Story

About the Film

Richard

In 2004, Richard Longland was sickened by an undiagnosed disease after spine surgery. In the months that followed, a list of maladies appeared: headaches; neck, throat and shoulder pain; and random “lightning shocks.” In 2005 and 2006, other problems emerged and challenged his sanity: cardiovascular and neurological troubles; bone-crushing fatigue; and the proverbial brain fog.

After battling the medical system, he was finally diagnosed with a systemic bacterial infection in 2007. The mycoplasma pneumonia that disabled him could have originated from any number of sources: the surgical intubation process, the hospital, any public place, or even a tick. He visited more than twenty doctors for a diagnosis. During this difficult period, he created The Arthroplasty Patient foundation, produced its first educational film and helped spine patients get “back on their feet with an active global discussion board. His focused research on antimicrobials and anti-biofilm treatments led to his treatment program using pharmaceutical and naturopathic agents to rid his body of systemic bacterial biofilms.

Richard is the creator of the film Why Am I Still Sick, a biofilm documentary which began in 2009 with his on-camera interviews with bacterial biofilm authorities. Since then, he has learned a great deal about the human and economic costs associated with chronic bacterial infections — biofilms — from university researchers, medical doctors, entrepreneurs, government researchers and dental professionals.

Interviews with Biofilm Experts

At Ondine Biopharma, his interviews revealed that 38,000,000 people in this country have (or had) a chronic sinus problem. At Southwest Regional Woundcare Center, Dr. Randy Wolcott explained that 550,000 deaths related to biofilm infections occur annually – almost the same number of fatalities as cancer – and thirty times the number of AIDS patients lost each year. Doctor David Kennedy, a retired dentist, lamented that most adult Americans have gum disease — another bacterial biofilm condition involving chronic infection. So just how big is this stealthy healthcare epidemic? This is the profound question that forms the narrative of this unusual documentary.

In an unusually proactive effort to share work in progress with the public, we publish educational videos with experts interviewed for Why Am I Still Sick. Please see our “interviews in progress” with doctors, dentists and various experts in the causes and treatments of chronic bacterial diseases.