An Okotoks mother has launched a GoFundMe page to raise funds to test and treat her family for Lyme disease.

Three members of the Sprinkhuysen family have tested positive for the disease, though the mother of the family Christina Sprinkhuysen says she believes all ten family members may have contracted it.

She believes the family contracted the disease during several trips to New Hampshire and Connecticut, recalling hiking trips and other outdoor activities that led to exposure to disease-carrying ticks.

The family's journey to a positive diagnosis was a long one, with several misdiagnoses due to a wide range of symptoms and lack of public awareness of Lyme disease.

For over six years the condition went undiagnosed, with family members exhibiting symptoms such as physical and mental fatigue and severe joint pain, all of which worsened as they developed chronic cases.

Christina even tested negative for Lyme disease at one point, which she attributes to limitations within Alberta's testing facilities.

She says they're not alone in this experience.

"It seems like our story is a common story. Most people notice lots of things are going wrong, and they go to doctors and specialists, and it just seems to take forever to get a diagnosis. I'm not sure why that is, I don't know why more doctors aren't familiar. Even my family doctor, her exact words were 'I don't know anything about Lyme.' I don't know why doctors aren't trained on it."

Eventually, blood samples were sent to a facility in Germany, where three family members were given definitive positive diagnoses.

Christina says several of her undiagnosed children are exhibiting symptoms.

"One child says 'I can't function, I can't think, I can't eat,' another child's response is 'We're all zombies, we can't focus,' and one of my other children said 'I feel dead inside, I have zero energy,"

She says access to treatment, let alone good information on the disease is scarce.

"There's a doctor in Calgary who's a specialist but I think he has a two to three-year waiting list and he's not taking children. You have to pay to go to other kinds of clinics that might be helpful but the information just is not out there."

She launched the GoFundMe page a week ago with the goal of testing each family member and paying for treatment; a costly and time-consuming process for even a single person.

Christina says she hopes the fundraiser also raises awareness for Lyme disease, both in how easy it is to contract and how difficult it can be to detect and treat properly.

To view the GoFundMe page, click here.

 

Questions, comments, or story ideas? Email news@okotoksonline.com