headaches 24/7, I had vertigo incidences, atypical seizures (as a neurologist called them, my mind would remain clear but I could not hold my body up from the neck down for periods of half hours, these alone were extremely frightening with a new born and a 1 year old.
Since I have been under her care, my tachycardia’s have reduced to extreme rarity with absolute less intensity and duration, I am sleeping with no sleep aids whatsoever and my headaches are mild almost all the time, with some moderate pain and absolutely rarely severe pain.
I am a work in progress because of the fact that I saw so many doctors over a period of 20 years that did not know what was wrong. Even when I was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2006, they did nothing. I was diagnosed positive several times after through 2012 by different doctors with no one taking on the challenge to help me fight. But once I started experiencing the instantaneous spike in blood pressure with increased heart rates, shakes, dizziness, rapid onset of bowel movements, increased head pain, hands and fingers stiffening up, facial paralysis, wheezing and so much more, and instead of experiencing these horrific episodes (which would begin all of a sudden while hanging out with mom, eating dinner with friends, or watching a hallmark movie) every 3 years or so which started in 1998, I started having them several times a week or a few a day starting Jan 14, 2010, by a year and a half later, over 200 episodes, I said enough. I can live with all the pain my whole adult life but not with this. That is when I insisted on seeing a Lyme specialist. So you can see all she has accomplished, to take her away would be a huge mistake. I cannot stress this enough. Please leave her to practice because there are hardly any doctors out there willing to stick out their necks and try to help people in our situation. Or there are not enough doctors willing to go back to learn how to deal with these diseases. As one pioneer doctor said to me once, “it is the most complex disease we have ever experienced in the medical community”.
WE NEED HELP. I HAVE SEEN CHILDREN, TEENS, ADULTS AND EVEN PETS DIE BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN MISDIAGNOSED AND THEN WHEN THE DOCTORS FINALLY TRY TO TREAT LYME, IT’S TOO LATE. THEY ARE DEAD. THEY HAVE DIED. WAKE UP, THIS IS A DISEASE THAT IS MAKINGPEOPLE SICK, DISABLED AND WE ARE LOSING LOVED ONES.
Morie
Dr. Z treats my husband Alan and has identified inconsistencies and inappropriate actions taken by other medical personnel. Her superb knowledge of the chemical properties and interactions among various substances has saved my husband a lot of grief as he has a specific allergy that is troublesome. His physical and mental health is very complicated with many inherited issues. Dr. Z has been ferreting out all of these and treating them so my husband has a chance to enjoy life. He has had Lyme and babesia and needed Dr. Z’s treatment protocols. That she is now being prevented from delivering these treatments is a travesty.
Alan
Dr. Zackrison and her NPs treated my mother G.G. and were exceedingly kind and understanding with her. Mother had come from a very large family (11) and not had medical or dental care as a youngster so she was understandably not eager to see any medical person. Even though mother was reluctant to admit to having aches and pains, Dr. Z and her staff helped make the last 15 years of her life better with appropriate treatments. Mother passed away at 89. She was fortunate to have Dr. Z’s care until the day when God called her. I am grateful to Dr. Z for her care of mother. I am deeply disturbed by the uncalled for actions being taken by the Virginia Board of Medicine against Dr. Z.
G.G.
In the mid to late 1990s I was in horrible pain that had been diagnosed as osteoarthritis, but about four internists and four rheumatologists said I better get used to the pain and learn to live with it because it wasn’t going to get better. Their only offering was arthritis pain medication, which did NOT help. The pain was awful from the top of my head to the tip of my toes. When I first consulted with Dr. Z she said yes, I did have arthritis, but it was not the source of the terrible pain I had. She explained that her philosophy of medicine was to find the cause of a problem and eliminate it rather than just treating symptoms. I was so relieved that finally one M.D. acknowledged that I really had pain and was determined to find the cause. I was diagnosed in 2000 with Lyme and had the type of antibiotic treatment the VA Board of Medicine rails against. My first treatment was 11 weeks and helped immensely but clearly was not long enough. I did get major pain relief for about 18 months. When subsequent tests showed Lyme was again active, I underwent 40 weeks of IV antibiotics. In week 33 I experienced a miracle in that I was feeling so bad one day I decided to go to the hospital the next morning. But when I woke, I felt significantly better and continued to noticeably improve each hour. Dr. Z and I jointly agreed to complete the full 40-week treatment to try to eradicate the Lyme spirochetes. Because my home is in a tick infested area and there is really no fool-proof method of eliminating them, I have also contracted Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the ensuing years and had additional IV antibiotic treatments. Dr. Zackrison’s incredible medical skills have given me my life back when I wanted to die in 1999 because I hurt so badly and no one before her had helped me. She restored my health to the point where I was able to return to the work that I had been wanting to do overseas but could not medically qualify for. She has truly saved my life several times when other physicians misdiagnosed me (saying I had pleurisy when it was really a severe pulmonary embolism) and overprescribed blood pressure medication to the point where I was trying unsuccessfully to function with readings of 84/62. If Dr. Zackrison had not been able to treat me with the very aggressive Lyme and other tick borne diseases protocols she uses, I am certain I would have died a long time ago. She must be allowed to practice medicine using whatever methods she believes will help her patients. Any other course of action is a major curtailment of the FREEDOM that we deserve as Americans. Rather than being a backwater of stuck-in-the-mud antiquated medicine, the Commonwealth of Virginia needs to be at the forefront of innovative treatments such as those practiced by Dr. Zackrison!
