'Exhaustion was the major problem. I found myself unable to get out of bed some days. I was floored'

GAA legends coming together for a special fundraiser for dad-of-six who has been unable to work for the past four years because of his chronic Lyme disease symptoms

Friends of a Kilmessan man have rallied round to help the father of six, who is suffering from chronic Lyme disease.

Bill Byrne has been unable to work for the past four years because of his Lyme disease symptoms.

Now a group of his friends, led by Meath GAA legend, David Beggy have organised a major fundraiser to help the family.

The event will take place in Simonstown GAA centre on 11th November. There will be conversations with Meath footballers from different decades up to the current team as well as music with special guests and raffles. The legendary Conor Nash, who will be home from Australia will be among the guests,

Meanwhile Kilberry natives, Colm and Breen Lynch are organising fundraisers in their London pubs, the Whitehart and Hop Pole.

Bill has six children. His eldest daughter in college and he has three children still at school. He has a lot of medical expenses and has been out of work for four years.

"We just want to help him and his family out. Help him get back on his feet. It has been a rough few years," says David.

Bill had been ill for several years before he was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease and the bacteria may have been lying dormant in his body for many years before he first showed any symptoms.

He suffered from repeated infections, including a bout of pneumonia and he has debilitating muscle spasms which means often uses a walking stick to get about, but constant fatigue is the worst issue for him.

Earlier this year, he underwent gruelling treatment in Germany, which he hopes will prove some benefit.

He cannot be sure when he first became infected.

"I remember being bitten by a tick in Wexford in 2011. My immune system seems to have been able to cope with it and I didn't really start having symptoms until around 2016/2017," he recalls.

Bill worked in Tara Mines and back in 2016 noticed he was getting ill a lot with various chest, sinus and other infections.

"I had a bout of pneumonia in 2019 and my immune system totally collapsed. I had been taking too many antibiotics.

"Exhaustion was the major problem. I found myself unable to get out of bed some days. I was floored"

As doctors tried to work out what was wrong with him, Bill was tested four times for Lyme disease but the results came back negative.

"Very little is known about the condition here. My GP put his hands up and admitted he knew little about it.

"I was actually getting blood work done in Our Lady's Hospital in Navan when a member staff remarked they were unusual tests for a man of my age (mid 50s at the time).

"I explained my symptoms and even mentioned being tested for Lyme's and she suggested I send bloods to a lab in Germany and she gave me the address."

Bill took her advice, sent blood samples to Armin Labs in Bavaria and the results came back positive for Lyme disease.

He then started treatment in Dublin in early 2021 with Dr Jack Lambert, an infectious diseases consultant.

"He is the only doctor I know of in Ireland who treats it."

He put him on a course of triple antibiotics but after a couple of months he got a reaction to the antibiotics called herxing, which caused him to have migraines, brain fog and memory loss.

"I once drove 20 minutes in the wrong direction once before I realised what I was doing."

He had muscle spasms and neuropathic pain, pins and needles, dizziness and vertigo.

"I started using a stick to get around whenever I left the house.

"I finished the antibiotics in April last year. I was still taking supplements and anti-inflammatories, but I wasn't really any better.

"Chronic fatigue was the worst of it. Some days I mightn't get up at all, others I'd get up around 12 and try to last the day. If I had even a half hour of activity I'd be banjaxed."

"I have to wear sun glasses on all time due to light sensitivity. I also get noise sensitivity and bad tinnitus, ringing and buzzing in the head as well as ‘Ice pick ‘ migraine which is a sharp very intense pain in one side of the head."

Bill tried alternative treatments like hyperbaric oxygen therapy and infra-red hot and cold therapy.

After doing some research, he learned of a clinic in Germany that treats Lyme disease and in January this year he underwent screening to see if he was suitable for treatment there.

He travelled to the Kilnic San Georg in Bavaria in early June this year and underwent a difficult regime of treatment until mid July.

The HSE would not cover the cost, but a medical fund set up by Tara Mines workers funded the treatment.

During the first two weeks, he had a treatment which involved raising his body temperature to 40 degrees on two occasions.

"I was in an incubator, sedated, and my body was gradually heated up, kept at over 40 degrees and gradually cooled to normal over an eight hour period.

"I was wiped out for days after that and recovered in ICU."

Bill had very high dose infusions of Vitamin C and other supplements including a procedure called blood cleaning which worked in a similar way to dialysis.

"I didn't feel too bad while I was over there, but for the first five weeks after I came home, I was absolutely floored. It was from the couch to the bed. I felt like I had been hit by a bus."

He now believes he is experiencing a bit of an improvement.

"There are days I still feel terrible, but then I feel as if there is a slow steady improvement.

"I am taking a lot of supplements and aftercare medications. I have to take 20 tablets a day."

Bill was told it will take several more months before he will really know if the treatment in Germany has been successful.

"You have to give the process a chance," he said.

Throughout his ordeal Bill relied a lot on the support of fellow sufferers who are members of a Facebook group called Tick Talk.

Tick Talk Ireland is a voluntary organisation run by Mary Smith and Kathy Ford (Mary’s husband and Kathy’s daughter both had Lyme's) and their website can be found at www. ticktalkireland.org

He is grateful to Tara Mines, his colleagues and friends for all their support as well as those involved in the current fundraiser. "Kieran Donaghy, union representative and Eoghan O Neill, Tara HR manager were a great help and Simonstown GFC gave me access to the infrared sauna in the club to help with recovery."

Bill is also anxious that people are more aware of Lyme disease and the need to seek medical advice if bitten by a tick.

"People can be bitten, have an acute flare up, be treated for a couple of weeks with antibiotics and get over it. It is worse when you have chronic Lyme disease. You might not realise you have it until years later and then it is so difficult to treat.

"I would advise anyone who is bitten to immediately seek medical advice," he said.

"Someone who is bitten by a tick can keep the tick if they remove it properly and send the tick in freezer bag to that lab in Germany (Armin labs) and they can test the tick and tell you if it is carrying the Lyme bacteria.

"That way the person will know either way whether they need to get treatment or not. Most people will get three to six weeks antibiotics treatment after an insect bite.

The key to treating Lyme's is to get it at the acute stage because once it reaches chronic stage you’re taking years of sickness and treatment."