He Who Hesitates is Lost

I just read an article reporting that Lyme Disease has become epidemic in our country. While it is found in all 50 states and has even been reported in Europe, most diagnoses are made in the Northeast/New England states.

It has become the fastest growing infectious disease in the United States, infecting more people each year than HIV/AIDS. If Lyme Disease is not caught and treated while in the very earliest stages, it is a devastating disease. It not only causes serious physical damage, but causes mental and emotional anguish as well.

Lyme is not easy to diagnose and many people are misdiagnosed so long that by the time they are properly diagnosed, it is too late. The disease progresses to an advanced stage and can then only be managed as it has already begun causing irreparable damage.

I had a personal experience with this disease several years ago. My dad is an avid golfer. At this time he was in his late 70's and quite active and healthy. My youngest son was graduating from high school. We all slid into the bleachers at the football field on a sweltering late June morning. My dad had a hat on and there were buckets of cold, bottled water being circulated, so he stayed hydrated. Once the ceremony was over he went to one of the enclosures to get out of the sun and heat.

Feeling fine, we all went to my home to begin the graduation celebration. I had trays upon trays of food and guests dropped in continuously for the next five or six hours. My dad ate well and enjoyed the conversation and company. When I called him several days later he said he wasn't feeling very well and thought it was something he ate at the party. Concerned, I asked what his symptoms were. They were bizarre to say the least.

He felt weak during the night and actually had trouble getting out of bed quickly enough to get to the bathroom. Then later in the morning he wanted to go out to buy a paper as he usually did. He told me he "couldn't remember how to get in the car." When pressed to explain more fully, he said it took him about 15 minutes to remember how to get himself into the front seat behind the wheel. Then, once he did, he drove to the deli to get his paper and had the same problem returning home.

That really frightened me because it was obviously more than a stomach bug - it was affecting him mentally. He went to his doctor but because he did not explain his symptoms clearly to the doctor (and the doctor did not ask the right questions - see the previous post!), he diagnosed him with a bladder infection and put him on an antibiotic that caused severe side-effects and of course did not do anything about the cause of the problem.

As God would have it, he had an appointment several days later with his dermatologist to check on a past skin cancer. When the doctor began examining him he noticed the tell-tale bullseye rash on the back of his thigh! My dad, of course, never saw it and when he was with me he had long pants on, not shorts, as he did when he went golfing.

That doctor immediately prescribed the correct antibiotic and my dad was fortunate enough to catch it in this early stage. If he'd had this appointment a few days later, the rash may have already disappeared and he may have gone months until a proper diagnosis was made. I shudder to think what could've resulted. If his symptoms were so dramatic at this stage - I don't want to know what could've happened had he waited.

So, my message to you is this: take precautions to protect yourself from tics, check yourself when you have been outdoors, and investigate any unusual symptoms - regardless of how bizarre they may seem - and do not hesitate!!