Source: International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society
KVUE Online Video
Austin, TX
by Celine McArthur / Healthvue reporter
7 September 2004
KVUE's Celine McArthur reports
Lyme disease is the most common tick borne disease in
the world.
While it can be treated, it can turn deadly because it's
often misdiagnosed.
One Austin nurse practitioner is making it her mission
to uncover these cases-and she's saving lives.
Ginger Savely loves her job as nurse practitioner because
it allows her to spend quality time with her patients.
It's this connection that earned her the title "Texas
Nurse Practitioner of the Year" and allowed her to
uncover a potentially deadly problem in several of her
patients--Lyme disease.
"You
have to be a good detective," Savely said.
Lyme disease is caused by bacteria from a deer tick bite.
The ticks are found in high grass or wooded areas mostly
in the Northeast and some here in Texas. Symptoms include
fever, headache, fatigue, muscle pain, stiff neck, joint
inflammation, overall itching, tooth pain, change in vision,
trouble concentrating and sometimes a bull's-eye rash
at the site of the tick bite. Doctors often misdiagnose
the disease because it mimics other illnesses like MS,
lupus, or chronic fatigue syndrome, so most people with
Lyme disease are sent to all sorts of specialists.
"The list of 'ologists' goes on and on, and by the
time they come to me they've seen 10 other doctors,"
she said.
That's what happened to both Lisa Maynard and Jay Barnett.
Jay was infected by a tick in Llano; Lisa in Dripping
Springs.
Both have been terribly ill for years.
"I felt like I wished I would die," Jay said.
Doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with either
of them and eventually gave up.
Lisa says one of her doctors told her, "I need to
send you to a psychiatrist, you obviously have some mental
issues because no one could be in this much pain all the
time."
That's
when they found Ginger Savely.
She diagnosed their Lyme disease-and started treating
them with very strong antibiotics.
Those antibiotics can range from $1,200 to $12,000 a month,
and not all insurance covers them. Cost aside, Jay and
Lisa say they're just relieved to find out what's really
wrong with them. They also have some advice for doctors.
"Start listening to your patients, most people don't
lie about being in pain," Lisa said.
The best way to protect yourself against Lyme disease
is to avoid wooded areas. If you can't, cover yourself
head to toe with clothing and bug spray.
"You
have to be a good detective," Savely said. 
That's
when they found Ginger Savely. 