In Memory of

William "Billy" Boesche

William "Billy" Boesche, 41, died June 10, 2006.

Obituary- Maryland

William Henry "Billy" Boesché, 41, owner of a landscaping and hauling business, died June 10 at his home in Highland. He had chronic Lyme disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

Mr. Boesché owned CleanUps Unlimited in Highland for 14 years, working until about two years ago, when his condition worsened. He had previously worked in pool maintenance and the pool supplies business.

He was born in Bear Creek, Pa. He moved with his family in 1977 to Ocean City, where he enjoyed spending time at the beach. He liked to work around the house and was considered the family historian.

Survivors include his wife of 17 years, Michele Boudrye of Highland; his mother, Betty Boesché of White Marsh, Md.; three brothers, Steven Boesché of Sykesville, Md., Jon Boesché of White Marsh and David Boesché of Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; and a sister, Michelle Gilder of Bethesda.

Poem by Billy

Topic: new poem for you

ALSLYME

Member

Member # 6721

posted 21 June, 2005 11:02 AM

People are dying from this disease called lyme

And the only reason is because they dont find it in time

Most people with lyme never develop a bulls-eye rash

I know that's all you hear about, but that's alot of trash

If your lucky enough to have a rash, or find a tick imbedded in your skin

Going to a lyme literate doctor is your only chance to win

If you go to your regular doctor and say, "I think I have lyme"

He will not treat you properly and you will be wasting precious time

The best thing to do to avoid years of pain

Is to treat it early to stay ahead of the game

The accuracy of the standard blood test is so bad

You could die from this diease and never test positive, now isn't that sad

There are doctors that specialize in this disease

Lyme is very serious so investigate it please

I know they say lyme is no big deal

But how long was it before they let you know AIDS was real?

Do you know the damage SYPHILIS can do?

If I put the actual bacterias side by side you probably couldn't decipher the two

This disease can get your mother, father, sister, wife, husband, children, brother, & even you

The reason I'm writing this poem, is so you will know what to do

If you don't believe me, go to www.ilads.org on the web

There are so many fighting for their health and it's not in their head

~~~

Billy’s Poem About Life

posted 21 June, 2005 04:00 PM

As of today I would say I have had the best life

The best family, friends and the greatest wife

Life can change faster than you know

So if you love something definitely let it show

They say the best gift you can give is your time

Sometimes I wish I would have given more of mine

I know the best things in life aren't things

For some people, life is nice cars, money, and big diamond rings

Maybe you will realize everything you need is in your grasp

All you have to do is ask

Love sometimes can hurt like a bitch

But if you find it, you are so very rich

When you wake up tomorrow and have your health

Please realize that is a true sense of wealth

We live in a world that is so very fake

All based on what you do and how much you make

It's what's in your heart that says who you are

Not that you drive an expensive car

Happiness is something you just can't buy

I hope you're lucky enough to find it before you die

Please take time to smell the flowers

You don't know if you have years, months, weeks, or only hours

It's never too late for a new start

Start today, live life with an open heart.

*** I knew this all along, but now that I am very sick it has much more meaning. Maybe you can use this in your next sermon. Hope this helps.

Take Care.

~~ ~ ~ ~

Worcester County Times- June 22, 2006

Lyme disease patient diagnosed self

By Laura D'Alessandro

(photo)

Dr. James Burns, owner of the Main Street Med center in Salisbury uses a scaple to

remove a tick from a patients back.

(First in a two-part series)

OCEAN CITY -- Local attorney Jay Phillips spent four-and-a-half months with constant flu conditions, a migraine headache and a fever of 103 degrees before he finally realized he might have Lyme disease.

"I estimate I had it for about 10 years before it broke out," he said.

Phillips' initial diagnosis didn't even come from a doctor. He discovered it himself.

"Here I am sick as a dog and tired all the time, aching all over, stiff neck ... the whole nine yards," he said. "I had come in contact with the Pennsylvania Lyme Disease Association and had a pamphlet with a test in the back."

Phillips went down the list of symptoms in the pamphlet. He said he scored around 75 percent positive, but when he approached his doctor he wasn't given any help.

"I subsequently have learned that a lot of doctors have an aversion to being known as a Lyme doctor. It's just politically unpopular," he said.

Unable to find treatment, he sought the help of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society and was directed to specialist Dr. Gregory Bach who, like any Lyme specialist, is located three to four hours away.

During one of his many visits to Bach's Pennsylvania office for hefty antibiotic treatments, Phillips met people in the waiting room with astonishing cases.

A girl in her mid-20s had been misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis and was prescribed steroids.

"She had been treated at the University of Pennsylvania and John Hopkins; she's suing them for malpractice," Phillips said.

The steroids made her Lyme disease worse, Phillips said. He described her as just now able to stand on her own, and with impaired speech.

Phillips also ran into a familiar face in Bach's office. Billy Boesche, a fellow Ocean City resident who had relocated to Columbia, Md., had been infected with Lyme disease three times. His first two infections came from tick bites on Assateague Island.

"A neurologist at John Hopkins told him there was no such thing as chronic Lyme

disease," Phillips said.

Boesche died June 10 in his home. His obituary said he suffered from chronic Lyme

disease and subsequently developed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Boesche, Phillips and the young girl he met in the waiting room are just a few among the many people who have had trouble finding proper treatment for Lyme Disease.

In 2005, 1,235 cases were reported in Maryland and 891 cases were reported the year before, according to Robert Beyer of the Maryland Vector-born Disease Interagency Work Group.

Despite word of its prevalence on the Eastern Shore, the Worcester County Health

Department has only confirmed eight cases in 2005 and seven in 2004. However, Debra Stevens of the department said this data may not include cases that do not fit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's criteria.

"For a confirmed case to get reported to the CDC and meet the criteria, the bull's-eye rash has to be at least 5 centimeters," Stevens said. "Or they must have the lab test and symptoms."

But not every infected tick bite leaves the signature rash. Phillips said the standard blood test, the ELISA test, used by doctors is only about 65 percent accurate.

Phillips said the western blot test and more advanced DNA testing is accurate but is not accepted by mainstream doctors who are also unwilling to treat or recognize chronic Lyme disease..

"Insurance won't pay for that. They don't like you to have it unless the Lyme shows up on the standard blood test," he said. "But it moves in and sets up home in the cells."

Now, Phillips takes a high dosage of medication and must cleanse his kidneys and liver every day so the antibiotics don't damage them.

"I have to go to Pennsylvania every month and every month they draw blood to see the status of my various bodily functions," he said.

If he had only been diagnosed sooner, the treatment would not be so severe.

"When it becomes imbedded in the cellular structure it takes long-term and high antibiotic therapy," he said.

The Lyme Disease Association of the Lower Shore and other organizations, such as

ILADS, are working to make Lyme Disease treatment widely accepted and available.

Reach Laura D'Alessandro at 410-213-9442, Ext. 19 or e-mail

ldalessand@dmg.gannett.com.

Originally published Thursday, June 22, 2006