My Story

Last year, Steve’s wife, Juliana, was diagnosed with Late-Stage Lyme Disease with Bartonella and Babesiosis co-infections. Steve and his riding buddy Colm teamed up to go for a long ride and raise some funds for Lyme Disease Action.

Lyme disease and the co-infections have affected Juliana’s nervous system, joints, heart, and brain, rendering her desperately ill and at times incapacitated. She has been getting progressively worse over many years with recurring migraines, loss of balance, visual and hearing difficulties, neurological anomalies, and intense pain. Over the years, multiple doctors and specialists have misdiagnosed and unsuccessfully treated her for 12 different diseases and conditions.

When her condition dramatically deteriorated when the Covid lockdowns started and in utter desperation, after doing some of her own research and drawing on the information provided by Lyme Disease Action, Juliana was finally diagnosed with Lyme Disease, Bartonella and Babesiosis by a private clinic. There is very little support from the NHS for late-stage Lyme Disease patients.

Lyme Disease is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected tick. Early symptoms may include headaches, fatigue, fever, facial palsy, and abnormal skin sensations and rashes. Lyme Disease is systemic so it can affect the whole body. If diagnosed early it can be treated with antibiotics but when inadequately or treated late, as in Juliana’s case, one can suffer from other symptoms as she has done which have included abdominal pains, chest pains, depression, disorientation, meningitis, tinnitus, speech and memory difficulties, light sensitivity, muscle aches, extreme fatigue, more pain, more pain, and more pain.

Lyme Disease is difficult to cure, and the subsequent damage to long-term patients’ organs, systems, and the body is often irreversible. The disease can also rebound after going into remission, resulting in long term treatment with the patients never returning to 100% health.

Lyme Disease Action, the charity we are riding for, provides information about Lyme Disease to patients, health professionals, and members of the public. For many years Lyme Disease Action has been recognised for the quality of its information. Their information is accredited, and their web pages, leaflets and published materials carry the Patient Information Forum mark of quality.

Lyme Disease Action is run entirely by volunteers who all have stories very similar to Juliana’s, so every penny Steve and Colm raise will go towards the charity so that they can continue raising awareness both in the public and in the medical community, who regularly denounce, misdiagnose, and dismiss the idea of Lyme Disease. Ignorance is bliss, but Lyme Disease is real and awful.

Steve is privileged to still be able to take on endurance challenges, whilst Colm still has a few miles left in his legs…. so hopefully, them edging each other on and your contribution can go some way to continue to raise awareness of this horrible disease and hopefully allow more patients to recover fully by being diagnosed sooner rather than later.