VATSA-SUOLISTOVAIVOJA, VÄSYMYSTÄ, UNIVAIKEUKSIA

[soijuv]

Kolme vuotta sitten Britteny sairastui vaikeisiin oireisiin; vatsa-suolisto -vaivoja, jatkuva väsymys, pupillit laajentuneet, univaikeuksia. Hänen elämänsä oli yhtä kärsimystä ja kipua päivästä toiseen. Vanhemmat veivät tytärtään lääkäriltä toiselle, mutta kukaan ei osannut sanoa mistä oireet johtuivat, puhumattakaan että olisivat osanneet hoitaa häntä. Viimein hänelle kuitenkin tehtiin oikea testi ja hänellä todettiiin borrelioosi. Hän sai intensiivisen hoidon, mutta hoito tuli liian myöhään. Britteny kuoli helmikuussa 2007.

Brittenyn 16-vuotias ystävä sairastui myös borrelioosiin. Hän sai hoidon mutta on edelleen niin väsynyt ja hänellä on lukuisia muitakin oireita niin paljon, ettei hän kykene käymään koulua.

Tri Brewerin mukaan lääkärit eivät edes mainitse potilailleen borrelioosin mahdollisuutta. Siitä huolimatta hän saa lääkäreiltä toistuvasti huolestuneita soittoja, mitä heidän pitäisi tehdä, kun heidän oma lapsensa on saanut punkinpureman. Lääkärit ovat huolissaan borrelioosista vasta sitten, kun se koskettaa heidän omaa perhettään.


http://www.nbcactionnews.com/news/local ... d4338e43a7
FLOOD WARNING


May 23, 2007

Lyme disease is a growing problem

Posted By: Paige Heyward

KANSAS CITY, Mo. ? If you are planning a picnic, a trip to the lake, or plan to send your kids to summer camp to ride horses, hunt or play golf you need to be aware of a growing problem. It?s something your doctor may not even know about. ?She was just so full of life and energy,? mother Hattie Gallgher said. Britteny Gallgher will be remembered as the girl who loved live, even though life had been hard for her.

?She had a lot of strength and courage,? Hattie said. Britteny needed all the strength and courage she could muster as she battled a debilitating disease.

?It almost seemed with every organ. It was one after another,? Hattie said.

Three years ago, the happy teenager developed horrible symptoms, including bowel problems, her eyes became permanently dilated. She was constantly tired, but she couldn?t sleep.

?Just suffering, just pain you cannot believe,? father Terry Gallgher said.

But doctor after doctor couldn?t find the cause, not to mention a cure. ?You just want to hold her, and you say ?I don?t know what to do,? Terry said.

Finally, Britteny got the right test, the test that detected Lyme disease, and even though she underwent intense treatment, it was too late. She died last February.

?I could have gotten it tons of times,? Rebekah Rauckman said.

One of Britteny?s friends, Rebekah, 16, was diagnosed early enough to recover. But, she?s so tired she can?t attend school full-time and has a long list of debilitating symptoms.

?I have stomach problems, headaches, nausea,? Rebekah said.

Many doctors in the metro don?t recognize Lyme disease when they see it. That?s because many people think it?s a disease that only strikes in the woods of the Northeast.

The few doctors that treat Lyme disease in Kansas City say it?s a dangerous assumption to make. ?That's the whole problem. Unrecognized, undiagnosed,? Dr. Joseph Brewer said.

Dr. Brewer at St. Luke?s Hospital says Lyme disease can be easily cured in its early stage. It is spread by the bite of a tick. ?Clearly people pick it up here,? Dr. Brewer said.

According to the Lyme Association of Greater Kansas City, there are at least 1,000 cases across the metro.

One tick bite can result in infection spanning three stages.

Early symptoms may include:
?A bulls eye rash at the bite
?Joint pain and fatigue

Later symptoms include:
?Memory Loss
?Personality Changes
?Organ Failure

In rare cases, like Britteny?s, it can result in death. ?There?s so much of this around now,? Dr. Brewer said.

He says people can pick it up at the Lake of the Ozarks, at scout camp, riding horses, playing with dogs or hunting. You can even get it from deer that feed in your backyard.

?It's very difficult to go someplace and mention it and somebody doesn't know someone who has it,? Dr. Brewer said.

And it?s frustrating that doctors often don?t even mention it to their patients. ?One of the most common calls I get from other physicians is when their child is bitten by a tick. Then they are worried about it, not worried about it until it comes to their household,? Dr. Brewer said.

He says patients need to be their own advocates. ?They should be vigilant and not listen to ?oh there's none of it around here? because that?s simply not true,? Dr. Brewer said.

?She's always in our hearts and she'll always be there,? Terry said.

Despite Britteny?s extreme suffering, she was grateful for her life and spiritual until the end. ?The lord is my strength and my song. She wrote it on her mirror in lipstick,? Hattie said.

Her parents want to use her strength to warn others about the disease that claimed their daughter. ?We just want to save another family from going through what we went through. When you see a kid suffer for three years and lose them for no reason its mind boggling, it?s frustrating, it?s angering,? Terry said.

The Gallgher?s have two other children, T.J. and Lexi. They believe Britteny would have wanted them to speak out.