Manchester, UK Mother diagnoses daughter's illness from Internet

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Girl, 13, may be paralysed by disease that baffled doctors for six months -

but her mother diagnosed on the internet

Last updated at 13:53pm on 16.07.08

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A schoolgirl who has been left bed-ridden with a serious illness for six

months, was only diagnosed after her mother looked up her symptoms on the

internet.

le Fisher, 13, fell ill in October and doctors were baffled by her

mysterious condition.

Her mother Dominique, 35, took her to the doctors after she began suffering

from viral meningitis-like symptoms, including severe headaches and fatigue.

Over the next few months, le's condition worsened as her eyes became

ultra-sensitive to light and she began suffering from vertigo and shortness of

breath.

le Fisher has been left bed-ridden by Lyme Disease after doctors

failed to diagnose the condition for six months

le, from Whitefield, Greater Manchester, attended various doctor and

hospital appointments where she was diagnosed with a variety of possible

illnesses, including meningitis, Epstein-Bar virus, a tumour and even

psychological problems.

Her mother, 35, said, 'She was admitted to hospital a few times, she was in

and out for a long time and we got an array of diagnoses which were all

wrong.

'She was diagnosed with Epstein-Bar virus, without the glandular fever. Then

meningitis, then the psychiatrist comment was the best one.

'They even suggested it could be a clot or a tumour at one point, which was

worrying.

'The last time she was in, the doctor said there's nothing wrong with her,

she needs a psychiatrist, which I knew was wrong, the poor girl could hardly

walk.'

Frustrated at the lack of an appropriate diagnosis, Dominique, who is an

estate agent, was so worried that she began doing some research herself on the

internet into le's symptoms.

She had severe vertigo and couldn't walk any more

She was shocked to discover her daughter's illness may have been caused by a

bite from a tick, a tiny spider-like blood-sucking parasite which usually

feeds off animals.

Dominique said, 'I'd begun doing some research myself by then as she had

severe vertigo, couldn't walk any more and had severe muscle and joint pain.

'I came across Lyme Disease and it just seemed to fit. There's a lot of

controversy over the treatment of the disease and over diagnosing the disease.

'I took le to see a professor in Newcastle privately and he diagnosed

her with Lyme Disease and three core infections. That's why she was so ill.

'If it hadn't have been diagnosed, she could have become paralysed or

blind.'

le's condition was diagnosed as borreliosis, also known as Lyme Disease

in April. If left untreated, it can cause nerve damage, paralysis and

blindness.

The Manchester schoolgirl is now taking several courses of antibiotics to

treat the condition but it is feared she may never fully recover.

'If she had been diagnosed straight away, it would have been a course of six

weeks of antibiotics but now she's on heavy antibiotics. It's gone past the

blood-brain barrier,' le's mother said.

'Thankfully she is now on a course of treatment and we are just hoping as

much as we can that she will get better. On one extreme she could be better in

weeks and on the other extreme she might always be like she is now. '

Dominique added: 'le is fed up. She's lost a lot of weight, she's

miserable and she just wants to be better. She just wants to be back at school

and with her friends.'

The disease has seen a fivefold increase in Britain in the past decade.

'It's staggering that this has been caused by one bite. le is literally

bed-ridden. She can barely walk because she is so weak and she gets tired

really easily.

'This disease is a lot more common than people think and I just want to make

people aware of it.'

'It can happen anywhere in the UK. There seems to be quite a lot of it in

certain big parks. It's like an unlucky lottery, it can happen to anyone.'

Fox, Chairperson and Director of BADA (Borreliosis and Associated

Diseases Awareness UK) said: 'Doctors need to be much more aware of early signs

and symptoms, the fact that ticks can carry more than one infection

concurrently and the fact that rashes can differ to those in medical journals. "

Currently the only defence against Lyme Disease in the UK is wearing sensible

clothing, using repellent and being aware of possible symptoms.

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