By: Elise Henn
Deb Elder, founder and executive director of Flippin Lyme Foundation, places 60 bee stingers weekly into her body to treat her Lyme disease. This process, known as bee venom therapy, allows Elder to feel 80 perecent better today. With her new found strength and attitude of “if you’re not living your passions in life, you might as well die,” Elder spends her days working for her foundation by teaching people at her in-house clinic how to sting themselves, as well as coaching patients all over the country via telephone.
Elder’s painful journey began in 1984 when she tore her shoulder performing a mechanical job. This injury led many more symptoms to unravel, including an official diagnosis of fibromyalgia in 1991. Elder quickly noticed that from the over 65 pharmaceuticals doctors’ prescribed her, she felt sicker and more depressed to the point she attempted suicide in 2004. Elder’s health continued to decline, with another work-related injury, a 17-month long bed bound sickness from mosquito bites, and life-threatening cardiac issues.
It was not until March of 2014 that Elder’s friend, who had watched Elder struggle with various pathogens, suggested she research Lyme disease. This suggestion resulted in a late stage diagnosis, which came along with $3,000 worth of antibiotics that Elder’s insurance would not authorize. Out of anger, Elder decided to pursue naturopathic approaches. Elder changed her diet and came across bee venom therapy (BVT) through extensive research, which led to her first bee sting. Elder began to connect with others in the Lyme community who were using BVT as well, especially colleague Amber Rose. The two started a Facebook group together with regular podcasts. The need for more BVT education for Lyme patients led Elder to turn her Facebook page into the Flippin Bee Foundation. Elder continued to increase her stings and explore innovative areas of her body to sting, which made her feel better in just four weeks. Rose attributes Elder’s success to being a “self-starter that took a lot of risks and asked good questions.”
Deb Elder’s overall hope is that her foundation will outlive her. In order for this to happen, Elder would like buy to build a Flippin Bee Foundation facility for patients to come and receive treatment through diet and education about BVT. Elder would also like to redesign the equipment people use now to sting themselves, so people feel more comfortable doing it themselves. This would hopefully be trademarked and patented with the proceeds from the sales going to the foundation. Finally, Elder plans to write a book titled, You Don’t Know Me Well, about her health complications and how Elder finally feels “normal” after over 30 years of pain.