Mum warns parents about Lyme disease after condition left daughter paralyzed

A woman is sharing her daughters experience with Lyme disease after the condition left her paralyzed and in agonizing pain.

Recently in a Facebook post, Natalie Walsh shared how her daughter Natasha woke up one morning screaming in pain from a bad headache. The seven-year-old also developed a 104-degree fever.

There was a lump on the girl's head on the right side, which at first doctors didn't think much of. However, as the day progressed the lump started to grow bigger. "I was told at first it was a spider bite," Walsh wrote on Facebook. "She was treated and sent home. Within hours, the wound looked even worse. [It] had a white and red ring around it. The fever was unstoppable."

At this point, Natasha lost her ability to move her neck and head. She was unable to walk and felt dizzy. Frantic, Natalie took her daughter to a different hospital this time. "I was hopeful we were in the right place, then every team from neurologists, infectious disease, dermatology and who knows what else saw her," she recounts in the post.

After several hours of testing, doctors diagnosed the young girl with Lyme disease.
According to CDC the disease is caused by a bacteria that is transmitted from an infected black-legged ticks to humans. Fever, headache, fatigue and skin rash are some of the most common symptoms.

What makes Natasha’s case unusual was that she didn't show a usual characteristic of the condition - the 'bull's eye' rash. The disease attacked Natasha’s nervous system. After the first dose of treatment, she was able to walk again and soon able to eat, drink and even chat normally.

Natalie is hoping to raise awareness about the disease by sharing her story.