When tick-borne disease hits home
BY PETER A. SUTTERS JR. INDEPENDENT WRITER

PHOTO BY PETER SUTTERS JR. Laura Mueller is afraid to garden or walk on nature trails. Mueller almost died of complications from babesiosis.

Laura Mueller has been coming to Nantucket for over 40 years. She comes for the beauty of the island. She once enjoyed walking the many nature trails that crisscross the land and gardening in her yard on Flintlock Road. Yet, the activities which gave her joy, almost led to her death.

Last year Mueller came within minutes of dying from a ruptured spleen that was the result of a babesia infection caused from a tick bite. She has since curtailed her outdoor activities. One more tick bite could kill her.

Mueller went to Nantucket Cottage Hospital one day last summer because she was feeling exhausted. She was examined by doctors there and sent to Cape Cod Hospital for more testing, but because she did not exhibit symptoms of babesiosis, she was not tested.

A few months went by and while she was still tired, Mueller did not feel any different.

"At 72 years old, sometimes you just feel tired, so I didn't think much of it," said Mueller.

Then one day, Mueller had a terrible pain in her side and went back to Nantucket Cottage Hospital. This time, she was tested for babesiosis.

"The doctor came in and said, 'You won't believe this, you have babesiosis,'" said Mueller. "They put me on medication and sent me home."

Less than three days later, Mueller collapsed and came within minutes of dying.

"We called 911 and they brought me to the hospital where Dr. Lepore examined me and said my spleen had ruptured," said Mueller. "They were going to fly me to Boston to try and save my spleen, but after looking at me more, Dr. Lepore decided there was no time and he took it out."

Babesiosis damaged many of Mueller's red blood cells and her spleen ruptured while trying to repair them. She was bleeding internally and was near death.

Mueller's story would be tragic enough if she were the only person afflicted on Nantucket with a tick-borne disease, but that is hardly the case.

This year alone, 338 confirmed cases of tick-borne diseases have been diagnosed at Nantucket Cottage Hospital, a sharp rise from last year's totals, which saw 275 people diagnosed with babesiosis, Lyme disease or ehrlichiosis.

To address the problem, Health Inspector Richard Ray, in conjunction with the Board of Selectmen, will hold a series of public hearings to see how the town should deal with the problem.

The first meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 9 at 6 p.m. in the high school cafeteria.

The meeting will center on the concerns of summer residents, who often contract the disease and return home where doctors are less familiar with the symptoms.

Historically, discussion around the island's tick population has been linked to the island's deer population. For Mueller, deer, which carry the diseaseridden ticks, are the problem.

"I love nature and I love animals," said Mueller. "But I think one has to balance caring for animals and addressing a serious health problem. I was coming home this afternoon and there were three deer in the yard. I can't go outside and garden anymore because I can't afford to get bitten again. People need to take personal responsibility and protect themselves, but I would not be disappointed if all the deer left the island." I