How did Lyme disease manifest for your son?

We had just returned from a trip to the Caribbean and my 10-year-old son noticed after a bath that he had multiple circles on his lower body. A nurse suggested it was probably something he contracted on vacation. She recommended a cream to make the rash go away — and it did go away. We now know this was the second stage of the disease.

Three months later, everything changed. He developed inconsistent, non-specific symptoms including spreading leg pain and lower energy levels. Within less than a week, he woke unable to move his hip. We went to the hospital and everything spiralled. They aspirated fluid from his hip, it was infected, and by midnight he was in surgery to remove the infection. At that point, the diagnosis was septic arthritis. He spent a week in hospital recovering from surgery while they ran tests to identify the bacteria — but nothing was showing up. On day five, a doctor recommended a blood draw to test for Lyme disease.

We went home with broad-spectrum antibiotics before the results came in. It wasn’t until our follow-up appointment two weeks later that we learned it was, in fact, Lyme disease and my son started a 28-day course of more targeted antibiotics. We thought it was over and done with. However, over the next 12 months, symptoms recurred several times. We lived in fear a relapse would send him back into surgery or that he’d have chronic pain for life. Fortunately, since that first rollercoaster year, he’s been completely fine — but it’s a process, I’m still learning to trust being in nature.

As a caregiver, how did this experience affect you at work?

I’m a self-employed physical therapist, the impact was immediate. I had to cancel all my appointments the week my son was in hospital. After that, I had to take time off for follow-up appointments. But, more than the time off, the mental load was staggering. The situation occupied 80% of my thoughts for an entire year and it was exhausting trying to sift through conflicting information while in a constant state of high alert — never knowing what to anticipate next.

How can employers best support employees with Lyme disease or caring for a loved one who has it?

Give employees the time they need for medical appointments and to process what’s happening. Understand they’ll be preoccupied as they try to understand the diagnosis and navigate a complex medical path while managing the emotional toll on their family. Also be aware they might need extra support.

What do people need to know about preventing Lyme disease?

There’s risk even if you’re vigilant. The year after my son’s surgery, his older brother mowed the lawn in permethrintreated pants, then jumped in the pool for 10 minutes, and when he came out, we found a tick firmly attached to the inside of his knee — the same type that transmits Lyme disease. You can never be too careful.


Lyme disease, if left untreated or diagnosed late, may cause debilitating long-term symptoms, including muscle pain, joint pain, tingling or numbness, persistent fatigue, depression, memory difficulties and trouble concentrating.⁴ For information on how to prevent tick bites, please visit https://www.canada.ca/ en/public-health/services/diseases/ ticks-tick-borne-diseases/prevent-tickbites. html


¹https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/lyme-disease/health-professionals-lyme-disease.html
²https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10863724/
³https://health-infobase.canada.ca/zoonoses/ticks/annual-report.html/
⁴https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/71/2/440/5644106/

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