When Lyme Disease Becomes A Nightmare

When Lyme disease becomes a nightmare
Locals tell of years of elusive diagnoses and painful symptoms

Sherry Cagan of Portola Valley says she nearly died when she ended up in the emergency room with the systemic MRSA staph infection last year. After seeing “maybe 50 doctors” for a long list of symptoms that included hip pain, arm pain, numbness in the foot, fatigue, sleeplessness, brain fog, and decreased lung capacity, she finally received a diagnosis that had eluded her for seven years: Lyme disease. Kathleen O’Rourke of Woodside has her own story of living with Lyme disease for seven years. Her symptoms have ranged from vertigo to dizziness, irritability, blurry vision, apnea, heart palpitations, joint pain, neuropathy in her feet, and tinnitus. Their friend, Bonnie Crater, doesn’t have Lyme, but says she grew alarmed when yet another mother in their circle, Laure Kastanis of Portola Valley, “was pretty sick” with the disease. Read more.

See what’s available in California.