According to a story from Express Digest, 22 year old Steph Todd first started experiencing symptoms of Lyme disease in 2015, when she presented with flu-like symptoms and a circular rash on her neck. However, the young woman was misdiagnosed. As a result, she went years without treatment and her condition has become nothing short of debilitating. With conventional therapies no longer effective, Steph is raising money to travel to the US for more specialized treatment that isn’t available in her native UK.
About Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by bacteria of the genus Borrelia. This bacteria is commonly spread to humans through the bite of a tick. In the US, the species of tick associated with Lyme disease is called the deer tick or the black legged tick (Ixodes scapularis). A tick must be attached to a person for at least 36 hours to transmit the bacteria. Symptoms of this disease include a distinctive bulls-eye rash surrounding the bite, fatigue, malaise, headache, and fever. Delays in treatment can lead to more serious symptoms, such as facial paralysis, mood changes, memory loss, sleeping difficulties, meningitis, arthritis, and others. In most cases, prompt treatment can effectively cure the infection. Delayed treatment increases the chance of serious complications and long term, lingering symptoms. The number of cases of the disease appears to be growing annually. To learn more about Lyme disease, click here.
Steph’s Story
Steph was misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis. She may have been misdiagnosed because her rash was not the more typical ‘bulls-eye’ style that usually makes Lyme disease more easy to diagnose. Now, her severe symptoms have forced to her to put her life on pause; she can’t go to school, she can’t live on her own, and she can’t go out with her friends. Steph faces difficulty walking, tremors, paralysis, and seizures because of her long-untreated Lyme disease.
If you would like to help Steph seek treatment with a donation, check out her GoFundMe here.
Note: Steph’s GoFundMe page features a video depicting her most severe symptoms. Viewer discretion is advised.
