Wurtzberger dodges the Lyme bullet

Sleepy Eye Herald Dispatch
The first sign something was wrong was the bulls-eye shaped rash. But when Dylan Wurtzberger began sleeping for 22 hours a day, something was definitely wrong.

"It happened on July 23, and went from there," said Dylan's mom, Sheila.

Soon Dylan was complaining of a stiff neck and a headache. "This from a kid who never has headaches," Sheila said.

"I was sleeping for nine-tenth's of the day, and hardly eating anything," Dylan said last week, after football practice.

Doing some research, Sheila found that Dylan's symptoms fit those of Lyme disease, a bacteria-caused illness spread by deer ticks.

And Dylan had just returned from camping in the woods at Cross LakeŠ

The 12 year old was finally diagnosed with Lyme on Aug. 5, at the New Ulm Medical Center.

"Dylan had several rashes," said Dr. Clifford Wu, the pediatrician who treated Dylan. "That was a sign the Lyme disease was spreading, and had gotten into this spinal fluid.

"At that, we realized the treatment had changed, and he would need I.V. treatment."

Lyme disease affects the skin, joints, nervous system, and heart, among other parts of the body. If Dylan had been left untreated, "he would have been miserable," said Dr. Wu. "He would not have been able to live a normal life."

Wu said that Lyme meningitis "is not a surprising thing to come across. It's the second one I've seen since I've been here in 1999.

"The testing is a whole lot better now than it was, say, seven years ago. But you don't need a test to be treated for it now-the typical rash is enough to start treatment."

Dylan had to go to the New Ulm Medical Center every day for a week for I.V. treatment. Then, on Aug. 11, he had a PICC line put into his hand.

"It went directly to the main vein of his heart," said Sheila. "A home health nurse came over every day after school for three weeks."

"I didn't feel it much. I just felt cold," Dylan said, of the treatments.

On his first day of school, Dylan's classmates were naturally curious about the device in his hand.

"They said, 'How'd you get that?' and 'What's that in there?'" he said last week. "I said I got it from a tick at camp. After the first day, they didn't make a big deal."

When the daily treatments were finished, home health care nurse Rhonda Dahlgren removed the PICC line, and Dylan was free Š free, but careful.

"Watch out for ticks!" he said, asked how he's going to avoid getting sick again.

"Parents do need to be aware of what to look for," Sheila said.