Think there is no Lyme disease in Georgia? You may want to think again after you read this story of a Gwinnett, Georgia resident and her ordeal with this mysterious disease.

“If someone tells you Lyme disease doesn’t exist in Georgia, don’t believe them,” says Karen Huppertz, a Gwinnett, Georgia resident whose daughter battled the mysterious disease for years. It began with vertigo and swollen knees. She complained of headaches, low-grade fevers and abdominal pain that was oddly specific. All of these warning signs of Lyme disease, but her daughter never reported the signature bullseye rash most Lyme disease patients get around the bite mark.

Karen brought her daughter to one specialist after the next, hoping for a diagnosis that would lead them to a cure. But after blood work, CT scans, MRIs, lumbar puncturing and a number of other uncomfortable procedures, where her teenage daughter was poked and prodded, they were no closer to a solution than when they first began.

Headaches and fevers progressed into more serious neurological symptoms. Problems like numbness in her arms and legs, blurred vision, insomnia, and short-term memory loss. Though her daughter had aspirations to press forward and continue with college, everything had to come to a grinding halt. She had even begun asking about getting a wheelchair.

While doctors began to consider multiple sclerosis, Karen scoured the internet for answers, and came across the controversial disease known as Lyme disease. Not controversial because scientists or doctors questioned its existence, but that they didn’t believe it existed in the South. They had finally found the answer they were looking for. Now, after two years of treatment, Karen’s daughter is symptom-free. Now, she continues to spread the word about Lyme disease in Georgia.

Dr. Andrew Pugliese, a specialist who treats patients in Gwinnett and North Fulton says, “Lyme disease is very prevalent in Georgia, but highly under diagnosed.”

Help Karen and others spread the word about Lyme disease in Georgia. No one should ever have to watch their child suffer for 8 years with an illness that could be treated successfully with antibiotics.

Hopefully, Karen and her daughter’s ordeal is over, but the threat in Georgia still remains. Protect your home and your family from deer tick diseases by wearing proper clothing when you walk in the woods or in tall grass, and by getting a tick treatment for your yard from the professionals here at Active Pest Control. Let our family help to protect yours from ticks, mosquitoes and other pests with one our residential pest control programs. Don’t delay, contact us today!