Family’s fight for antibiotic Lyme disease treatment

A mother has told of her fiveyear-old son’s gruelling health battle after suffering a tick bite.

Theresa Dolan says her son was seen by at least 20 doctors before he was given the right antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease after being bitten by a tick in 2015.

Patrick Dolan was bitten in the family’s garden in December 2015 at the age of three.

Within a few days a rash appeared around the bite – a symptom of the disease, which can cause liver damage and heart problems if not treatment promptly or with sufficient antibiotics.

A week after the rash appeared Patrick suffered flulike symptoms, his temperature soared and he experienced seizures.

Despite having three blood tests for Lyme disease, his mother says he is only now receiving the right dose of the antibiotic Amoxicillin.

Patrick is receiving the antibiotic from a private Dublinbased consultant and Mrs Dolan hopes it will giver her her “little boy back”.

Over the past two years the five-year-old has suffered recurrent, extreme fevers, fatigue, tremors, breathing problems and joint paint.

The family, from Howwood, Renfrewshire, has spent thousands on private healthcare, as well as having “countless hospital trips and numerous admissions”.

They were living in Dubai when Patrick first became unwell.

Mrs Dolan, 35, who is a teacher and a mother of two, said: “Patrick had come in with a bite but wasn’t complaining about it. It gradually got bigger and within a few days it was bull’s eye rash.

“He was absolutely fine but within ten days, he became very unwell with a high temperature. It was Christmas and he was barely interested in presents or Santa.”

The family moved to Ireland, where mechanical engineer father Diarmaid, 34, is from. Patrick received six weeks of treatment for Lyme disease in December 2016.

He seemed to improve but in March and April last year started to suffer from erratic fevers for a few days at a time.

The family moved back to Scotland in May last year and since then has been to A&E at least four times.

Patrick is now receiving an intensive course of antibiotics from a private consultant in Dublin which his family hope will finally set him on the path to recovery.

There are around 1,000 confirmed cases of Lyme disease in the UK every year. The charity Lyme Disease UK has launched a month-long awareness drive.