Jeanne
I came to Dr. Z in 2010 after being in treatment with a well-known functional medicine doctor – Dr. Mark Hyman. He started me on the road to health but I still had a ways to go. With Dr. Z’s protocol along with Nurse Practitioner Wendy and Dr. Z’s entire staff – Iris, Misha, Jackie, and everyone else, my pain, illness and blood work is almost back to normal. Dr. Z said I could get healthy and I put my faith in her and her protocol. I believe in what she does because it works. I am only on natural thyroid (armour) medication and bio- identical hormones, no other drugs. I am indebted to Dr. Z’s help and commitment to take the functional medicine route to help her patients. Because of my journey with this kind of medicine, I am now a certified integrative nutrition health coach and want to pay it forward to help others get their health back, especially those who had so many infections, they developed autoimmunity.
Pam
In August 2005, I became ill overnight with severe brain fog, fatigue and migratory joint pain. I tested positive for Lyme. Over the next 5 months, I was treated homeopathically and the brain fog cleared up but the joint pain and swelling went systemic affecting all of my joints except hips and spine. My joints were so inflamed I could not open my mouth to eat. I was diagnosed with a severe form of rheumatoid arthritis and methotrexate was recommended. Intuitively, I knew that suppressing my immune system with methotrexate would kill me. I was inflamed throughout my entire body. I researched and learned of infectious causes to R.A. I learned about Dr. Thomas M. Brown’s research which revealed infectious causes to R.A. Over the next year, I worked with a rheumatologist who was very angry that I refused the methotrexate and requested low dose minocycline instead, but he did give it to me. I also began to work with a medical doctor who practices functional (alternative) medicine. These measures were somewhat helpful but I was still very sick and inflamed.
Then in June 2007, I found Dr. Zackrison. She is a rheumatologist who believes in ongoing infections as a possible trigger for auto-immune disorders. Until finding her, I could not get anyone to run blood tests to see if I indeed had mycoplasma and/or strep. Both of these infections as well as Lyme have been proven to cause R.A.
Dr. Zackrison not only tested me for Mycoplasma and Strep, but a host of other infections and I was positive for approximately 30 bacterias, viruses and parasites including Babesia Ducani. We began antibiotics and supplements and followed a diet based upon testing for food sensitivities. Within 7 months I was pain free and fully functional. It took several years to clear all the microbes but during that time and to this day, I enjoy full health and lifestyle. I ride horses, so fully functional means able to engage in strenuous physical activity. My husband and I retired this year, but prior to retirement, we owned an insurance agency and I worked full-time.
I have met so many others with rheumatoid arthritis that went the conventional treatment route and not one of them is doing well. Their joints are deformed and their lives are restricted. They live with pain and surgeries.
Thank you so much Dr. Zackrison for seeking and treating causes to my rheumatoid arthritis instead of just treating symptoms with drugs that give me no hope of recovery.
To the Virginia Medical Review Board. You fear that Dr. Zackrison is endangering the lives of her patients, yet the drugs approved by the field of rheumatology and used routinely are very dangerous with low success rates and high risk of death. Enbrel even states in its literature “THIS DRUG CAN KILL YOU. PEOPLE HAVE DIED FROM USING THIS DRUG.” And yet, you have no issue with the lifelong treatment protocol using these dangerous drugs. Many people do die early deaths because of treatment. Why then, do you have a problem with the use of antibiotics and supplements and alternative care treatment?
