Editor's note: Due to the sensitivity of her husband's military mission, Colleen B. has requested that we withhold her family's last name.
CRESTVIEW — Bryson B. is a typical 11-year-old boy who loves playing outside, hunting in woods with his dad and riding horses.
But, his mother, Colleen said, there is a difference.
"My son has Lyme disease," she said.
"He was racing through the woods and got into a tick nest and had about 50 of them on him," she said.
After picking off the ticks, everything seemed fine until Bryson awoke several days later with a few red spots. Colleen, suspecting bedbugs, changed his sheets, but more spots appeared.
"I took him to the doctor. His nurse said, 'You should have him checked for Lyme.'
"About a week and a half after the bites, he complained of joint pains, headaches and fever all at the same time. I didn't know about the impact of Lyme disease at the time."
Finding a doctor
When the family's pediatrician reluctantly agreed to extend Bryson's antibiotics treatment for a second week, a church friend advised Colleen to find a Lyme-literate doctor.
However, despite the prevalence of tick-laden Northwest Florida wooded areas, the closest doctors specializing in the often debilitating disease were at least two hours away.
Under the care of a Lyme-literate doctor in Tallahassee, Bryson received the full antibiotics treatment.
"And he's still on antibiotics now," Colleen said. "We think we've conquered it, but it lives in his body, so if his immune system is compromised, he could have a relapse."
Thanks to early detection and prompt antibiotic treatment, Bryson's story has a happy ending.
"If he was not treated in the five- to six-week window, he wouldn't be where he is today," Colleen said.
Award-winning documentary
Colleen, along with Connie Murray, also the mother of a child with Lyme disease, encourages parents to attend a 2 p.m. May 31 screening of "Under Our Skin," an award-winning documentary about Lyme disease.
The film's Woodlawn Baptist Church screening will be followed by guest speakers addressing Lyme disease detection and prevention, and how it has changed their lives. Admission is free.
"This is what's behind our desire to inform people," Colleen said. "You have to push for the proper diagnosis and the proper treatment."
Lyme disease is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and a skin rash that often resembles ringworm. Infection can spread to joints, the heart and the nervous system if the disease is untreated.
Avoid wooded and bushy areas with high grass and leaf litter, walk in the center of trails and repel ticks with DEET or Permethrin, to prevent infection.
Be extra vigilant in warmer months — April through September — when ticks are most active.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/lyme
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at brianh@crestviewbulletin.com, follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview parents to present Lyme disease awareness information, share their stories