Nova Scotia woman behind ‘AtlanTick’ tick repellent shares her children’s struggle with Lyme disease
June 11, 2019
When it comes to her kids, Mahone Bay’s Lisa Ali-Learning isn’t taking any chances.
So when her sons, Darian and Lucas, started to complain about joint pains two years ago, she immediately took them to get tested for Lyme disease.
They tested negative.
Months passed and with their health declining, the boys remained undiagnosed as neither developed the tell-tale bull’s-eye rash or other typical symptoms.
The boys finally tested positive for Lyme disease after eight months, leading Ali-Learning to question why it took so much longer to confirm their illness.
She said she was shocked to learn that the universally approved two-tier test is only accurate about 50 per cent of the time in the early stages of the disease.
“It’s a serious, serious disease and you want to know the right answer,” she said.