Why are you determined to take away a patient’s choice in how they want to be treated? Long before I found Dr. Zackrison, I was rejecting the deadly rheumatoid drugs and seeking a way to identify and remove the triggers in me that were driving my immune system into overdrive. It was my preferred way of treatment for my illness. Dr. Zackrison did nothing to me without my full consent and she did a wonderful job of informing me of the risks, the advantages, the options available to me and shared fully my tests results and what they mean.
At no time did I blindly follow Dr. Zackrison or any of the other doctors I employed. This is my body and ultimately my decision how I would approach healing. I thank God for doctors like Dr. Zackrison who are willing to identify and treat possible causes to illness instead of just treating symptoms.
Please, allow patients the ability to choose how they will treat their illnesses. Without doctors like Dr. Zackrison, we have no choice available.
Susan
In May 2010, I experienced a sudden onset of muscle pain around the joints in my legs, arms and shoulders. On June 10, 2010, I was diagnosed with Lyme disease as indicated in a LabCorp blood test requested by my general practitioner. He prescribed 6 weeks of Doxycycline and scheduled a follow-up appointment in July. At the follow-up appointment, the doctor ordered more blood work – this time requesting the Western Blot test, as recommended by the CDC in a note contained in the first lab report. The second lab report was sent back to the doctor’s office on July 31, 2010 – showing that the Western Blot test came back positive for Lyme on many bands. The doctor prescribed another 2 weeks of Doxycycline and scheduled another visit. During that time I was feeling progressively worse, and told the Doctor so at my third visit. He told me that I must have something other than Lyme since the Doxycycline did not cure me. He then gave me a referral to a rheumatologist.
Strongly suspecting that Lyme was still my problem, not rheumatoid arthritis, I sought out a physician with Lyme experience/ expertise in the Washington DC metro area. I found Doctor Zackrison and made my first appointment in September. Dr. Zackrison immediately ordered a number of blood tests to get a picture of my complete physical state. The blood tests again came back positive for Lyme, and Dr. Z began a systematic treatment of the Lyme, along with other co-infections that were present. I had reached a low point of physical range of motion where I needed assistance to even put on a jacket. The regimen Dr. Z had me follow gradually started to take effect, and by September of 2011 I was feeling better than I ever did. It took a year, but the protocol that Dr. Z used proved to be very successful and the key to my health today. It is not an exaggeration to say she saved my quality of life, if not my life itself. I hate to think what would have happened if I had not found her practice when I did.
I strongly support Dr. Zackrison’s ability to keep treating patients the way she does. If I have a recurrence, or have more family or friends affected by Lyme, I want to be able to go to her and refer others to her. It is my life and health, and I should have the freedom to choose the medical help I deem most effective.
Phil
Dr. Zackrison is the most informed, intelligent, caring doctor I have ever met – and I’ve been to many, many doctors in my lifetime. I’d been suffering for 8 years with Lyme disease before I found Dr. Z. There were many doctors who completely missed the obvious Lyme symptoms, but until I found Dr. Z, I was wasting time and throwing money down the drain because my previous doctors didn’t know what they were doing. When I developed debilitating RA symptoms, I finally found Dr. Z and she has treated me for Lyme, RA and many conditions related to Lyme that I didn’t know I had. I am well on my way to recovery after over 10 years of suffering. I don’t know what I would have done without Dr. Z, she saved my life. She is truly gifted and should be able to use her gifts to continue treating Lyme patients using her proven methods.
Susan O.
I saw Dr. Zackrison for chronic back pain that had worsened over a four year period. At 45, I was walking stooped over more and more. No one had been able to address the problem. My wife was in treatment with Dr. Z for Lyme and suggested that I get a consult. Dr. Z’s approach was different than those I’d experienced in years of seeking help for the problem. The treatment worked as outlined and I have been pain free, with full motion since that time — over 12 years. Since that time, her approach has broadened, particularly in Europe.
I attended a hearing on Dr. Z by the board several years ago. Nearly 100 current and former patients were there. Her treatment was reviewed and by a majority, the board dismissed the doctor (not patient) generated complaints.
The medical board needs to know that ongoing harassment of Dr. Z threatens the health and well-being of the very citizens the board is supposed to protect. If they succeed in their harassment, they will be solely responsible for a great deal of pain and suffering. Citizens will not be silent in demanding justice.
