ࡱ;  R Fi)Yd@CompObj\WordDocument2ObjectPool///////// CONCORD JOURNALPRIVATE  JULY 11, 1996 BY Richard Fahlander Staff Writer 'Unsolved Mysteries' visits Cranberry Bog Last week Carlisle made its bid for prime time when "Unsolved Mysteries" came to town. A crew from the NBC television series visited the Carlisle Cranberry Bog to get the buzz on the healing power of bee venom. For the past six years beekeeper Bus Skamarycz has supplied bees to individuals diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative neurological disease that can result in loss of motor abilities, urinary tract dysfunction and blindness. There is no known cure for MS, and the condition takes widely different courses from long-term, mild disability to rapid deterioration. "Unsolved Mysteries" producer Emily Barry said the show's programmers got interested in bee venom therapy after reading accounts of seemingly miraculous recoveries in the local press. One of the people they contacted was Arlington resident Kelly Ames, a 28-year-old who began bee venom therapy in 1994 with bees supplied by Skamarycz. Like many shows of its ilk "Unsolved Mysteries" uses actors and actresses to re-create actual or almost actual events. Skamarycz and Ames never actually met at the Carlisle bog, but it was a much better location than Gus's backyard, so an actress playing Kelly limped along with a cane to pick up her bees. With more than a touch of pride Skamarycz was quick to point out that they couldn't find an actor to play his part. Apparently there are no stunt men willing to reach into a bee hive and fill up a jar with bees. Although he was given lines to learn, Skamarycz said, "No one tells me to memorize anything." He said the dialog was similar to the actual meeting between himself and Ames at his Tewksbury home. It took a film crew of 18 and three and a half hours on a Sunday morning to complete the six scenes, each of which required six or seven takes. Skamarycz said the actress who played Ames was very professional, but that "Kelly is a lot more vivacious." For her part, Ames was a bit starstruck by the chance to be portrayed by an actress and appear in front of the camera as herself. In one scene, the actress is supposed to be in bed first thing in the morning getting stung, but it's actually Kelly's arm that takes the stinger. The actress did get one sharp surprise, though, when a supposedly dead bee came to life long enough to give her a first-hand feeling of bee venom therapy. Stinging Medicine Ames said that, once she began her real-life regimen of 13 bee stings three days a week, her symptoms began to subside. "I could really feel my immune system kick in," she said. "It hurts like hell," said Skamarycz, though he added that many of the over-50 people to whom he has given bees report positive results. Generally, individuals have.... ...when they get stung between 20 and 40 times, although Ames reported she is helping a woman who gets stung 60 stings at each session. When he gives someone bees, Skamarycz requires that the person eat a high-fiber, low-fat diet that excludes red meat, alcohol, refined sugar and tobacco. He also advocates a positive attitude, meditation and even horseback riding. He said there is something about the up and down motion of riding that seems to help people. "The bee venom tells your immune system to get going," he said. "There is something to it, but if it's in the mind that's great." He added people undergoing bee venom therapy must always have an injectable dose of epinephrine on hand in case of an allergic reaction. Deborah Frankel from the Massachusetts Chapter or the National Multiple Sclerosis Society said there have not been scientific studies confirming the benefits of bee venom, but that a pilot animal study is under way. Given the fact that MS is an erratic condition -- Its symptoms can come and go -- Frankel is not surprised that some people find relief through apitherapy. "I know plenty of individuals who have claimed to be helped, and I don't blame them for trying," she said. "If faced with an incurable disease I don't know what I would do." She said progress on MS is being made along the traditional medical route with the approval of two new drugs. And a third is on the way. Since MS is a disorder of the immune system, Frankel believes that apitherapy and traditional drug therapy are "barking up the same tree," but she is afraid that a show like "Unsolved Mysteries" with its melodramatic method of presentation may give people false hopes. Made for TV And while the draft script of "Bee Sting Healing" does have the appropriate disclaimers about lack of scientific proof, it's overwhelming emphasis is on the unexplained healing power of bees to "beat this dreaded disease." Producer Emily Barry defended the dramatic aspect of the show as a device to convey serious information. Before the bee venom story is aired sometime next season, Barry said hundreds of hour of work will have gone into the seven-minute segment. "An awful lot goes into that seven minutes," she said as she described the production process from research, location shorts, post-production and host narration filming. She said the show's extensive research and careful writing set it apart from purely sensationalistic tabloid television shows. On Fridays this fall the series will begin its ninth season of offering viewers a combination of unsolved crimes, unexplained phenomena, and medical mysteries. Barry's next assignment is a child abduction case in Florida. Kelly Ames said that during the filming she talked to crew members about supposed UFO sightings that had been featured on the show. "They kind of believe in them," she said. "Unsolved Mysteries" is hosted by former "Untouchable" Robert Stack.  ࡱ; ....()()))()()K:phoenix⫧̥ȧȶƳƐƕƟƇƂȂČ҅ƷՔΌՔȅȂƫƢȂڶȢƷƎƁƨƕƵƤƤǂ֏SummaryInformation(Microsoft Word 6.0.12 ࡱ; Â㫇㥊⩖⠏奧‚ⵇ‚ﲃ⧓䧕‚⣞‚㲉‚悏ŏŠŏQfŠ悏^ffXfŏŠƏ悏Ƃ17JւŏŠƏ悁$f筂 ffffXf1䂏ꁦgŏQfŠ悏悏^fՁXfՏ穂Տ祂Տ終Տ䵧ׂgfIffIff$f筂ŏŠƏ悏ꁦgꁧgŏŠfggIfIff$f筂ƂŏWJg_悏ŏ笂fgfgŏŠÊ悏gf$f筂笂ɏҁ؏碂碕-碕-碕-碕-ŏQfŠ悏^fƏ悁$f筂碂壔䠩0f̏磂ɏҁ؏碂ُ碂碂碕䠥0ffFf䠵0f̏砂悏f堵0f̏硂ɏҁ؏碂碕-ُ碂碂碕Ƃf碕悁整f̏箂؏碂碕‚ُ碂碂̏硂碕f悁8f粃Ffύ?i鍀ꪨ͛뢮ɋ쬮񸴼ӑ޺ŷړݝߍ۹^غŃ殯昙顠闖diMAINdϫԦ˂Q{ X%uuDUuDCcGC uDC+,BPQ|}RN$ z ' b 1aa:[$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$,0,H+J,0 !K"@"Normal3 ]a c"A@"Default Paragraph Font+@ Endnote Text *@ Endnote Referenceh@ Footnote Text &@! 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