A LLANDYSUL woman whose son contracted Lyme disease as a baby is campaigning to raise awareness of the little-understood condition.

Sian Evans, whose eight-year-old son, Jay, was infected by a tick bite at their Capel Dewi home, is supporting Protesters Ticked Off By Lyme disease following a massive protest in London last week.

She also met with Ceredigion MP Mark Williams to discuss the health issue this week.

“Lyme disease is becoming more common and, while there has been some publicity recently regarding the risk to dogs, there has not been as much said about the risks to humans,” Sian told the Cambrian News.

“Jay was bitten by a tick iat the age of 10 months. He got ill and developed a ‘bullseye’ rash after a month.

“He was given two weeks of antibiotics and seemed okay afterwards. A few years later his health began to deteriorate – possibly he was bitten again and I did not notice.

“He gets high fevers frequently and flu-like aches and pains all over his body. His ears turn bright purple and hot to the touch even when he is otherwise well.

“He struggles to remember simple things and is struggling at school – he has bad anxiety about this. He suffers from extreme fatigue.

“A return to the doctor for help resulted in a letter from a

paediatrician offering only a ‘mental health referral’. This will not cure his physical health problems.

“Jay is one of the lucky ones as we originally saw a GP who did know about Lyme. Many people in the UK are not so fortunate.”