Girl, 13, may be paralysed by disease that baffled doctors for six months - but her mother diagnosed on the internet

Danielle Fisher, 13, fell ill in October and doctors were baffled by her mysterious condition.  

Her mother Dominique, 35, took her to the doctors after she began suffering from viral meningitis-like symptoms, including severe headaches and fatigue.

Over the next few months, Danielle's condition worsened as her eyes became ultra-sensitive to light and she began suffering from vertigo and shortness of breath.

Danielle Fisher has been left bed-ridden by Lyme Disease after doctors failed to diagnose the condition for six months

Danielle, from Whitefield, Greater Manchester, attended various doctor and hospital appointments where she was diagnosed with a variety of possible illnesses, including meningitis, Epstein-Bar virus, a tumour and even psychological problems.

Her mother, 35, said, 'She was admitted to hospital a few times, she was in and out for a long time and we got an array of diagnoses which were all wrong.

'She was diagnosed with Epstein-Bar virus, without the glandular fever. Then meningitis, then the psychiatrist comment was the best one.

'They even suggested it could be a clot or a tumour at one point, which was worrying.

'The last time she was in, the doctor said there's nothing wrong with her, she needs a psychiatrist, which I knew was wrong, the poor girl could hardly walk.'

Frustrated at the lack of an appropriate diagnosis, Dominique, who is an estate agent, was so worried that she began doing some research herself on the internet into Danielle's symptoms.

She had severe vertigo and couldn't walk any more
She was shocked to discover her daughter's illness may have been caused by a bite from a tick, a tiny spider-like blood-sucking parasite which usually feeds off animals.

Dominique said, 'I'd begun doing some research myself by then as she had severe vertigo, couldn't walk any more and had severe muscle and joint pain.

'I came across Lyme Disease and it just seemed to fit. There's a lot of controversy over the treatment of the disease and over diagnosing the disease.

'I took Danielle to see a professor in Newcastle privately and he diagnosed her with Lyme Disease and three core infections. That's why she was so ill.

'If it hadn't have been diagnosed, she could have become paralysed or blind.' 

Danielle's condition was diagnosed as borreliosis, also known as Lyme Disease in April. If left untreated, it can cause nerve damage, paralysis and blindness.

The Manchester schoolgirl is now taking several courses of antibiotics to treat the condition but it is feared she may never fully recover.

'If she had been diagnosed straight away, it would have been a course of six weeks of antibiotics but now she's on heavy antibiotics. It's gone past the blood-brain barrier,' Danielle's mother said.

'Thankfully she is now on a course of treatment and we are just hoping as much as we can that she will get better. On one extreme she could be better in weeks and on the other extreme she might always be like she is now. '

Dominique added: 'Danielle is fed up. She's lost a lot of weight, she's miserable and she just wants to be better. She just wants to be back at school and with her friends.'

The disease has seen a fivefold increase in Britain in the past decade.

'It's staggering that this has been caused by one bite. Danielle is literally bed-ridden. She can barely walk because she is so weak and she gets tired really easily.

'This disease is a lot more common than people think and I just want to make people aware of it.'

'It can happen anywhere in the UK. There seems to be quite a lot of it in certain big parks. It's like an unlucky lottery, it can happen to anyone.'

Wendy Fox, Chairperson and Director of BADA (Borreliosis and Associated Diseases Awareness UK) said: 'Doctors need to be much more aware of early signs and symptoms, the fact that ticks can carry more than one infection concurrently and the fact that rashes can differ to those in medical journals."

Currently the only defence against Lyme Disease in the UK is wearing sensible clothing, using repellent and being aware of possible symptoms.