Posted 10:20 PM, May 5, 2015, by Kara Duffy
LEWISTOWN, Pa. — Michelle Wilson knows firsthand just how life changing a single tick bite can be.
“’When I was a kid, you didn’t have to worry about ticks. We rolled down the hill, we played in the woods for hours and now it’s like you’ve got to keep your kid in a bubble; you’re afraid for them to go out and play in the yard because it is life changing,” Wilson said.
Her life changed four years ago. That’s when the mom of two from Lewistown first realized something wasn’t right.
“I was having cold and flu like symptoms,” she said. “I was achy. I had fevers. I had lost some hearing in my left ear. I just kept going back to the same doctors and they were just like, you know, you do not have Lyme Disease; they kept telling me this.”
After more than eight months of unanswered questions, blood work finally confirmed what Wilson says she knew all along: she had Lyme Disease.
“It starts out usually with a simple antibiotic, had I had that in the beginning, you know, when I had asked for it, I wouldn’t be chronic now,” she said.
Wilson says the pain the gotten so bad, she can no longer work.
She’s also racked up nearly $50,000 in medical bills and has had to move back in with her mom just to get by.
“I have neuropathy, which is like pins and needles feeling, burning. I have pain in my muscles, my joints; that’s probably my biggest complaint. I also have neurological and cognitive issues as well.”
Many battle Lyme Disease
Wilson isn’t alone though.
Thousands of people, including celebrities like pop singer Avril Lavigne, are battling the disease every day and now people are turning to social media to show their support, one lime at time.
It’s all part of the Lyme Disease Challenge and here’s how it works:
First, get a lime.
Then take a big bite out of it.
Share a fact about the disease or make a donation to research and finally post your video or picture online, challenging others to do the same.
The challenge couldn’t come at a better time.
A new study by the Department of Environmental Protection shows that deer ticks, the primary carriers of Lyme Disease, have now been found in all 67 counties across the Commonwealth, putting everyone at risk.
“April into May is when we will start to see the cases and typically we start to see the rashes first and then all through the summer,” said Dr. Deborah Riley.
Riley is the Chair of Infection Control and associate Medical Director for Quality at Lancaster General Hospital.
She says the symptoms of Lyme Disease can vary from fever and headaches to muscle aches and joint pain but perhaps the most common sign is a red rash.
“It typically has a bullseye where it has a darker red section in the middle and then an expanding red area,” she said.
Dr. Riley says the best way to prevent the disease is to avoid getting a tick bite in the first place.
“If you are out in the woods or live in a wooded area, do what we call a tick check on a regular basis where you go over your body, your children`s body, your spouse`s body and look for ticks anywhere,” she said.
The Wilson family says, they hope by raising awareness, no other family will have to know the pain of Lyme Disease.
“I worry every day,” said Joyce Wilson, Michelle’s mom. “I see little kids playing in the yard or sitting at ballgames and I just want to go over and yell ‘get up’ because I know what that single little tick bite can do.”
http://fox43.com/2015/05/05/lewistown-mom-battles-lyme-disease-thousands-show-support-on-social-media/
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