Diagnosed w/ Lyme Disease -- reminders for all

[Burgundy&Gold4Ever]

Last night my 4 year old was diagnosed w/ Lyme Disease. I'm a jumbled mix of emotions: grateful we caught it early, but scared it could become chronic anyway; rattled how easily I could have missed the bull's eye rash, and at the same time feeling like I was meant to find it b/c the circumstances lined up so perfectly for me to discover it. I saw it ONLY B/C of the fluke of it being so hot in mid-Sept. that we did water play, AND it was late enough in the year not to need suntan lotion (otherwise, he would have worn a water shirt to avoid needing suntan lotion on his arms and chest), AND we happened to do water play at the time of day when I would see the bull's eye rash (dr. said it's there only a few hours and often is missed), AND he and I happened to be standing in the correct positions for me to see it on the back of his forearm, AND I happened to be looking at him at the exact moment we both happened to be in the proper positions for me to see it. Like I said, I alternate between being rattled how easily this could have become advanced Lyme Disease before it was noticed, and at the same time, I feel like it was meant for me to discover it b/c how else could all of those things have happened? W/o one of them, I wouldn't have ever seen the bull's eye rash.

Anyway, he seems asymptomatic for the most part, though maybe this is why he's not been sleeping well lately. Occasionally he's complained of a leg cramp and I hadn't thought anything of it, but maybe he was having a couple of joint issues.

Like I said, I'm very grateful that we caught it early and he should make a full recovery. He'll be on antibiotics for a couple of weeks.

Please let this serve as a reminder to check yourself and your children for ticks any time you walk through woods or spend time outdoors anywhere that deer visit. The dr. said that deer ticks can be very hard to find. The dog ticks are the big ones that are easy to spot.

Also let this be a reminder that, if you feel tired, feverish, and achy, don't necessarily assume that it's the flu. Get yourself a Lyme Disease blood test if there's any chance you've been near ticks in the past few months. Early detection is the key to a full recovery. My friend's stepson has Lyme Disease that was misdiagnosed for months, and the poor guy may battle pain and fatigue for the rest of his life. He's only a teenager.

Finally, here's a word of advice about identifying the bull's eye rash. If you see a a perfect circle somewhere on the body, go to the dr. I almost blew this off b/c I didn't see anything in the middle, so it couldn't be a bull's eye. I thought at first that it was a regular bug bite. When I looked closely, I saw a small red dot in the middle. It still didn't really look like a bull's eye, but I took him to the dr. anyway. It's a good thing that I did.

By the way, the bull's eye rash appears 3-30 days after a tick bites you.

[Teller]

Scary stuff, B&G.

Thanks much for the reminder. Lyme Disease is something you certainly can't be too careful with.

All the best to your son during his recovery.