Major fundraiser launched for Killeigh mum with Lyme disease

A fundraising campaign has been launched to raise €30,000 that will enable a Killeigh mum to access life changing treatment for Lyme disease.

Carol Grennan, who is originally from Ferbane, was a busy working mother of two when she noticed a drop in her energy levels in early 2014.
In April 2014, her symptoms, which included blackouts, chest pains, rapid heart rate, leg spasms, headaches, memory loss, brain fog and chronic fatigue, rapidly became worse and she was admitted to hospital many times.

In 2016, she was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease after Ireland's leading expert on infectious diseases Dr John Lambert sent a sample of her blood to Germany for testing.

Once diagnosed she was prescribed antibiotics which she took for a year and a half. Her health started to improve and she went ten months without a blackouts.
However, last year she experienced a relapse. In a post on the GoFundMe crowdfunding website, her cousin Laura Maher said that Carol's quality of life has deteriorated significantly since the relapse.

“At this current time Carol is basically housebound, all her independence and privacy has gone. Carol is forced to rely on her husband Willie and there two teenage children who help her with her daily routine that me or you take for granted...She can't even use the stairs normally any more, she has to sit on her bottom and shuffle her way down as she has had several blackouts coming down the stairs.

"She can't drive, she needs someone to bring her where ever she needs to go and is very frustrating on her. At the age of only 40 Carol has had to give up work, running, girly day trips with her daughter, bringing her son to training, school runs or even just heading to her parents 20 minutes away in ferbane all of this was taken from her."

Carol has been accepted as a patient on a year long treatment programme in Germany, one of the world leaders in the treatment of the disease.
The programme costs €30,000. However, it has a success rate of 99.5%, Laura said.

“This is why I am seeking for everyone's help. Any donation is greatly appreciated to get Carol on the road to recovery. Carol has always had such a positive mindset throughout the whole journey but since her relapse she has hit a low, the last few weeks have taken its toll on her mentally as well as physically with numerous blackouts happing in public. Please help me along with all her family and friends getting her back to her normal positive bubbly healthy Carol.”

At the time of writing over €8,000 had been raised. A benefit night is also taking place in Fergie's Bar, Tullamore on Saturday, March 28.

For more information on the fundraising campaign go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/carol039s-fight-against-lymes-disease.