For years, DVSS teacher Jillian Augey has been battling a medical mystery. Last October she was diagnosed at an American clinic with co-infections of Lyme disease. She hopes that by telling her story, she can promote more awareness so others won’t go through the same ordeal, and to help change the way the Alberta and Canadian medical community approach the disease.
A local teacher is hoping to spread awareness of Lyme disease and its variants in hopes to save others from the ordeal she has faced for years.
Jillian Augey is currently on hiatus from teaching at DVSS to deal with babesia and bartonella. These are sometimes referred to as co-infections of Lyme disease. These are vector-borne illnesses, which are often spread from host to host, often through insects, and the effects can be debilitating.
Augey, 33, has spent a better part of the year in full time care, and last week moved back to Drumheller with her husband Marcel and is slowly regaining her capacities. While she is able to do some light activities around the house, she still has a compromised immune system, low energy and is on a strict maintenance medical regime. Through this, she is positive and thankful for the support she has received. It has been a long road from knowing something was wrong to treatment.
She cannot pinpoint exactly when she was infected, however she has not felt ”right” for years. While she lived a typical childhood, and remembers at one point being bitten by a tick. She did not get sick right away, and never developed the tell-tail bulls-eye rash, so she thought nothing of it.
“I didn’t get worried until a couple of years ago when my body couldn’t keep up to all the things I wanted to do.”
She counts about 20 symptoms in total, the most disruptive being pain, fatigue and digestive disorders. Her red blood cells have been attacked and are misshapen, making them unable to carry oxygen to her organs.
Her years of fighting babesia and bartonella have compromised her immune system and as a result, she has battled a number of health related issues.
Despite the ill feelings, fatigue and pain, doctors kept giving her a clean bill of health. She was at the point that caffeine and Advil were the only things that allowed her to function on a daily basis.
It took numerous visits to several doctors before she had a conclusive diagnosis. At an American clinic last October she went through thorough tests and assessments and finally learned what was causing her pain. She was also told had she waited any longer, seizures and paralysis would have set in by Christmas.
She says many other countries are ahead of Canada in how they approach Lyme disease.
“There are many Lyme–literate physicians in the U.S., Germany, Sweden, and Japan. There are some conferences hosted by such physicians and researchers that Canadians can attend. But the most Lyme-literate Canadian physician still has to use invalid tests and face criticism if treating a Lyme patient by American or European protocol,” said Augey.
During her ordeal, the support she has received from her family, friends and community has been incredible.
“I have a wonderful family. My mother dropped everything this year to take care of me. The people of Drumheller have been more caring and concerned than I could have ever asked. The offers of help keep pouring in. Churches in the valley are praying for us. People are delivering meals. The staff at DVSS and substitute teachers pulled together and took over for me to ensure the best education for the students,” she said. “Every day that I started to feel a little bit sad, I reflected on the care-giving family I have, the amazing man I married, the wonderful staff and students of DVSS and I couldn’t help but offer a prayer of thanksgiving instead of a plea for healing.”
As determined as she is to recover, she is more determined to spread awareness of Lyme disease.
“I want my illness to serve a purpose.”
May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month and Augey has produced her own pamphlets about the disease and how to prevent it. She has been distributing them locally through friends to bring awareness.
"If a person is proactive and gets tested within a few months of a tick bite there is no reason a full recovery cannot be made,” she explains. “With all the awareness out there now, more and more Canadians are not wasting time, but going straight to the U.S. at the first symptom, and after a few months of treatment, are back to 100 per cent. It is people like me who have no idea until months or years later that they were infected. Then it goes into the chronic stage.”
She says Canada’s approach to dealing with the disease is behind, and in some ways in denial.
“The government maintains there is little to no Lyme in Canada. But think about it, people travel all the time. Dogs can have ticks on them and travel up to Canada. Birds migrate. Robins are the most likely bird to carry Lyme into Canada. Forests and wooded areas in B.C. are loaded with ticks, many of which test positive for Lyme in American labs. We need to make our government recognize that Lyme is here, it is a silent epidemic, and too many Canadians are misdiagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome or other illnesses,” she said.
“We need to petition our government to get with the times and allow our doctors to utilize American labs. Why not send our blood work down to the U.S. and have the results sent to the Canadian physician? At least until our labs have the same testing available. There are Canadian physicians willing to learn about Lyme and the co-infections and the treatment, but their hands are tied.”
The Alberta government announced this year it would be expanding its program of testing ticks for Lyme bacteria. This is a program where the public can submit a tick to be tested. Augey feels the program is ineffective.
“What is the point when they are using ineffective tests? It would be interesting to have the ticks tested in international labs and compare the results. In the past, ticks that tested negative here were sent to other labs where they tested positive, and the co-infections were detected. “
She encourages residents to learn more and to stand up for change.
“There is a national petition circulating. Those who sign it are encouraging a national strategy for Lyme. The petition will be presented by Elizabeth May. Please do not refrain from signing because you think this is a Green Party issue. It is a national issue. A health issue."
“We need to support our doctors. We must fight for them to be allowed to test us properly, treat us with the European or American protocols, and mostly, just not have so much censorship and regulations around Lyme disease. It is here. It is not going away.”
