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Rhiannon CollinsA young British woman with Lyme disease.
Country:
 Great Britain |
Content:
- The Teenage Lyme Disease Sufferer
- A Life of Agony
- A Misdiagnosis
- Raising Awareness
- A Battle for Recovery
- A Financial Burden
- Breakthrough in Vaccine Development
The Teenage Lyme Disease Sufferer
Rhiannon Collins, a 23-year-old from Erith, Southeast London, was only four years old when she was bitten by a tick. For 19 years, she endured excruciating joint dislocations, severe muscle pain, debilitating fatigue, and memory lapses so severe that she forgot the names of her loved ones.
A Life of Agony
As the condition worsened, Rhiannon developed such severe and frightening symptoms that she even wrote her will. She spent two years confined to her bed, unable to shower, feed herself, or use the toilet.
A Misdiagnosis
When doctors finally diagnosed Collins with Lyme disease, she had exhausted her mother's life savings on treatments. She believes her condition would not have escalated to such a critical point if doctors had been able to detect her illness sooner.
Raising Awareness
Rhiannon's story highlights the importance of raising awareness about Lyme disease. The tick bite she suffered as a child transformed from a minor inconvenience to a debilitating condition when the stress of studying triggered excruciating pain, leading her to write her will.
A Battle for Recovery
After collapsing at a party, Rhiannon was bedridden for two years. "I couldn't move," she said. "The pain went all through my body."
"I went from being independent to not being able to wash myself or go to the toilet," she added. "Doctors didn't know what was wrong with me and suggested I was dying."
Despite years of medical tests, Lyme disease eluded detection until Collins was 20. She received treatment, but still struggles to leave the house. She relies heavily on visits from friends and spends much of her time in bed. She continues to experience heart and stomach problems, migraines, dizziness, tremors, and hair loss.
A Financial Burden
The expensive treatment has taken a toll on her mother's finances. Rhiannon believes she could have avoided years of suffering if doctors had done their jobs properly.
Breakthrough in Vaccine Development
Doctors have recently announced the development of a vaccine that offers "100% protection" against Lyme disease. The vaccine is reported to have become available in July 2017.
The main ingredient in the vaccine is an antibody that prevents the infection from establishing itself in the body after a tick bite. The vaccine targets the bacteria inside the ticks' gut as they attempt to attach to humans, according to researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Boston.
Lyme disease is one of the fastest-growing infections in the Western world. Notable celebrities with the condition include supermodel Bella Hadid and singer Shania Twain.
