Lyme disease having ripple effects
Excerpted from Republican American ( Posted: 09/10/2012)
STAMFORD — Katy Reid said some young adults suffering with Lyme disease no longer aspire to marriage, having children or even holding fulfilling jobs because of the ailment’s crippling effects.
Reid, 27, of Ridgefield, runs a weekly support group for Lyme disease sufferers aged 16 to 30, drawing young adults from as far away as New Jersey and upstate New York.
“Young adults sit around the table once a month, and devoid of emotion, discuss how they will not date, marry, or have children as a chronic Lyme disease patient,” Reid said. “Seventeen- or 18-year-old girls have made the choice not to have children rather than risk the possibility of bringing a child into the world with a tick-borne illness.”
Reid told U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., during a hearing Thursday at the University of Connecticut Stamford that 11 years ago, she and her family battled with doctors who prescribed inappropriate treatments in the face of arguments that her fever, bouts of fatigue, mental lethargy and other symptoms were attributable to Lyme disease.
For more: http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2012/09/10/news/connecticut/668733.txt
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