For more than a decade, Petrisse Herbert has suffered more medical problems than she can remember.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 25-year-old’s life has become consumed with doctor visits, pharmaceuticals, alternate medications and the search for a diagnosis.
Ms Herbert, who lives at The Hill, believes she has found the answer.
“I was researching mental health problems when I came across this disease,” she said.
“I went through it and I got goosebumps, thinking I’ve finally found out what’s really going on.”
She travelled to Bellingen in northern NSW to see a doctor willing to test for Lyme disease.
“No one else was willing to do that,” she said.
“I got a heap of tests and the doctor started treating me. I was diagnosed with and tested positive for late-stage chronic Lyme disease.”
Ms Herbert recalled being bitten by a tick at around age 12. She believes this is how her health problems began.
Lyme disease is controversial, with the medical establishment having long denied its existence in Australia.
Federal Department of Health chief medical adviser Dr Gary Lum told a Senate inquiry last year that it was not possible for people to contract Lyme disease in Australia from ticks.
Ms Herbert is speaking out because she believes more awareness is needed.
She is among an increasing number of people who believe they have the illness.
“It’s a confusing disease. There are so many strands of it,” she said.
She believes medical authorities should acknowledge the disease’s existence in Australia.
The list of conditions she suffers are many and varied, including chronic joint pain, chronic fatigue, blurred vision, jaw stiffness/pain, heart palpitations, sickness, headaches/migraines, stomach pain/food intolerances, brain fog and memory loss.
“I was a healthy, happy, outgoing, fit, personal trainer who competed at national level for athletics,” she said.
“I now struggle with pain and random illness in various regions of my body every day.”
Over the years, she has seen many doctors.
“All of my savings go to medical bills. I’ve probably spent about $15,000 on pharmaceuticals this year.”
She works in the disability sector, but her health forced her to cut back on hours.
Her partner David Crowe has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise $40,000.
“An opportunity has recently surfaced to send Petrisse to Cyprus in January 2018,” he wrote.
“We want to raise awareness and some much-needed funds to help send her to a specialist clinic in Cyprus for two months, consisting of ozone therapy, plus other treatments specialised to her condition.”
