U.S. Family Uses Bee Venom to Treat Father’s MS

Young Caregivers: Parents Turn to Children for Help
By Clare Ansberry, The Wall Street Journal (USA), 1/5/2007

PAULDING, Ohio -- Every morning, at about 6, Jordan Wilhelm goes into his parents' room to lift his father out of bed…

Paul Wilhelm, 55 years old, has multiple sclerosis, a progressive and chronic condition. Though his wife, Sue, works two jobs, the family can't afford someone to help care for him. Mrs. Wilhelm looked into it a few years ago. The going rate was $15 an hour, she says, twice what she was earning at the time and not covered by insurance. So she and her husband have come to rely on their children.

Many parents do. Across the country, children go about providing home health care to parents, grandparents or other relatives…

Jordan Wilhelm, the Ohio high-schooler who lifts his dad out of bed each day, never knew his father when he was healthy. Neither did his two older sisters…

Mrs. Wilhelm took a job at a factory which provided health insurance. The insurance helped pay for treatment, including injections and steroids. But none offered lasting improvement. When a friend suggested an alternative therapy that would require the family's involvement, the children volunteered.

The man, who raised bees just outside of town, sent them a book called "Health and the Honeybee" describing how bee venom was used to treat diseases. Three times a week, the children -- then ranging from 8 to 11 -- went with their father to the farm. The girls took 20 live bees, impaled on pins, and stuck them into their father's legs, so the bees would sting him and release venom. Jordan's job was to remove the stinger with a razor. It was frightening, but "I did it because I thought it would make dad better," says Valerie, now 20.

Almost immediately, Mr. Wilhelm, who had been slurring words, began speaking clearly, which the bee farmer and family attributed to medicinal powers in the venom. The family rejoiced. But after several months, Mr. Wilhelm's legs began swelling and his doctor said the venom was poisoning him...