Mum bitten by tick on picnic left with ‘horrific’ lifelong illness

A mum-of-two has issued a warning after contracting an sickness which has “taken over her life” when she was bitten by a tick on a household picnic.

Olivera Marshall contracted Lyme illness after being bitten by a tick on a household picnic in 2020 and is now talking out in regards to the devastating signs.

She mentioned: “It’s very very painful. I felt like I was being stabbed by thousands of knives all over my body. It was the most horrific thing, honestly so painful. Every bone in my body was hurting, it was just horrible.

“I had a stiff neck, and I’m left now with fatigue. Constant, fixed fatigue. Exhaustion, confusion, muscle and joint ache. I reside with that as we communicate. The month of April was fairly dangerous, I believe I left my home about 4 occasions. I am unable to get higher.”

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection which can spread to humans via infected ticks. About 10 per cent of ticks are infected and there are around 2,000-3,000 new cases in England and Wales each year, according to Public Health England.

Olivera’s ordeal unfolded when she and her husband Richard took their children Helena and Lukas to the Kingswear Marina for a picnic in June 2020, reports Devon Live. The family were in good spirits, happy to be out of the house during Covid and all were fit and healthy, including Olivera.

Enjoying the summer sun, Olivera lay down beside the nearby river and asked her husband to take a photo of her. It was this simple moment which would change her life forever. 

She said: “Two weeks later I used to be mendacity down on my proper aspect and I seen a rash growing. That was the place the tick had bitten me. It was actually for like 10 seconds I used to be mendacity on the bottom and it bit me. Ticks usually go in tall grass in wooded areas. Where we had been was like that – grass with woods.”

Two weeks after her picnic, Olivera noticed a red patch on her right side and said she had flu-like symptoms. She called her GP and sent in a photo of the red area on her body. The GP then called her back saying that it was likely she had Lyme disease.

The rash grew quickly over the next 24 hours and formed a shape reminiscent of a bullseye – a telltale sign of a Lyme disease infection – though a third of those infected do not get this rash.

She spoke about how she felt: “It was one of many worst experiences of my life. I assumed I used to be going to die. I used to be on antibiotics for a month. That did not work.

“I lost feeling in my legs – I wasn’t able to walk. I was wheeled into the ER and placed in a hospital and I had to stay there on an IV drip but because of Covid at the time they couldn’t keep me any longer so I stay there for three days which obviously was not enough because now I have post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome.

“There’s no treatment, which implies I’m going to reside with this perpetually.”

Lyme disease also affects people mentally as well. Olivera often experiences confusion and when she was first infected she was delirious, barely being able to speak. Before her diagnosis, she was studying accountancy but because of these symptoms, she has found it incredibly difficult to keep at it, missing the last 6 weeks of lessons.

Olivera is unable to work because of the illness but she said she is very lucky to have her husband who looks after her and supports her financially.

She spoke about how her family help her and the stoic brave face she keeps on for them. She said: “They’re actually actually understanding and supportive. I’m sort of attempting to not have an effect on my household as a lot as potential actually. I do not actually need to complain or whine about it however they will see that I’m unwell.

“They can see me when I’m really fatigued because I struggle to talk. If I have a couple hours and I feel well enough I will go out but I do have to rest. I have to nap every day.”

Generally, signs can embrace a fever, arthritis-like ache, headache, chills, fatigue, muscle aches, and swollen glands in addition to the bullseye rash. Some folks, particularly kids, additionally develop Bell’s palsy (facial drooping) or tingling, numbness and extreme complications. If the illness is caught early it may be handled with antibiotics however in some instances, like Olivera’s signs, tiredness and ache can final for years. There is presently no agreed remedy for these instances.

Despite all this, Olivera is decided to verify this doesn’t occur to anybody else. May is Lyme illness consciousness month so Olivera has taken the chance to speak about her expertise and what it is like residing with the situation.

She mentioned: “If I could save just one person I would feel happy. Because this is no way to live. I don’t have a life at all.”

She added: “I don’t want to feel sorry for myself but I would love to send this message out to others and say please protect yourself from ticks. This is vital. Preventing being bitten by a tick in the first place is a crucial part.”

Government advice to stop tick bites is to stay to the centre of any woodland paths when on walks and keep away from lengthy grass and overhanging vegetation. Wear pale garments to identify the unattached ticks simpler and tuck trousers into socks, wellies are additionally defence. You must also carry a tick elimination device with you and tick repellent always simply in case. April and October are when ticks are most energetic so be further vigilant throughout these months.

If a tick does chew you this can be very vital that you don’t merely brush it off or flick it away as its head can come off and keep inside you. If this occurs and the tick is contaminated with Lyme illness, you’ll develop into contaminated too. Instead, fastidiously take away it with a tick elimination device.

Olivera says in case you are bitten it’s a good suggestion to maintain the tick in a plastic bag when you take away it with the device. Once you are house freeze this tick and name your GP and ask to be examined for Lyme illness. Olivera says that Lyme illness testing within the UK just isn’t superb so you possibly can ship the frozen tick off for testing to substantiate whether or not it was contaminated as testing on people is tougher.

Doctors additionally want to stay to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines for diagnosing Lyme illness so you need to refer them to this when you suspect you might be liable to Lyme illness.

Olivera mentioned: “GPs don’t always understand Lyme disease. They don’t come across it often either, we need to remember that. If you don’t have a rash or other symptoms you might be misdiagnosed.

“I’ve heard of individuals being recognized with fibromyalgia, MS, ME, Alzheimer’s, dementia you identify it. Lyme illness mimics many many various ailments.”