A 22-year-old Canadian woman battling debilitating Lyme disease took her own life to “free herself from unbearable pain.”
“It is with a heavy heart (and still in shock) that I share the sad news that our beloved Amelie (22) took her life last Sunday,” said Alain Champagne, CEO of Le Groupe Morris in Canada. He wrote on LinkedIn earlier this month.
The grief-stricken father continued, “We witnessed how challenging life is to cope with the growing symptoms of Lyme disease.
He said his daughter had been suffering for years but only recently got the diagnosis in the US in June – after “years of medical errors” in their hometown of Quebec.
“Despite the passage of time and recent treatments, the disease has outgrown many of the physical symptoms and is now taking a toll on her brain,” he wrote.
Amelie was so upset by a tick-borne bacterial disease that she “decided to free herself from the unbearable pain,” writes Champagne.
But despite his daughter’s illness, the father spoke of the impact Amelie had on the people he met.
“Amelie left a lasting impression with her engaging and compassionate personality. The struggles of the past few years have been in university, working at a center for children with disabilities, and volunteering at a local homeless shelter. ,” he said.
Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne disease in the US, is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and sometimes Borrelia mayoniAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Common symptoms are fever, headache, fatigue and characteristic skin rash. If left untreated, the infection can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system.
If diagnosed, many cases can be successfully treated with antibiotics. However, the diagnosis can be Difficult because the early symptoms are common to many other diseases.
Canadian pop-rock star Avril Lavigne He also had severe Lyme disease. In the year Lavigne, 37, who was diagnosed in 2015, said she was so frail that she “accepted death.”
“I had accepted death and could feel my body shutting down. I felt like I was drowning. I just had to go underwater and come up for air. I’m being pulled by the current like I’m in a river. I couldn’t breathe,” she said. In an open letter she wrote to fans in 2018.
The singer started a foundation Avril Lavigne FoundationIt helps to fight the disease.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free, confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or go here Suicide Prevention Lifeline.org.