As a 19-year-old woman, Rachel Battersby was full of life and perfectly healthy but those days have gone. Battersby, from the Gold Coast, Queensland, contracted Lyme disease while on a trip to Sweden and the UK, and over the last 6 years her life has radically changed; her days are now filled with regular and severe convulsions which leave her writhing in pain.
From the article:
“In an effort to raise money to fly to Germany for world class treatment, Ms Battersby has released a video showing her condition at its worst – a 30-second clip that shows her writing on her bed in agony, sobbing uncontrollably as she screams out.
Initially she only complaint was a sore back, however, over the last couple of years, the pain has intensified so much that she’s been rushed to the hospital 70 times. Although she’s lived with the disease for the last seven years, Battersby still doesn’t know whether she’s in for a good day, or a bad day. In fact, recently while she was out with a friend, a convulsion hit Battersby which left her writhing- on the ground, in pain, in public- for two hours.
Sadly, Lyme disease is not officially recognized by Australian doctors, so being diagnosed- let alone receiving treatment- is incredibly difficult. However, treatment is possible at the St Georges clinic in Bad Aibling, Germany. Battersby desperately wants her life back and has started a My Cause page in the hopes of raising $40,000. Thus far she’s raised $7,000 of her $40,000 goal.
Rachel says, ‘I live with my best friend and it’s just so hard looking at her as she goes surfing and does all the things I can’t do. I just sit and imagine what it’d be like. I hope one day I’ll know again.’
We hope that Rachel can raise enough money and get the help she needs. It would also be LOVELY if the Australian government would recognize Lyme disease. It is real. For information on how I overcame Lyme, click here.
Source: Daily Mail
