Tonight’s Lyme Aid 2 performance combines music and an art auction

They call Lyme disease the Great Imitator, for the way its symptoms present themselves as those of other diseases.

For Victoria’s Jean-Luc Giroux, it’s the real thing, and his fight to keep himself healthy as he undergoes various treatments and therapies is about all he can handle these days.

While regular trips to Seattle for medications and doctor’s appointments leave him exhausted – B.C.’s Medical Services Plan does not cover his expenses – he receives plenty of support from his friends, says Keilih Gates.

She’s helping organize tonight’s (July 17) Lyme Aid 2, the second such musical show raising money for Giroux’s expenses.

“If we can get enough money to pay for medication for the next couple of months for J.L. and everybody comes out, has a good time and learns a little more about Lyme disease, then it’s a success,” she said.

The Bronze Age, Christopher Arruda and Day 3 headline the family-friendly show at Cabin 12 (607 Pandora Ave.), to which admission is by donation.

Lindsay Bryan and Kayla Weber, plus Ellisa Hartman are also scheduled to perform, and an art auction will also be ongoing.

Seen describing his ongoing ordeal on a YouTube video at www.getwelljl.com – Giroux prefers to stay in the background these days – he appears to be keeping his spirits up. An accomplished amateur musician, he says having his guitar close by has helped him get through the tough times.

Giroux was a part-time carpenter and a fundraiser for such groups as Amnesty International and Greenpeace before being stricken with Lyme disease, and the related tick-carried infections bartonella and babesia, in January 2008.

Being unable to work due to periods of extreme fatigue, dizziness, numbness in his hands and arms, to name but a few symptoms, Giroux struggles to keep up with medical expenses that at one point rose as high as $1,000 a month. And his treatment is expected to last for two years or more.

The JL Lyme Support Society is a not-for-profit group formed to help cover off Giroux’s expenses. Donations can be made at the event or by going to the website listed above and clicking on ‘Donate.’ For more information, contact Gates at 250-588-9520.

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