An ‘outdoorsy’ woman has revealed how a tick bite has left her wheelchair-bound and facing a death sentence.
Juliet Rose, 25, from Harrow, now weighs just over five stone and can no longer eat solid food because of her Lyme disease.
She believes she has harboured the bacterial infection, spread by infected ticks, since childhood – despite only being diagnosed last year.
Now, fearing she could die without immediate medical help because of NHS waiting lists, Miss Rose feels her only hope will be to seek private treatment.
Juliet Rose, 25, from Harrow, now weighs just over five stone and can no longer eat solid food because of her Lyme disease
She said: ‘I don’t want to be morbid, but I do worry that this could kill me. My organs are slowly failing and I’ve lost so much weight. I worry about how long my body can keep going like this.
‘I’ve written letters telling the people I love how much they mean to me. I can’t disclose what’s in them, as it’s private, but I feel like I need to be prepared for this situation.
‘I do try to have hope and wake up every day feeling glad that I am still alive, but I just don’t know how much longer I can go on like this.’
Miss Rose, who relies on her sister, Hannah, 28, who acts as her full-time carer, said: ‘I was diagnosed with Lyme disease when I was 24 years old.
‘But I was always a really outdoorsy child, playing in forests with deer, or other wild animals, which are known to be carriers of Lyme disease.
‘I would get bitten by all sorts – it was just part of being outdoors – so when I was bitten by a tick, I probably didn’t even notice.
She believes she has harboured the bacterial infection, spread by infected ticks, since childhood – despite only being diagnosed last year (pictured in hospital)
Now, fearing she could die without immediate medical help because of NHS waiting lists, Miss Rose feels her only hope will be to seek private treatment
She said: ‘I don’t want to be morbid, but I do worry that this could kill me. My organs are slowly failing and I’ve lost so much weight. I worry about how long my body can keep going like this’
‘The Lyme disease had probably been in my body for decades, too, without me knowing what it was.’
Miss Rose, who is single and lives with her family, has experienced ill health since she was four-years-old.
However, she remained an active child, despite suffering from vomiting, a weak immune system and fatigue.
Puberty exacerbated her problems, when she suddenly developed chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, anxiety and irritable bowel syndrome.
Still feeling like she lacked a definitive diagnosis for her problems, in early 2016, she saw a private doctor who diagnosed Lyme disease.
Its early symptoms include high temperature, tiredness, muscle and joint pain, but, if left for months or years, it can lead to swollen joints, nerve and heart problems.
Her diagnosis also uncovered further underlying heart and digestive conditions, leading to the partial blockage of her small intestine.
Always underweight, Miss Rose has now dropped to just over five stone and was confined to a wheelchair.
But she is currently able to walk short distances as she saves up her energy by remaining virtually housebound.
Miss Rose, a former illustration and visual communications student, is also working with a dietitian to build up her strength.
Miss Rose, who is single and lives with her family, has experienced ill health since she was four-years-old (pictured with her friend Rosa)
Desperate to raise the funds for private treatment, Miss Rose – who was admitted to hospital in 2014 with bacterial pneumonia after excessive vomiting – has now turned to crowdfunding
Miss Rose said: ‘I can barely do anything for myself anymore. My whole day revolves around when I take medication and having small pureed meals.
‘I’m very weak and tired all the time. I had to give up studying illustration and visual communication at university and have lost a lot of my friends, because I really can’t leave the house.
‘Going out, except to hospital appointments, is a real struggle. I also struggle to eat and I am in constant pain. I have no quality of life.’
Desperate to raise the funds for private treatment, Miss Rose – who was admitted to hospital in 2014 with bacterial pneumonia after excessive vomiting – has now turned to crowdfunding.
Miss Rose, who also posts YouTube video blogs about her condition, said: ‘I was genuinely scared I was going to die in 2014.
‘Since then, I have had to come to terms a lot with the idea of this leading to my death.
‘I know it’s not something most people my age think about, but for me, it’s a real possibility and I want to make sure I leave things in order in case I suddenly get even worse.
‘I need specialists who can help me as quickly as possible. We raised almost £8,000 online, but I have already spent that on private appointments.
‘I am now considering decompression surgery to help with my digestive problems, followed by treatment for Lyme disease at the specialist Breakspear clinic in Herefordshire.
‘I’m unsure at the moment what the exact cost is, but it’s the only way I can get my life back.’
For more information about Miss Rose’s fundraising, visit here.