Offaly woman hopeful of a return to normal life after Lyme disease

In the eight years she has spent battling Lyme disease, Offaly woman Carol Grennan said the blackouts she would suffer were the most unsettling part.

A blackout could come on without warning, irrespective of whether she was at home or in a public place, and she wouldn't know it had happened until after the fact.

One incident involved her having a blackout on the busy main road outside Grennans on the Green in Killeigh, the pub which is owned by herself and her husband Willie.

"The blackouts are actually very dangerous — I can't drive at the minute. You can't lock a door in the house in case you black out and people can't get to you," she explained.

"I couldn't go anywhere on my own, even just to go out and get a bit of fresh air. I would get no warning, there's no dizziness. I just lose consciousness instantly and I won't be aware of it until I come back."

Thankfully, Carol recently reached a very welcome milestone. After receiving treatment at a clinic in Cyprus at the beginning of this year, she has gone over 90 days without a single blackout.

The mother of two underwent six weeks of treatment on the Mediterranean island. She is feeling much improved since then and is hopeful that she's on the way to a more normal life after the difficulties of recent years.

Describing herself as an outgoing and sociable person, the Ferbane native was active in running and had been training to take part in her first marathon when her health took a turn for the worse in 2014.

Lyme disease can be brought on by a tick bite, but in her case Carol never saw the bite or any rash leading to the infection. She suspects she may have been bitten while running in the woods in Killurin, or while taking part in a half-marathon in Achill.

Ultimately, Dr John Lambert in the Mater Hospital diagnosed her with Lyme disease.

"I went to see Dr Lambert the first time around and got antibiotic treatment, which did work for me.

"It took a while for it to work - I was on the antibiotics for about a year and a half, and I got about ten months of a reprieve where I had no blackouts for those ten months.

"I felt good again – I wouldn't have felt 100% but I was back to a good (standard of living)."

Carol, her husband, her son Tiernan (now 19) and daughter Aoibhe (15) moved to Killeigh in 2018 to operate Grennans on the Green.

She said the stress of the move and of running the pub may have contributed to the deterioration in her health which occurred then. The antibiotic treatment which had been effective first time around didn't work on the second occasion.

She was having regular blackouts and, with no options available in Ireland, a fundraiser was organised in early 2020 to finance her treatment overseas.

Carol and Willie first went to Cyprus in the summer of 2020, where she had eight weeks of treatment during the early stages of the pandemic. "Things started to improve after that. I was still having the blackouts but they weren't happening as often," she said.

Initial plans to return to Cyprus in March of 2021 didn't come to pass, but in recent months another fundraiser was organised which facilitated the treatment in January and February.

Carol said she was immensely thankful to everyone who had supported her.

"We didn't expect people to fundraise a second time. People had done so much already that I never expected them to do it again. It was amazing," she said.

At the clinic in Cyprus, Carol said she was alongside people from Ireland, England and Australia who were also getting treatment for Lyme disease. The condition isn't universally recognised in the medical world, which can add to the stresses and challenges facing patients.

"When I was first having the blackouts, because they couldn't pinpoint something, and put it down to something, I was told it was in my head," she said.

"I've talked to so many people who have been diagnosed with Lyme disease and they've all gone through the same thing. They've all heard those words at some stage: 'It's in your head'."

In Cyprus, her treatment included a mixture of therapies, including ozone therapy, intravenous infusions, magnetic therapy and light therapy.

Carol returned to Offaly at the end of February and has been continuing her treatment at home.

"This is the hard part now - you have to take charge of it and balance your rest as well. I'm trying to ease back into normal bits and pieces, and doing things with the kids.

"Overall, I've been feeling a lot better. I have days when I'm shattered, and tired, but I'm learning how to balance that now so that on days when I am feeling like that I just rest up."

She said the biggest benefit has been the absence of blackouts. "That's been brilliant. It's a sense of security, because I don't feel as nervous if I'm going somewhere now."

Carol is hopeful she will continue on the right track and eventually return to driving and taking part in other day-to-day activities that were once commonplace in her life.

"I'm looking forward to just having a life again, and being able to be independent again," she concluded.

"It's down the road a little bit but it's not too far away. I'll get there. I know I will."