A Windsor couple is on crutches and recovering after a trip to the Dominican Republic ended badly.
Ed Zytner and Katie Stephens returned from Punta Cana on Thursday, January 18, 2018, and were both suffering from extremely itchy feet.
Within days, the itching got worse and their feet began to swell, developing severe blisters and bruising.
Zytner says he went to the hospital twice on his first weekend back, but doctors didn't know what was causing the problem.
"When we got home our feet became very itchy, almost to the point where it became unbearable. It was incredibly hard not to itch them even thought we knew if we itched them it would spread it. Once we itched it, we couldn't stop and it started to swell after just a couple of days."
On the third visit, a doctor at the hospital recognized the problem, having seen it only a handful of times in his career. The pair had contracted larva migrans, or hook worms, that enter through your body where there's contact with the sand.
"When it came in on the Monday, luckily Dr. Meyer had seen it before," says Zytner. "He was almost able right away to tell what it was, so he got in touch with the pharmacist and tried to get us on our treatment right away."
Katie Stephens via AM800
Their doctor sent a request to Health Canada to get a drug called Ivermectin, as its not licensed in Canada. However, the request was denied because their case was not deemed severe enough.
Luckily their doctor was able to contact another physician, also licenced in the U-S, who wrote them a prescription for the drug. They were able to pick-up at Children's Hospital in Detroit for a total of $88.
The pair stress they received excellent care in Windsor but are urging Health Canada to make the drug more readily available to anyone else suffering from the same problem.
As for their recovery, Zytner and Stephens say it will take time before their feet are back to normal.