A few dozen people rallied at the Statehouse Thursday to raise awareness of Lyme disease.
The disease is caused by bacteria and is spread to humans by ticks. Symptoms include headaches, fever, nausea, fatigue, depression and joint pain.
Organizers said Lyme disease is the fastest growing infectious disease in the nation, with roughly 30,000 new cases reported each year.
However, they said thousands of other cases go untreated.
“It’s more profound than West Nile Virus or AIDS and many other diseases, but there’s so little that’s really known about the disease,” said rally organizer Scott Seckman, who is also living with Lyme disease.
“We’re trying to raise awareness, because there’s a lot of people that are undiagnosed and misdiagnosed, going to doctor after doctor.”
If diagnosed early, Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics, but if left unchecked the disease can be disabling and difficult to treat.
That’s what happened to Rebecca Bearden, the reining Mrs. South Carolina America.
Roughly 15 years ago, after a tick bite, she began to encounter some strange symptoms that included seizures and fainting spells. She was later confined to a wheelchair.
“It’s very hard and you suffer tremendously and no one can really understand the pain that you’re in,” said Bearden.
She said doctors didn’t know what was wrong with her until she was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease after the birth of her first child.
“I was relieved that someone could finally help me, because I had been searching for an answer,” she said.
However, the late diagnosis and an allergy to antibiotics made her recovery difficult as the disease became chronic.
It would eventually attack her thyroid gland and the West Columbia native found herself near death at a Duke University Hospital.
“It has been a long and hard battle, but I’m happy to say that I’m doing much better now. I found help and now I’m doing great.”
Bearden said she encourages people to visit the doctor if they’ve been bitten by a tick.
“If you wait too long it can turn into chronic (Lyme disease), so if you get bitten, go on to the doctor.”
She’s hopeful the rally will draw attention to a disease that often goes unnoticed.
“We’re just as important as those who are suffering from other illnesses out there.”
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