Celebrities Get Lyme Disease, Too

Lyme Disease does not discriminate. This disease is a bacterial infection that can be spread by an insect bite, among other modes of transmission. Unlike other prevalent illnesses, factors such as lifestyle, age, economic or social class, family history and lack of "at-risk behaviors" can not keep anyone safe from this disease. Many celebrities battle Lyme Disease, although I suspect there are many more out there that do not want to make their battle public because of the controversial nature of the illness. Probably still more have been misdiagnosed, just as with all us lowly peons in the general population. Here are a few celebrities that we know about:

1) The 2007 Annual Report on the President's Health revealed that former President George W. Bush had been treated for Lyme Disease in August 2006 after the appearance of a classic bulls-eye rash. It is believed that the President was likely bitten on a bike ride.

2) Former World No. 1 and three-time Grand-Slam Champion, Jennifer Capriati revealed in January 2013 that she has been suffering with Lyme Disease since she had to quit tennis due to injuries over a decade ago.

3) Daryl Hall of the classic "Hall & Oates" was forced to cancel appearances when he was diagnosed in 2005 after having a bulls-eye rash and flu-like symptoms.

4) Actor Alec Baldwin has reported having Chronic Lyme Disease and told the New York Times that his symptoms return annually.

5) Actress Parker Posey (from the movie "Best in Show" among others) used both antibiotics and holistic supplements in her battle with Lyme Disease in 2009.

6) Author Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club) experienced hallucinations, insomnia, confusion, neck & joint pain and numbness while she spent over $50,000 and saw 11 different doctors trying to find out what was wrong with her body. She eventually found out about Lyme Disease while searching her symptoms on the internet. She was treated by an LLMD and has since started a charity, Lyme Aid4Kids, in the hopes of raising awareness of this disease.

7) Jamie Lynn Sigler (of the Sopranos) contracted the illness in 2000. She first noticed that her feet had become "tingly," but eventually her legs became paralyzed. She made a full recovery with antibiotic treatment.

8) Pulitzer Prize winning novelist and poet Alice Walker self diagnosed herself with Lyme Disease after a fruitless search with doctors. She later described the disease as "physically debilitating."

9) Yolanda Foster (of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) shocked her fans in early December 2012 when she tweeted out that she had been diagnosed with Chronic Lyme Disease and was getting a port so she could begin antibiotic treatment. She is currently not sure whether she will be able to participate in this next season when taping resumes in April.

 

Good for Yolanda Foster, for making her battle with Lyme Disease so public! I hope that any and all celebrities who might themselves be battling Lyme Disease will follow her lead in coming forward and helping to bring awareness to this growing epidemic.