Dangerous Deer Hunting In Jackson County
By Darryl Current

In November, 1995, my cousin and I went bow hunting for one of the first times at a pig farm in the northwest corner of Jackson County. He was fairly new at bow hunting so I put him in my best spot and began the walk to my other stand. Before I even got back to my stand, he hollered, "I got one!" Turning back, I joined him in examining the 8 point buck he shot.

We began to dress the deer and drag it out of the woods. Occasionally as he gutted the deer; he paused and scraped the knife down his arm. When I asked him what he was doing, he told me ticks were crawling up his arms and he was scraping them off. My uncle came over later to examine the deer and help us to complete dressing it out.

Within a couple of weeks, I began having blurred vision in one eye. I was going to a chiropractor at the time, and I wondered if something about the way he adjusted my back was causing my eyes to blur. Eight weeks after handling that deer; I woke one morning totally blind in one eye. My wife immediately got me an emergency appointment at our eye doctor who sent me that afternoon to a local eye specialist who, in turn, sent me to University of Michigan Eye Center. None of the doctors offered an explanation for the blindness.

Soon afterwards, I also noticed three bite marks on my neck, accompanied by a red rash. Heavy fatigue and muscular problems (difficulty in walking) appeared soon after the rash. My family physician examined the rash and prescribed cortisone cream for it, but decided to recommend a neurological examination for the muscular problems. Within only a few weeks my "doctor quest" already included five physicians.

During the same period of time, my cousin began experiencing vision and muscular problems and sought treatment from a different set of doctors. Fortunately for him, pneumonia set in and he was hospitalized and treated with intravenous antibiotic therapy. (He didn't realize at the time how lucky he was to get sick enough to receive antibiotic therapy.) The pneumonia and other symptoms temporarily subsided.

My uncle developed Bell's palsy during this same time period but was also fortunate to receive intravenous antibiotic therapy prior to surgery. The Bell's palsy went away.

My neurologist's report diagnosed the possibility for "mini" strokes but I was never treated, neither were any additional tests performed by the neurologist. I was still going to Ann Arbor to have my eye examined. I was faithfully using that cortisone cream on that itchy, round, red rash on my neck, but it persisted despite the medication. Because of the treatment I received from different doctors for the various symptoms, no one doctor seemed able to understand the total problem. No one considered all of these symptoms were caused by the same illness.

After five years spent going to doctors in Ann Arbor, Lansing, and Jackson while suffering devastating symptoms, I learned of a disease carried by deer ticks called Lyme disease. A new neurologist moved to Jackson and I excitedly scheduled a consultation appointment with him. He was fresh out of medical school and internship; he must be up on this new disease. He ordered an MRI scan and several blood tests. All the blood tests came back negative but the MRI scan showed lesions on my brain. Because of this test result, the doctor tentatively diagnosed me with Multiple Sclerosis and scheduled a spinal tap to confirm the diagnosis. My spinal fluid showed no traces of MS but the doctor insisted that I suffered from it anyway.

Two weeks previous to this, my  cousin was experiencing another onset  of symptoms and was diagnosed with MS by his own doctor. Two first cousins diagnosed with MS within two weeks of each other. We met with my doctor armed with both sets of medical records to discuss the possibility that we contracted Lyme disease from that deer. He also said "It is between zero and no chance that you have Lyme disease" and informed us that it was statistically possible for first cousins to contract Multiple Sclerosis simultaneously. I guess anything is statistically possible, but the chances of this happening would be extremely rare.

The doctor's written report (that we didn't read until five years later) differed from his verbal one. His written file report acknowledged the possibility that this disease was MS or it could be mini strokes, cancer; AIDS, or....... Lyme disease. He didn't recommend tests on me to rule out any of the other diseases. He just told me be was sorry that I had MS. Nine months later; I found a doctor in Saginaw who clinically diagnosed me with Lyme disease. I suffered from over 90% of the symptoms, yet because of the elusiveness of the disease and the lack of good testing methods, my Lyme serology came back negative. Five and one half years of problems began to lessen after only two weeks of oral antibiotics. And the extreme fatigue began to lift.

During the next two years of treatment, I was able to walk fairly normally again, and my vision problems began to clear. Even though I showed some progress with the drug treatments, the symptoms never totally disappeared. For three and a half years, I showed solid improvement until November 1994 when a reaction to a new antibiotic caused a setback in my health. As of this time, I have not regained the progress I had made, but my condition has stabilized. By the way, my cousin was treated with IVantibiotics a second time for pneumonia and has been symptom free ever since.

Right now, I spend hundred of dollars every month on medications and treatments to try to recapture my health. Fortunately, I am self employed and can continue running my business out of my home, but I am no longer able to do any physical labor that is involved in my business. Through these eleven years, I have learned to make changes in my life that enables me to function on a limited level. I am now considered handicapped by the State of Michigan and am able to carry on a limited life with my wife and two sons.

Dr. Natole saved me from being labeled with Multiple Sclerosis and "shelved" with no hope of treatment or recovery. Unfortunately, Dr Natole is no longer my physician, but now I know that treatment methods are available and the hope for recovery is before me. Had I truly had MS, antibiotic therapy would have had no impact on my health, yet I improved with antibiotic therapy.

My hope is that further research will find a cure for this disease, and I will be able to return to a full, happy life with my family. I know there are many other Lyme patients in the Michigan and in other parts of the United States that desire the same thing. We must work together if this dream is ever to become a reality for us. We must continue to fight for our doctors and for research until we find the answer.

For more information on Lyme disease see: Lots Of Links On Lyme Disease

Last updated on 29 December 2000 by
Art Doherty
Lompoc, California
doherty@utech.net

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