Road Back Foundation was founded in 1993 by grateful patients of Dr. Thomas McPherson Brown as a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to keeping his legacy alive by providing information to patients, practitioners and the general public about Antibiotic Protocols (AP) for the treatment of rheumatic diseases.
The Foundation was named after The Road Back: Rheumatoid Arthritis – Its Cause and Its Treatment, the seminal 1988 book on antibiotic treatment for rheumatic disease written by Dr. Brown and author Henry Scammell, who would later write The New Arthritis Breakthrough which both adds to and incorporates the original book.
The Foundation is a peer-to-peer endeavor, comprised entirely of volunteers who receive no salary or financial compensation for their contribution. It is supported largely through monetary donations from individuals who have experienced or who have witnessed the life-changing results of antibiotic treatment for rheumatic disease.
Advocating antibiotic therapy as an effective treatment choice for rheumatic diseases
Road Back Foundation's Board of Directors is comprised of volunteers, individuals who have been positively impacted in some way by Antibiotic Therapy. Past Presidents have included Pat Ganger, scleroderma patient whose story is highlighted in Scleroderma:The Proven Therapy that Can Save Your Life; Diane Aronsen, RA patient, whose story is featured in The New Arthritis Breakthrough and Henry Scammell who co-authored The Road Back and wrote The New Arthritis Breakthrough and Scleroderma: The Proven Therapy that Can Save Your Life
Cheryl Ferguson (President)
Lives in California, USA
Introduction to Road Back
For Cheryl, it was in 2006 when her 16 year old daughter was diagnosed with systemic scleroderma. After conversations with specialists and then a former Director of Road Back Foundation, she decided to travel to Boston with her daughter to see the rheumatologist at Harvard's Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital who conducted the small clinical trial using minocycline in the treatment of systemic scleroderma. Her daughter started the therapy and recovered fully. She was able to go away to college the following year, participated in four years of NCAA athletics, winning a National Championship, and went on from college to complete medical school.
After her daughter's recovery, Cheryl became a volunteer and, shortly afterwards, a Director, assuming the role of President in 2008. With a background in business administration, Cheryl's primary focus is on the creation of partnerships for the Foundation and on fostering co-operation with organizations and individuals to further the Foundation's mission.
Bonnie Lucas
Lives in Illinois, USA
For Bonnie, this was in 2007, shortly after she was diagnosed with RA. After finding out about AP and Dr. Brown's antibiotic approach, she chose that treatment option.
Achieving near remission within 2 years and grateful for Road Back's ongoing information and guidance, Bonnie continued to support others via the Community Forum, sharing her experience and success. She became a volunteer and was invited to become a Director in 2012. With a background in educational technology, policy and planning, she assisted in the implementation of the Foundation website.
Katherine Poehlmann, PhD
Katherine read Dr. Brown's The Road Back in 1995, after which she researched widely, achieving remission from severe RA 8 months after beginning AP.
Katherine continues to study infectious causes of RA and other inflammatory conditions. She has published 2 books on the infectious connection between RA and other autoimmune diseases. A Director since 2012, a major project has been to collect and archive Dr. Brown's papers, conference transcripts, and articles. With technological help from her husband, she is now in the process of saving them in digital format for the Foundation's resource collection.
Rebecca Bewley
Lives in Texas, USA
After a stressful year, including the death of her father, Rebecca began having symptoms and tested positive for Lyme and autoimmunity. Not waiting for a formal rheumatic diagnosis, she immediately began AP. Rebecca has had great quality of life in the last four years with the support of Road Back Foundation.
The Road Back Foundation has been instrumental in Rebecca's healing and wellbeing through AP. She received such useful knowledge from the volunteers, and has been happy to give back in the past two years by answering questions and sharing patient-to-patient information with others. Rebecca became a Director in 2018. Her background in education lends itself to patient knowledge and to communicating with others in a positive way.
Kathleen Fedewa
Lives in Michigan, USA
After the onset of Scleroderma in 2017, Kathleen discovered the Road Back Foundation and began AP therapy immediately. With the support of the Foundation's community, Kathleen is currently on a path back to good health.
Becoming a Director in 2018, Kathleen is active on the Community Forum, providing hope and peer-support to newcomers seeking information about AP. With a background in graphic design and the creation of social media communities, she plans to assist the Foundation in optimizing the AP community's online presence and outreach.
Julie Asregadoo
Julie read Henry Scammel's book, The New Arthritis Breakthrough, after being diagnosed with Inflammatory Arthritis in 2014, and decided she preferred this treatment to options that suppress the immune system. She came to Road Back soon after, and found much support and information on the community forum.
Julie began volunteering for Road Back in January of 2016, answering email requests for doctor lists. Once the request system was automated, Julie joined as a Director in 2018. She continues to manage and maintain the doctor lists as one of the foundation's key resources, provided as a free courtesy service to rheumatic patients interested in pursuing antibiotic protocols for treatment.