A Moncton woman suffering from unexplained neurological symptoms is calling for the New Brunswick government to reopen the investigation into the province’s alleged mystery brain disease.
Sarah Nesbitt, 39, also wants the province to explore the possible link between her symptoms and the use of the herbicide glyphosate.
“I’m really hoping the government of New Brunswick and Public Health see what’s happening to (these) symptoms, and do their due diligence to find out why,” she said.
Once an active outdoor enthusiast who loved riding horses, Nesbitt has traded in her cowboy boots for house slippers.
She’s been forced to stop working, give up her driver’s licence and sell her cabin because of worsening neurological symptoms, including frequent seizures that started in the summer of 2020.
She started seeing her family doctor, who referred her to neurologist Dr. Allier Marrero in 2022, suspecting. she may have multiple sclerosis.
She said Marrero tested and ruled out several potential diagnoses like MS, cancer, and epilepsy.
“After it progressed (…) I started not realizing where I was,” she said. “So I was in the shower, I was saying, ‘Where am I? Whose shower is this and why am I here?'”
She now deals with frequent vomiting, confusion, ringing in her ears, and an intermittent tremor that makes her head bob.
Dr. Marrero is the neurologist who originally called for an investigation into the mystery brain disease he believed was affecting 48 patients in New Brunswick.
The province shut down that investigation in February 2022, after an oversight committee determined there was no evidence of a new disease.
Marrero recently sent a letter to federal and provincial health officials, asking them to look into glyphosate’s possible role in his patients’ symptoms.
Glyphosate is an herbicide commonly used in the forestry industry. It is approved for use and regulated by Health Canada.
It is listed as a “probably carcinogen” by the World Health Organization.
Its use has provoked controversy in the province, with advocacy group Stop Spraying New Brunswick calling for a ban of its use on public lands.
While Nesbitt still has no official diagnosis, she says she received test results last week indicating high levels of the herbicide, as well as other herbicides like glufosinate, in her system.
She showed a copy of the results to Global News.
“I’m hopeful that now that we do have these test results, that maybe the province will reopen the investigation,” she said.
“This is not a common thing. People don’t walk around every day with this high levels of pesticides.”
A spokesperson for the province’s department of health told Global News they are still reviewing Marrero’s letter.
A spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed they had received the letter and “will provide a response.”
Meanwhile, all Nesbitt can do is wait — and hope that answers and treatment will come.