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The Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation, Directors and members are not liable for any direct or indirect damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortious action arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of information available from this website. Consult a qualified Lyme ( Borreliosis ) Disease literate doctor for medical advice if Lyme Disease is suspect. en français For Physicians Ticks Coinfections Prevention Our Stories Click Here to order our free Lyme Disease Flyer,    Here for our free Lyme Disease Poster ..documents may be copied (to distribute) but edit only for alignment. http://tinyurl.com/kg3g Man's life nearly ruined by tick bite August 18, 2003 11:36 A SINGLE bite from a tick almost ruined a man's life and left him with a five-year-battle to get his life back on track. James Goodwin, from Merton Road in Norwich, first contracted Lyme disease - a debilitating illness carried by ticks, which can prove fatal - in the summer of 1997. He had been doing some conservation work for the Norfolk Wildlife Trust on the edge Thetford Forest when he was bitten. He received immediate treatment, but five years on was still suffering the side-effects of the disease. Now he can finally see light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to the specialist medical treatment he has received in Switzerland. Mr Goodwin said: "Two days after the tick bite I developed a rash on my left hip just above my belt-line. I went to the doctor who said it was a horsefly bite. The rash spread like a bullseye rash which is common with Lyme disease." The rash continued to spread over the next couple of weeks and Mr Goodwin was eventually diagnosed as suffering from Lyme disease. He contacted the Evening News after reading the story of Diana Ley, who diagnosed herself with the disease. Mrs Ley's diagnosis followed a story in last month's Evening News about how 20-year-old Norwich sportswoman Melanie Clarke fell ill with the Lyme disease while preparing for the 2003 World Outdoor Target Archery Championships in New York. After Lyme disease was finally diagnosed, Mr Goodwin, 31, went on a 14-day course of antibiotics to try to combat the infection. He added: "I should've been absolutely fine. I was always very healthy and took my health for granted. I could do what I wanted and did athletics, but I didn't return to normal afterwards." The symptoms of Lyme disease include arthritis, joint swelling, heart problems, and short-term memory loss. But after the treatment for the initial Lyme disease had ended, Mr Goodwin said he continued to suffer from a number of symptoms like headaches, depression, a stiff neck, and sight problems. Mr Goodwin started a four-year course at the University of East Anglia in Ecology, but was still suffering. "The symptoms carried on and new ones developed while I was going through university," said Mr Goodwin. "I knew underneath something was wrong." By March 2002 Mr Goodwin had become gravely ill and was admitted to hospital after an episode of convulsions, which left his whole body in spasm. The experience left him at low ebb, but he was determined to find out what was wrong with him. "I thought to myself I've got to get to the bottom of this," he said. "I went to an infectious disease specialist, but they drew a blank as all the blood tests proved negative for Lyme disease." Unhappy with the diagnosis, Mr Goodwin researched the disease himself to try to prove he was still suffering from the symptoms of Lyme disease. He said: "There's a Lyme website with other people who in every other way should have been healthy, but had been bitten by a tick and had problems for a long time afterwards." Mr Goodwin's research led him to a Swiss doctor based in Flamatt, Berne - who had previously had Lyme disease herself. "I thought if I go over there and see someone who might know about it she could rule it out and my doctor here would be proved correct. "I went over with that in mind but she said I had Lyme disease and it needed to be treated." The Swiss doctor told Mr Goodwin he had been suffering from Lyme disease for the past five years and the longer it was left untreated the more problems he would encounter. Mr Goodwin has been to Switzerland three times since 2002 for treatment - which includes a course of heavy intravenous antibiotics - and is due to go out again in October. He and his partner have spent thousands on treatment so far. But Mr Goodwin insisted it had all been worthwhile. "After the intravenous antibiotics I felt better. My energy levels improved and I have been slowly feeling better." Copyright © 2003 Archant Regional. To The Top