Michael
I started seeing Dr. Zackrison in 2007 after being diagnosed with Lyme disease and co-infections. I have know doubt that she and her staff saved my life. She is by far the best doctor I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen more then my share. She is caring and very compassionate. I would absolutely recommend her to anyone. She has a special place in my heart and I would defend her to the ends of the earth. God Bless you Dr. Z.
Valinda
My wife and I have no doubt that Dr. Zackrison saved our daughter’s life. We were referred to Dr. Z by a friend when our then 13-year old daughter was crashing hard. Despite positive Lyme blood tests, her pediatrician and doctors at three prominent local hospitals said it couldn’t be Lyme because she didn’t have the classic symptoms. We’ve all encountered that nonsense. By the time we got to Dr. Z, our daughter was paralyzed from the waist down and had a host of other significant problems. As is the case for many of us, we could write a book about her journey. But from the very beginning, Dr. Zackrison was frank, informative, caring, patient – and gave us hope. Although our daughter still has a long way to go, she was walking again within two years and has been able to complete high school and is now in college. She turns 20 next week, and there were at least two occasions where her condition was so acute that we almost lost her. Without Dr. Z, our daughter would have died.
What angers me about the Virginia Medical Board’s witch hunt is that with every step of our journey, Dr. Zackrison has carefully explained our options for treatment as well as the fact that not everyone in the medical community agrees with her treatment protocols. She encouraged us to do our own research and has sent us to other specialists when she felt she was out of her area of expertise. Every decision made regarding our daughter’s treatment was OUR decision, based on fully informed consent. The Board needs to recognize that they don’t have all the answers, that patients have choices and no one is being forced by Dr. Z to do anything. We can’t imagine a more caring, informed physician.
David
After going to a family doctor and neurologist for tingling and numbness in my arms and legs, along with other strange symptoms, and being told everything was normal, I started searching my symptoms online and soon realized I had about 25 symptoms of Lyme disease. I told my family physician who did agree to give me a prescription for doxycycline. The doxy immediately threw me into a herx reaction and by then I had done enough research to know that this was a confirmation of Lyme. I found Dr. Z through an online Lyme support group. I truly feel that she saved my life. I was on oral antibiotics for over a year and slowly the symptoms subsided. I was fortunate in that she still took insurance at that time. Dr. Z is a caring and highly intelligent doctor and I was saddened to see that she is being harassed again. I did return for follow-up treatment a couple of years ago after finding an attached tick, having symptom flare-ups, and not being able to get treatment from local doctors. It would be a great loss to Lyme sufferers should Dr. Z be forced to close her practice.
Sharon
Without Dr. Zackrison, I would be 100% disabled if I were still alive at all. I had severe rheumatoid arthritis. She found and treated every illness possible and brought me to full remission. I enjoy a full and very active life today thanks to Dr. Zackrison.
What can we say to make these witch hunts cease?
Susan P.
I had 4 years of severe pain and various neurologic symptoms between ’05-’09. The worst of which was an intractable, horrible headache I had EVERY day for FIVE years. Then I met Dr. Zackrison. I had seen many doctors, and no one was able to help. She diagnosed Lyme/co-infections right away, started me on antibiotic therapy (which initially made the headache worse), but then it disappeared! I fully believe Dr. Zackrison cured that horrible headache. I still have a variety of neuro symptoms, and they improve/worsen with antibiotics- but overall I’m getting better.
Jocelyn
Dr. Zackrison was the first doctor in over 10 years to make any positive improvement in our daughter’s health. In 2002 at the age of 12, our daughter began experiencing chronic severe migraines. This was the beginning of a long series of visits to doctors in a wide variety of specialties at several well-regarded teaching hospitals such as Johns Hopkins and University of MD hospital, all of whom agreed that our daughter was very sick, and thought they could help her, and all eventually referred us on to yet another specialty. As time passed she began experiencing problems with more and more organ systems, indicating a more systemic illness. Eventually in 2006 she was diagnosed with Lyme disease and several co-infections, and a pull of her pediatric medical chart turned up records of a telltale bulls-eye rash in 1999 followed by a flu-like illness and the beginning of chronic neurological symptoms, all of which were misdiagnosed at the time. By the time she started seeing Dr. Z in late 2010, our daughter was using a wheelchair, having to crawl the short distance from her bedroom to her bathroom, had been diagnosed as bipolar, was hooked on narcotics and benzodiazepines, and had tried to commit suicide due to her unrelenting physical pain. Today, thanks to Dr. Z’s insightful knowledge and effective treatments, our daughter is completely off narcotics and psychiatric medications, she is NOT bipolar, and she no longer uses a wheelchair. If we had not had the good fortune to find Dr. Z, I’m convinced our daughter would now be dead. Dr. Zackrison is making very sick patients well, and improving the lives of patients that many other “specialists” could not help at all. Patients deserve to have a choice in who treats them and how they are treated – it is their lives that are at stake. I sincerely hope the Virginia Medical board will not take away that choice. Thank you, Dr. Z, for all you have done for our daughter and our family!
