Lyme Disease in a Newborn: A Mother’s Experience Seeking Care

A mother describes the challenges of caring for her newborn with Lyme disease.
Hospitalization and PICC-line treatment created additional stress during COVID-19.
The experience changed how the family approached life outdoors.

The mother saw a tick on her newborn daughter. “Three days later, she was very sleepy and hard to rouse,” the mother wrote. The infant had a red rash but not a Bull’s-eye rash. She was hospitalized. Intravenous antibiotics were prescribed via a PICC [peripherally inserted central catheter] line.

The mother described sleeping in a small bed at the hospital next to her child. The care was more difficult due to COVID-19 restrictions. She was isolated with some depression and anxiety and concerned about her 3-year-old at home.

She was unable to manage a 3-hour drive there and back while also caring for her child. “They were trying to transfer us to a closer hospital, but one local hospital wouldn’t take her because of the PICC line and the other didn’t have beds. And there was a real shortage of home care nurses,” wrote the mother.

Fortunately, the mother was a specialized infusion and injection nurse who reluctantly was able to take care of the PICC line and the infusions at home.

The Emotional Impact on Families

The mother describes herself as having “tick PTSD [posttraumatic stress disorder]. We have 55 acres of hay field surrounding us and it has definitely changed the way we play outside.”

Editor’s note: The mother’s difficulties receiving care for Lyme disease were compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, I’ve had patients with similar experiences who have found it difficult to find medical care to properly diagnose and treat Lyme disease.

Dr. Daniel Cameron, MD, MPH
Lyme disease clinician with over 30 years of experience and past president of ILADS.

Symptoms • Testing • Coinfections • Recovery • Pediatric • Prevention