Doctors treating Raworth Lyme disease victim Tahlia Smith have found live parasites swimming in her blood during the 21-year-old’s first round of a radical treatment in Germany.
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Tahlia’s mother Lea spoke to her husband Brett, who is by their daughter’s side in Munich, at 3am on Thursday only to learn the gruesome discovery and that Tahlia’s condition was “pretty ordinary”.
“It’s just horrible and I’m heading to Germany on the weekend for an indefinite period to help Brett,” Mrs Smith said.
“He needed to go with her to help her on and off the plane.
“We had to be sensible about the whole thing and make that decision that he went with her.
“He is husband of the year and the best father in the world.”
Mrs Smith has remained at home with the couple’s other daughters Nikkia, 19 and Kiara, 18 who have had university and school commitments respectively.
“Doctors have already found after day one copious amounts of Lyme parasites swimming in Tahlia’s blood,” Mrs Smith said.
Describing her daughter as a brave pioneer, Mrs Smith said Tahlia does not want to see anyone else go through the immense pain she is suffering.
“She said to me that she looks terrible and looks so sick and that she’s just not Tahlia.
“Then she said ‘if this treatment results in helping someone else then it’s worth it’,” Mrs Smith said.
The Australian government refuses to fund treatment for the disease (some doctors refuse to acknowledge its existence in Australia) and Tahlia needed to raise $100,000 to access her overseas treatment.
Caused by an infected tick bite, Lyme disease is both insidious and cruel with symptoms that include uncontrollable convulsions, unrelenting nausea, constant leg tremors and agonising joint pain.