Questions linger about Lyme disease

Conny Johnson, 45, of Cottageville, was diagnosed with Lyme disease eight weeks ago. After she began researching the disease, she saw parallels in her life — knee pain, neck pain and headaches.

For decades, she tried to live with the symptoms. But when she began working 10-hour days in 2002, "It nearly killed me," she said. A series of misdiagnoses and pain treatments followed, which only aggravated her condition, she said.

Johnson's husband, Jimmie, will drive her on a mattress in the back of their van to Columbia on Thursday for a Lyme disease advocate rally.

"I want to meet other people in the same boat I am," Johnson said.

Lyme disease is a bacterial disease transmitted by deer ticks. Symptoms typically include a bulls-eye rash at the site of the tick bite, fever, headache and muscle or joint pain. If diagnosed early, the infection can usually be cleared with a two-week course of antibiotics.

However, the course of the disease beyond its early presentation, including diagnosis and treatment, is a controversial topic among health care providers and patients.

Read more in tomorrow's editions of The Post and Courier.