Real estate agents Jeff and Lee Jeans, who moved to Sedona, Ariz., six years ago, both contracted Lyme disease while living in Eureka Springs. But they are two of the lucky ones who received timely treatment and prevented the disease from progressing.
“I got it in 2009 from a tick bite from working in the backyard of my home on Hillside,” said Jeff Jeans. “My wife got it in 2010 from a tick bite while showing a rural property. Fortunately, we both caught it earlier enough and got the right kind of antibiotics that killed it. My wife said in 2010 a bunch of Eureka Springs real estate people caught Lyme disease because of showing properties.”
The Jeans went to a local doctor who tested them for Lyme and followed the correct treatment procedures. However, they said the doctor doesn’t want to be identified for fear of reprisals from the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH).
Jeans said he used to burn off ticks, which is not the right thing to do because it shoots the poison right into your body.
“You should just pull them off,” Jeans said. “When we went to the doctor, he said, ‘It sounds like you might have Lyme disease, but I can’t imagine it.’ So we decided to run a test. He called back and confirmed I had Lyme disease. Then when Lee got Lyme disease, she also had the rash with lines that looked like a target. I had a low-grade fever, headache, lower back pain. Lee said when she had, it was like a bad menstrual cycle.”
The Jeans were treated with a strong antibiotic and developed no further problems associated with the infection.
The ADH and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have denied for decades that Lyme disease exists in Arkansas. But Jeans said people in Eureka Springs have known that Lyme is here.
“They need to improve the coordination between the doctors and the health department on reporting cases of Lyme disease and other diseases,” said Jeans. “That is pretty obvious. There needs to be a better standardized procedure for reporting Lyme and other tick diseases, and doctors don’t need to fear losing their medical license if they report it.”
A former candidate for mayor in Eureka Springs, Jeans was on CNN recently defending the Affordable Care Act to Rep. Paul Ryan, especially for people like him who are cancer survivors. Jeans is unlikely to be able to get healthcare coverage if Republicans are successful in overturning the ACA requirement that insurance companies provide coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.
“They need to stop the threat of taking away people’s healthcare when they are afflicted by serious life-threatening conditions,” Jeans said. “It is frightening when you have something like Lyme disease or are a cancer survivor, and you turn on the TV and they are talking about taking away your healthcare.”