Ryan Bradley was once a promising young soccer player.
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A future with the Newcastle Jets was in his sights and he was the epitome of good health and vitality.
Today Ryan, 24, sits isolated in his Gillieston Heights home held captive by a landslide of medical problems.
“I’ve lost my job, I can’t play sport anymore and I’m stuck in the house,” Ryan said. “And when you can no longer feel your tongue and can’t even swallow, it’s petrifying.”
As it stands, treatment for the tick-borne disease is not funded by the Australian Government and some doctors believe the disease does not exist in Australia.
“There is no way the government can keep clinging to this theory,” Ryan said.
“I haven’t left Australia in seven years so there is no way I got this anywhere else. I even pulled the tick off my leg.”
Earlier this month the Mercury told the story of Tahlia Smith and her five-year battle with the disease.
It is believed Tahlia, 21, was infected while travelling to promote her performing arts career. The jury is out on whether Tahlia was bitten in Australia or America.
However, Ryan – who suffers with numbness on the left side of his body, has swelling on the brain and around his spinal chord– is certain he was infected by a tick hosted by their dog.
“Our dog was sick so we took her to the vet and about three weeks later I found a tick on me and then I started getting sick and nobody knew what was wrong,” Ryan said.
“The vet actually told me to get checked for Lyme disease but no-one wanted to know.”
Much like Tahlia, Ryan was misdiagnosed multiple times before it was revealed he had the disease.
“It’s so hard to watch Ryan go through this and to see how he is now is heartbreaking,” Ryan’s partner Jess Garghan, 23, said.
“And the feeling of being helpless is so overwhelming. I’ve seen what happens when his whole body goes numb and it’s terrifying.”
Ryan’s monthly treatment costs hover between hundreds and thousands of dollars and he receives weekly penicillin injections.
He is not eligible for income protection because the disease is not recognised and Centrelink is not an option because he can’t physically search for a job.
“There are times when I can’t think straight, I forget Jess’s name and I don’t even know where I live,” Ryan said.
“Some days I can barely talk properly. It really messes my brain up and it’s so frustrating when our government won’t accept this.
“The politicians need to come into the homes of people like us and see what we go through,” he said.
A fundraiser for Ryan Bradley’s treatment costs will be held on July 25 at Janelle’s Hair and Beauty, Green Hills, between 12pm and 3pm. A Lyme Awareness Evening (in support of Tahlia Smith) will be held at Maitland City Bowling Club on Saturday, July 18. For more information contact David Cliff on 0408490367, Debbie Mirisch on 0402213413 or email ashlee@bizsynergy.net.au.
