The disease that's mistaken for Covid-19

Five years ago, Alex Patsan thought she was going to die. The Australian mother of two was unable to walk or talk properly and lacking the strength to even cut up an apple for her children’s lunchboxes, the mum-of-two began the heartbreaking task of preparing her family for what seemed like the inevitable end to her battle with an insidious illness known as Lyme Disease.

“It was 2015,” she said, “and it was my worst year. The pain was terrible and the inflammation in my brain was so bad I remember thinking I better prepare my children in case I didn’t make it.”

“I had friends within the Lyme Disease network who had died of aneurisms or strokes and I thought this could take me too. I had to do something”

With nothing to lose, Alex looked to Europe for answers and flew halfway around the world to Cyprus to receive treatment at a clinic specialising in chronic illnesses. Today, Alex has her life back.

“Some damage remains,” she admitted. “There’s a little arthritis left, but I can push a trolley, I can drive, I can make beds, I can make lunchboxes, I can return to work and I can play with my kids.

“The treatment I received was life-saving.”

Lyme disease is an infectious illness caused by the bacterium known as Borrelia, most commonly transmitted by tick bites. As many of the symptoms aren’t unique to Lyme disease, patients are often misdiagnosed at the start of their illness leading to a battle with chronic pain that can last for decades.

In recent years, there has been greater awareness of the infection, thanks in part to celebrity sufferers such as Justin Bieber and Avril Lavigne publicly talking about their private health battles. Lyme disease has been reported in 80 countries, and in the UK last year there were around 8,000 cases. It has also risen in the public consciousness, as its symptoms can at times be misinterpreted as the onset of Covid-19. The two illnesses share symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, fatigue and aching.

“I was traditionally really healthy,” said Alex. “Then, towards the end of 2011, I started to become unwell starting with arthritic pain in my joints and a stiff neck. I went down pretty quickly after that to the point where I couldn’t walk properly, I couldn’t talk properly, I had the shakes and life was getting worse day by day. It was very scary.

“I was consumed by this feeling of absolute weakness. It’s not so much the dizziness, but the feeling that your legs are about to collapse beneath you. I couldn’t even stand up in the shower. I had to have a bath or use a shower chair and for someone to go from playing basketball and tennis to this was really quite shocking.”

After consulting her GP, Alex underwent a number of tests, the results of which revealed nothing diagnostic, increasing her concern because it was clear that something was very wrong. After blood samples were sent to Germany and America, Alex was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease. She then began a course of antibiotic treatments, which lasted for more than three years.

“There’s no one known successful protocol with antibiotics,” Alex explained. “Some people are good with antibiotics, some aren’t, some only have to be treated for a couple of months, some reach a chronic stage where the bacteria gets into the joints, brain and nervous system, as in my case.”

“After fighting this illness for about five years I was still very sick. My husband had to drive the kids to school and do the shopping because I couldn’t push a trolley. He would cook meals, clean and do the laundry because my arm strength was such that I couldn’t hang clothes on a line. My mother would also come to bath my children and brush their hair. I couldn’t even make up their lunch boxes, that’s how sick I was.”

It was then, in 2015, when Alex began to confront the possibility of death, that she sought treatment in Cyprus. The Limassol centre that treated Alex sees approximately 300 international patients a year, from Australia, the US, UK and Middle East. She now describes herself as “in remission” from the illness.

There is no known cure for Lyme Disease. Some people never recover from the disease and end up with long-term disabilities. The best advice is to do everything possible to avoid tick bites: avoid walking bare-legged through long grass, and always check yourself — and children — for ticks.