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In 2010, when Rachel Battersby was 19 years old, she went on a “trip of a lifetime” to Sweden and the UK. The Australian native couldn’t have been more thrilled to have this opportunity — not once realizing that it would change her life in such a drastic way.
When Battersby returned home from her trip, she began to experience persistent back pain. She and the rest of her family brushed it off, associating it with Battersby’s poor posture.
It wasn’t until Battersby collapsed one day, screaming from the pain that was shooting up and down her spine, that everyone suddenly realized: it wasn’t just her posture.
“My body just collapsed to the floor and the pain, I don't even know how to explain it, it's like this shooting pain that goes up my spine,” Battersby recalled.
Since this first episode, she’s been admitted to the hospital over 70 times to control the pain. This doesn’t include all the hundreds of other times she’s simply collapsed on the ground, in pain, but able to wait the experience out.
Every time Battersby went to the hospital, however, doctors struggled to provide her a proper diagnosis. This struggle continued for years, until Battersby finally looked for answers herself.
In June 2016, a full six years after she began to exhibit symptoms of an underlying medical condition, Battersby finally found a doctor who could diagnose her.
She was suffering from Lyme disease, a bacterial infection transferred to humans through flea bites.
Australian doctors, however, aren’t trained to recognize Lyme disease as a proper, diagnosable, medically treatable condition. Battersby will never be able to receive professional medical help for her illness – unless she travels to another country.
At present, she’s trying to do everything she can to raise money so she can travel to Germany to receive the medical attention she needs. Please help out if you can.
Below is a clip of one of her fitful episodes. Be warned, the footage may be disturbing to some.
