A simple tick bite left me bedridden
AWEST Lancashire woman has revealed how her life has been devastated after she was bitten by a tick.
Businesswoman Emma Dolan Horlock was left bedridden and suffering in severe pain after contracting Lyme disease from the bite more than a decade age.
Next week the 42-year-old, who grew up in Skelmersdale, is heading to the US for vital treatment unavailable in the UK after raising £25,000.
But she has to make the journey by ship as she is too ill to fly,
Emma is keen to share her story with as many people as possible to warn others of the dangers, as well as calling for better medical treatment in Britain.
She said: “Just two months after being bitten, I was suddenly faced with chronic widespread pain, heart problems, thyroid issues and neurological problems. I had no idea at the time the two were related.
“There are huge issues with receiving treatment for Lyme disease here in the UK. Our testing methods are only 45% accurate and doctors are not trained properly to recognise and treat the symptoms in their early stages.”
Research in the US suggests that if left undiagnosed a tick bite can be life-altering – and can prove fatal.
Emma said dog owners may have seen posters at their local vets warning of the dangers of tick bites but she wants more people to know how dangerous they can be to humans, as International Lyme Disease Awareness Month begins.
Despite a gap in reported research and understanding of it in the UK, it is the most common disease spread by ticks in the northern hemispheret.
Emma was born in Skelmersdale, and went to St Thomas The Apostle school in the town, before becoming respected business owner in Liverpool.
She ran a PR and events company helping small businesses around the region, had to sell it last May after struggling to run it from her bed.
She is married to husband Gareth; they have no children, which Emma feels is partly due to spending so many years unwell.
On Monday (May 8) she will sail across the Atlantic for medical help that she hopes will improve the quality of her life.
So far she has raised £25,000 of the £60,000 needed for treatment, and so will only be spending two months in Washington DC instead of the six she had initially hoped for. Her life, she says, is on hold. “I have suffered with the effects of Lyme Disease for more than 10 years now. I have a growing list of ailments and endless health problems related to my condition. I honestly fear for my future.”
Since she was diagnosed, Emma has been a campaigner for Lyme Disease sufferers and has challenged health professionals on why the condition is so underrecognised in the UK.
Working tirelessly from her bed to help raise awareness of the disease, she warns that Lyme Disease is an epidemic – and says more awareness is vital.
Celebrities including Yolanda Foster, Avril Lavigne and most recently Kelly Osbourne have opened up about their struggles with the illness, paving the way for open debate.
Emma said: “My message to you as we start International Lyme Disease Awareness month, is to put pressure on our health services and powers that be that we educate, inform and importantly treat this devastating and dangerous disease.
“Please do not allow people to die through ignorance.”
For more information on how to protect yourself and your family from tick bites, visit lymediseaseuk.com/2016/02/10/tickbite-prevention-and-removal/
To donate to Emma’s Go Fund Me page visit: Www.gofundme. com/Liverpoollyme