Jeffrey was born in 2001 with Lyme disease. He contracted it from his mother, who was unaware of her own infection when he was born. He was a normal baby, tall, and quite happy. He is highly intelligent and hit many milestones ahead of the curve.
He had a lot of ear infections as a baby. Most likely, the antibiotics he took as a baby helped keep the Bb from taking over his body at a young age. Eventually, he underwent surgery to place tubes in his ears. The tubes were removed when he was two. He stayed off antibiotics. And started having minor issues which his doctor kept insisting were “normal”.

In 2005, Jeff's mother was diagnosed with chronic, late-stage Lyme disease with co-infections. As his parents learned more about the disease, they began to suspect that perhaps the bacteria were also effecting Jeff. Jeff was no longer tall for his age, in fact, he was now at the bottom of the growth curve. He began regressing on his potty training, and exhibiting issues with temper. His doctor told his parents not to worry, that it was a phase and he would outgrow it.

A year later Jeff started having knee pain. The doctor ordered an X-ray and decided he was experiencing growing pains. The knee pain happened once a month and was often accompanied by mood swings. His parents began to worry more about his possible infection. He started having less energy and getting tired easily. By the end of 2006 he was getting migraine-like headaches, had knee pain like clockwork every four weeks, had lots of toileting problems and would get violent with rage at times.

Finally, in the summer of 2007, the family found a physician who was familiar with pediatric Borreliosis (Lyme in kids). The doctor's office is nearly two hours away, yet worth the trip. This doctor was concerned about the symptoms which Jeff was exhibiting and ran diagnostic tests (including diagnostic tests which the insurance company would not pay for because they were “unnecessary”).
Jeffrey was diagnosed with Lyme disease and the co-infection Babesiosis. He began antibiotic treatment and started taking medication to help build up his immune system.

The first few weeks of first grade were spent trying to adjust to taking medication at school and trying to help the school staff understand the difference between Jeff choosing his behavior and behavior which was beyond Jeff's control due to nervous system involvement. He will occasionally get over stimulated and will not be able to control his reaction; he will often lash out in anger when this happens. He gets very embarrassed when he has an outburst, and getting disciplined only makes his self esteem worse. Staff also needed to understand that Jeff will get tired or over stimulated at times and need a quiet place away from other students and that after he relaxes again he will apologize for his actions.

Unfortunately, Jeff's precocious nature prevents him from qualifying for special education services. Jeffrey does have a plan through the Educational Support Team. Because the plan is not considered a special education plan it will not carry over when he changes schools. It is also more difficult to have all staff cooperate with the plan. Jeff works with more than seven different teachers/staff each week. Some only see him for an hour a week and still do not fully understand what his limitations are. For example, for months the music teacher complained that Jeff was not cooperating in her class. Jeff has music after physical education. Some days he is simply too tired to participate in games and dancing in music. However, since the music teacher did not understand his disability, she felt he was just trying to misbehave to gain attention.
When Jeffrey was first diagnosed the doctor was hopeful that he would only need six months of antibiotics. However, there were dormant forms of the bacteria which did not respond to the initial treatment. He is now taking a different combination of medications. There is no guess as to when he will be able to stop treatment.

The good news is that Jeff has begun to grow again. In the first six months of treatment Jeff grew almost two inches! His symptoms are lessening each month. He still has flares of symptoms every four weeks, but he is getting more aware of his own body and can warn people when he first begins to feel ill. This way his parents and teachers know when he may be more sensitive to sound, get tired easily, or be overly emotional.