I am no stranger to Lyme disease. I have numerous friends, family members and acquaintances who have been diagnosed at various stages of the disease’s development. I have done my research, and I have learned alongside of them. When I saw the frantic post last night of a friend who had found a tick on her young daughter, I thought I knew what I was talking about. I sent her a .pdf file from the NYS Department of Health website illustrating how to properly remove the tick. I advised her to save the specimen for testing. I reiterated the pediatrician’s suggestion that she have her daughter tested in 4-6 weeks (but not before then).
I thought I knew what I was talking about, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her with information. I didn’t want to further her panic by talking about Lyme and the various co-infections, and how terrible it all can be. It seemed somewhat inappropriate to tell her everything that I knew…about the politics involved in Lyme treatment. About the inconsistent test results. I didn’t mention how common a misdiagnosis is. I just stuck to the basis. I told her how to remove the tick. I corrected someone else who said that she “doesn’t have to worry” if the tick is identified as something other than a deer tick. I recommended that she contact IGeneX to have the tick tested. I told her I hoped for the best, and then I took a deep breath and exhaled. That’s all I can do for now, right? We’ll just have to wait and see?
I thought about it some more. This acquaintance lives in the same town as me. In fact, she and her family live on the same street my grandmother once lived on, not far from my former high school. “It’s kind of weird that they’d pick up a tick there…”, I thought, thinking about this street in the middle of town. I sort of shrugged it off.
Lyme is something that I am aware of. When I watched a tv show where a girl developed a “mysterious illness”, I immediately recognized the symptoms. My vocabulary has grown to include phrases such as “Western Blot”, “spirochete”, “Bartonella” and “herx”. I know that deer ticks are actually more commonly found on mice, and that a small percentage of mosquitoes have been found to carry Lyme bacteria.
I know all of this, but I still didn’t think of anything as I stretched out on the lawn at a friend’s backyard barbeque with my bare feet buried between blades of grass. I guess, deep in my mind, Lyme was still something that wouldn’t happen to me. I live in a small city. I don’t spend much time in the woods. What are the odds that a tick would find its way on me?
Then, I got another message from my acquaintance. She and her family had spent the day at the waterfront, enjoying our annual River Day. I actually shuddered a little bit. As strange as it was for me to think that her daughter had picked up a tick on their little street in the middle of town, it had NEVER occurred to me that she could have gotten bit in MY neighborhood. Not in MY backyard.
It was a wakeup call, and probably one that was much needed. I’ve realized that awareness doesn’t just mean being knowledgable…it’s about being attentive and diligent. A constant mindfulness, if you will. I feel like I’m lucky to have made it this far without being infected. From now on, I’m going to do everything I can to keep it that way.