Donna
I was referred to Dr. Zackrison in 2007 for treatment for Lyme disease and other auto-immune problems. She has helped me immeasurably – from medications to resolve near failure of a number of major organs in early visits to treatments leading to improvements in Lyme disease symptoms, arthritis, and numerous health complications. Due to her efforts, my immune system has improved to the extent that I can schedule cornea transplant surgery to correct an inherited disease. Because of her unending commitment to finding answers to health issues, I am still alive today. Thank you Dr. Z.
Gloria
I had a tick “bite” in 1999. I was not not diagnosed until at least 2 years later. Even though I went to the doctor immediately with the part of the tick lodged in me and a large bruise where I had found the engorged tick. By the time I got to Dr. Zackrison I could hardly walk, was in constant pain and suffered cognitively. SHE SAVED MY LIFE!!!
Cynthia
Dr. Zackrison is the best doctor ever!!! I had multiple diseases and she got rid of them all!!!!! She is the best!!!!!
Michael
Dr. Zackrison is by far the most thorough, most dedicated, and most competent physician I have had the privilege of having. I was very sick and frightened in the fall of 2013 with multiple health problems that came on very suddenly. Numerous other physicians, specialists, and emergency room clinicians could not diagnose or treat the problems — which were multi-systemic. Dr. Z performed extensive tests beyond what most doctors even know about — and came up with a multi-layered treatment plan to address multiple causes of what was going on in my body. I saw immediate improvements within a few weeks and have continued to improve over time by adhering to her recommended treatment plans, which she and her team have adjusted as needed to accommodate my individual response. Had it not been for Dr. Z and her team, I would probably be unable to work or function and still searching for answers. It is criminal, in my opinion, that doctors like Dr. Z who are dedicated and courageous enough to take on the most difficult to treat patients — and get many of them well — are subject to this kind of persecution by medical “experts.” What have these medical “experts” on the Virginia board done to help the tens of thousands of patients who are suffering terribly from Lyme disease or other chronic, debilitating illnesses that have no easy fix? Nothing! Until these “experts” can provide viable treatment that works or promote research that actually helps these patients, they should not have this authority. Going after Dr. Z or other doctors who are courageous enough to try to alleviate this kind of suffering only hurts current and future patients’ chances of ever getting well. As a patient, I have the right to continue treatment with the physician whose judgment and experience I trust and whose treatments have worked for me! And I plan to tell my Congressional representatives.
Carol
I have been Dr. Z’s patient for 3 years now. When I entered her practice my health had declined so rapidly I left work on disability, unable to function personally or professionally; largely bedridden. My symptoms were too numerous to recount, was hospitalized several occasions, and had been misdiagnosed and mistreated. Finally Dr. Z positively diagnosed and began treating me with Lyme, 6 co-infections and other complications. Dr. Z has been a God-send. Where I had lost hope, I can see some light at the end of the tunnel…
Tim
I relocated across country a year ago to consult with Dr. Z after the best Lyme specialists on the West Coast could not “crack my case” and rid my body of this debilitating Lyme disease even after 6 years of trying. With exacting tests and amazing insight born of her many years of careful observation and experience, she was quickly able to identify the underlying reasons I was not responding to treatment — and map out a plan for my recovery. In all my 60-plus years Dr. Z is by far the most scientifically brilliant, dedicated, and compassionate doctor I’ve ever met. She goes to the nth degree to understand each patient’s unique needs — her efforts are nothing less than heroic. I can only hope she will soon be honored for her contribution to the field of treating Lyme and other very difficult diseases, and not be maligned by “those who know not what they do.”
J.R.
Dr. Z is an amazing doctor in multiple ways. How many doctors in this universe start their day at 5 a.m. so they are thoroughly acquainted with the background of that day’s patients so as to best outline their treatment plan?? And she is an outstanding communicator, welcoming questions and thoroughly explaining her recommendations. If further tests or medications are required, she makes sure you know exactly why. And she wants us to email her with updates on our progress so she can monitor our treatment between visits. Absolutely unique! It is a privilege to have her as my doctor.
