IHOMUUTOS 11-VUOTIAANA, 18-VUOTIAANA OIREET

[soijuv]

Englantilaisen Wendy Foxin, 38, borrelioositarina. Wendyllä oli borreliabakteerin aiheuttama tyypillinen ihomuutos jo 11 vuoden iässä, mutta asiaan ei siihen aikaan kiinnitetty huomiota. 18-vuotiaana hän aloitti eläinhoitajakolutuksen, mutta voi liian huonosti voidakseen tehdä työtä. Hän voi huonosti vuosien ajan ennenkuin hänellä todettiin borrelioosi sekä lukuisia lisäinfektioita.

Wendy tarvitsee tällä hetkellä kokopäiväistä huolenpitoa. Hän on halvaantunut vyötäröstä alaspäin ja hän on joutunut käyttämään pyörätuolia kuuden vuoden ajan. Häneltä on poistettu toinen munuainen, hänelle on tehty kaksi sydänleikkausta, hän on lähes sokea, hän tarvitsee lisähappea öisin jne.

Nyt Wendy on useiden muiden henkilöiden kanssa perustanut järjestön joka mm. tiedottaa borreliabakteerin aiheuttamista terveysongelmista.


Battling Wendy is happy to help

By Vivien Kandel

A COURAGEOUS woman who grew up in Leftwich is battling a serious illness and helping others in a similar situation.

Wendy Fox, 38, lives in south Yorkshire but lived in Lime Avenue, Leftwich, with her parents Keith and Rosalind Mottram and brother Steve.

Wendy Fox 38

She is now suffering from Lyme Disease, is paralysed from the waist down and has been wheelchair bound for six years. Her heart and liver are damaged.

She has lost the use of one kidney, which needed surgery to isolate it, has also lost most of her peripheral vision and is registered blind.

Two operations have helped her heart to work a little more efficiently.

Sometimes she has breathing difficulties and has to use oxygen from a machine in her living room. She now needs full-time care.

Wendy went to Leftwich High School and Hartford High School and had a special love of animals.

The family enjoyed country walks and holidays in wild places, unaware of the dangers of ticks.

Ticks are tiny spider-like bloodsucking creatures, which can infect a person with harmful bacteria.

When she was 11, Wendy developed a bull's-eye' rash, a classic symptom of Lyme Disease but it was not recognised at the time. Wendy was passionate about wildlife and successfully nursed many sick wild animals and birds.

At 18 she went away to train as a zookeeper. Unfortunately zoo animals carry ticks too. Eventually she became too unwell to work.

After many years of poor health, Wendy was finally diagnosed with Lyme Disease and several other infections acquired from tick bites.

But this has not deterred her from carrying on. She is married to Andrew and has a son Richard, 16.

Her mother Rosalind said: "Wendy has faced all her problems with great courage. She is determined to make something good come from her illness.

"She and some other sufferers of tick-borne diseases decided it was time people were made aware of the risk of becoming ill from tick bites.

"They set up a charity, now registered, called BADA-UK. This stands for Borreliosis and Associated Diseases Awareness. Wendy was elected director and chairperson.

"The charity has medics and other health and science professionals working with them voluntarily."

April 1 is the start of Tick Prevention Week which aims to warn the public of the dangers of tick bites and the diseases that they can pass on.

Rosalind added: "Wendy and her friends have worked hard despite their health problems.

"Their charity is doing a great job but has no grants to cover leaflet production costs.

"This is not just a story about her courage but about her determination to help others."

For details, visit www.bada-uk.org and www.tickpreventionweek.org.