An award-winning photographer who is losing his life to Lyme disease claims he has been failed by the NHS.
Graham Harris Graham said he has been forced to quit the UK in search of treatment and believes if he doesn’t get the care he needs, he could be dead within two years.
Mr Graham was bitten on the toe bya deer tick in Memphis, Tennessee,during a photography tour of the States in late 2013.
He suffered excruciating pain in his foot and began showing flu-likesymptoms.
But when he returned to his home at Stanley in Perthshire, his conditiondeteriorated quickly.
By January he was bed-bound with a fever and suffering “crushing exhaustion” and severe joint pains.
Although he was tested for Lymedisease at an early stage, the tests came back negative. Doctors suggested he may have “chronic fatigue syndrome”.
Towards the end of last year, Graham and his wife Lora were moved by a TV documentary about Lyme disease to request a second opinion. This time, the results were positive.
Lora said that because of her husband’s late diagnosis, his condition was left to deteriorate to the extent that he can now no longer walk more than a few yards, or drive or even look after himself.
She said her husband, who was once a keen mountaineer, also suffered violent tremors, black-outs and now visited his GP in a wheelchair.
Graham was given a 21-day trial of IV treatment, which appeared to be working. He said: “I could feel I was getting my life back. By the end of it, I was even driving to get my treatment.”
However, he recently received a letter from the infectious diseases department at Ninewells Hospital telling him that his course had been cancelled and there was nothing further they could do to help.
It was suggested that he should speak to a psychologist.
“It struck me as a staggeringly idiotic decision to take,” he said. “To get this treatment cancelled when it was really starting to make a difference wasdisgraceful. I cannot understand it.”
Graham will travel to America this month for what could be the start ofseveral months of treatment at a Lyme disease specialist clinic in Washington.
Lora set up an online appeal to raise funds for his care and the couple have already made enough to book an initial appointment. However, she believes the entire course of treatment could cost as much as $50,000.
“I just want him to have some quality of life back,” she said. “At the very least, I would hope that he can get back to work.”
Graham added: “I don’t want to sound overly dramatic, but I know deep down that if I don’t get this treatment I will be dead in a couple of years.
“I used to cycle miles and miles every day, now I feel that I can barely leave the house.”
An NHS Tayside spokeswoman said she could not comment.
Picture by Phil Hannah