S.U.
Dr. Z saved my life. I was active duty Army back in 2007 and VERY sick. The army misdiagnosed me so many times I can’t count. Finally treated me for 28 days with IV ABs and would do no more. I had felt better than I had in years. In 3 months I was just as sick as I was before. The Army would not treat me further and said there was “no such thing as chronic Lyme disease”. I could either crawl off into a corner and die or keep fighting. My wife ran into someone who had experience with the same strange symptoms that I had and referred me to Dr. Z. She treated me aggressively and I came back from the brink. I owe everything to her.
Lance
If it weren’t for Dr. Zackrison and her NPs, I would probably be in a rest home with “early onset Alzheimer’s” as other doctors seemed unable to detect that Lyme was causing the memory problems I was having. After only two weeks of treatment I had already regained some memory and by sticking with her treatment program, was able to recover fully. I thank God daily for having led me to her and I pray that many others will be able to benefit from her treatment as I have.
Christina
Thank God for Dr. Zackrison! She has given me my life back!! Through her treatment protocols for me, I am now pain free and enjoying life again. She has dedicated her life to treating her patients when no other doctors in my area even know how to treat Lyme disease and all of the horrible co-diseases that can come with it. As patients, we have a right to choose our medical treatment and I am so blessed to have found Dr. Zackrison. Her protocols are proven to be effective. She treats each patient as a whole individual and wants a good quality of life for each of us. I think it is time that the Virginia Board of Medicine dedicates itself to those doctors who truly are “quacks” and have done real harm. Leave integrative doctors like Dr. Zackrison alone so that she can dedicate her time to helping those of us who are sick and not concern herself with medical politics.
Suzanne
Dr. Zackrison is a brilliant doctor who has been willing to treat those many patients suffering with long term chronic illnesses who many doctors have turned their backs on. She is well educated, well informed, responsible, caring and compassionate. It is truly a tragedy that this is happening to her as she should be applauded, celebrated and rewarded for her compassionate and comprehensive care for those weak and ill among our population. I was one of those patients and for the first time, through my visits with Dr. Zackrison and her staff, someone listened and cared for my many diverse and difficult symptoms and diagnosis. I am so very sorry that this is happening to her and offer to her my deepest expressions of care and concern, prayers and encouragement. In all truth, she is an amazing physician and my hope is that the truth of her value and worth will shine through all of this that she is going through right now and that she can practice medicine for many, ,many more years.
Connie
I have been a patient of Dr. Zackrison’s for several years. I am 62 and had been seeking answers for chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia for over 25 years.
She has been able to identify acute and chronic tick borne diseases, viruses, bacteria and parasites that have caused my total disability. I have lost my ability to work and have limited interaction with my family, friends and community because of these medical conditions.
Dr. Zackrison’s drive and desire to help heal her patients is a courageous act of compassion. Her tenacity to take on the most difficult and challenging patients is a commitment to be praised, not punished. For me, I can honestly say she has saved my life and given me a fighting chance to regain my health and fulfill my God given destiny in this world.
Lucia
When I began seeing Dr. Z in 2006 I was bedridden, unable to work and unable to care for my husband and two children. I had been to several doctors prior to Dr. Z none of which were able to diagnose or treat me. Dr. Z took a thorough history and ran the appropriate tests. I was diagnosed with Lyme disease and two co infections. I began treatment immediately. It has been quite a journey since then. Dr. Z has been there educating me about my body and treatment options, encouraging me to be proactive with my health and sharing the latest research with me. It is because of her support that I am now able to work and care for my family. Dr. Z is an amazing doctor. She is always educating herself on the latest advances in medicine and truly has a passion for seeing her patients get well. Nothing lights up her face like a praise report from her patients. I have been blessed to have her as my doctor.
Kris
Dr. Zackrison is the type of doctor that makes you wish everyone you loved had an incredible doctor like her. After falling ill and receiving no answers from numerous specialists, I found Dr. Z. She listened to me and took my concerns seriously. After running appropriate tests, she diagnosed my illness that other doctors repeatedly overlooked. If it weren’t for Dr. Z, I can’t imagine where I would be. Because of her, I have my life back. I am able to continue with a career I love, and most importantly, take care of my family.