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Air hostess's career ended by insect bite
An air hostess has had to give up her dream job after a tiny insect bite gave her a devastating illness.
Amanda Beauvoisin loved her job which saw her fly all over the world.
But on a trip to Tobago two years ago her world was turned upside down when she was bitten by a tick.
The tiny insect bite infected her with lyme disease, which causes joint and muscle pains, headaches and tiredness.
A few days after she was bitten, one of Amanda's legs went red and she began to feel unwell. She had to give up her job as the illness took hold, leaving her weak and often in pain.
Amanda, 22, of Wykeham Road, North End, Portsmouth, has been on antibiotics for two years and although the medication has stopped the disease spreading, it has not got rid of it.
Amanda survives on benefits and still lives at home with her parents.
She said: 'I just feel so unlucky. All the crew were bitten – I was just unfortunate that I was the one who became ill.'
'I don't have a lot of money and I can't pay for my car or my phone with my benefits. It's so frustrating.'
She says her symptoms mean that she struggles to maintain a social life.
She said: 'I had one glass of wine at Christmas and I was doubled over in pain. I can't really go out clubbing with friends – I get tired so easily.'
Mum June Beauvoisin, 42, said: 'I haven't seen her so happy as when she was doing that job.
'She was going out and enjoying herself, doing a job she loved.
'But now, to see her not even be able to walk round to the corner shop – for a mum it's heartbreaking.
'I can't physically do anything else to help her other than put a roof over her head.'
Amanda said she was now seeking private treatment because NHS doctors had refused her request to increase her medication.
But a spokesperson for Portsmouth PCT, which in charge of her treatment, said: 'Lyme disease is nearly always treated by antibiotics, although there can be additional complications that may require other treatments.
'Some patients may have a more persistent form of the disease.
'We would anticipate that the clinicians working with the patient are best placed to make a clinical decision about a treatment regime.'
AMANDA'S SYMPTOMS
Lyme disease is an infection that derives from a tick bite.
The disease has a variety of symptoms, including changes affecting the skin, heart, joints and nervous system. It can lead to extreme tiredness. It is treated with antibiotics, which can eliminate the disease – but in severe cases the medication may only limit its effects.
A red spot can emerge around the location of the tick's bite, which will gradually grow bigger, often with a pale area in the middle. These spots can also appear at other places on the body where the tick has not bitten. Some people get many red spots.
Usually one to four weeks will pass between the bite and the appearance of the spots.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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