Local mom pushes for more Lyme disease research, support

FINDLAY, Ill. (WAND) - Each year, approximately 476,000 people contract Lyme Disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Linda Kehart's daughter contracted the disease 12 years ago. Kehart said her daughter was bit by a tick and little did they know, that bite would change their entire lives.

Her daughter's symptoms first started like the flu, then progressed. They tried multiple doctors, but no one knew what was wrong with her.

"It's very difficult to get diagnosed."

Kehart's daughter was in her late 30s when she was diagnosed with the disease and referred to an Orlando, FL doctor. At that point, the symptoms had got worse.

"After you are diagnosed, finding someone to treat it is very, very difficult. Thus why we are out of state doing it."

Ticks are a growing health threat in Illinois, according to Illinois Lyme Association. Throughout a tick's 2-3 year lifecycle, it will feed on multiple warm-blooded hosts as its food source. The longer a tick is attached to its host, the greater the risk it transmits an infection.

Kehart said her daughter takes 30 doses of medicines a day, and that medication nearly $1,300 a month. However, it's not an easy journey. Kephart said she is her daughter's caregiver, but she still suffered from co-infections and chronic health issues.

"For us, it seems like it never stops," she said. "If you have cancer or heart disease, people understand that. People don't understand this."

The initial symptoms of Lyme Disease and other tick-borne diseases may be general, flu-like in nature, and similar to other diseases, which may lead to the tick-borne disease being undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. For the Kehart's, it took a long time to get a diagnosis. Because of that, Linda is sharing her family's story to raise awareness and advocate for more research.

"Prevention is the only way you are going to stop it. We are not going to get rid of all the ticks. And we aren't going to get rid of the disease if it's not diagnosed."

The Keharts joined the Illinois Lyme Association and have pushed to advocate for more research and support in central Illinois. In 2019, they helped push legislation through that would require insurance companies to cover office visits, testing, and treatment for Lyme Disease.

If someone has been bitten by a tick they should look out for symptoms like rashes (bullseye rash), fatigue, fever or chills, headaches, muscle and joint pain, and overall unwell feeling. Researchers suggest 10% - 20% of people with acute Lyme disease continue to have persistent or intermittent symptoms following treatment. Some people will develop neurological and psychiatric symptoms like anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, sleep disturbances, brain fog, rage, bipolar disorder, and other mental health issues.

To prevent Lyme disease, people should wear pants and a long sleeve shirt. They should tuck their pant legs into socks, and wear tall boots with double-sided carpet tape around the top. People should always apply tick repellent.

If someone has a tick on them, they should not remove it with bare hands. Do not squish, twist or break off a tick inside the body. People should never burn a tick off, smother it with soap, oil, or essential oils. People should use fine-pointed tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the head as possible and gently pull it straight up. They clean the wound with antiseptic or rubbing alcohol.

The tick can be tested, the Illinois Lyme Association encourages people to place the tick in a Ziploc bag and seal it with packing tape. Then the tick can be sent off to www.ticknology.org or www.tickreport.com.