Annette Jackson is speaking out about her ‘debilitating’ experience and bringing awareness to Lyme, as cases in Michigan rise 168% over the past 5 years
NEED TO KNOW
- Annette Jackson spent years seeking treatment for her undiagnosed symptoms, which she says were repeatedly dismissed by doctors
- Eventually, the Michigan woman was diagnosed with Lyme disease
- Jackson’s diagnosis comes amid a 168% increase in Lyme disease cases in Michigan between 2020 and 2025
A Michigan woman is sharing how her Lyme disease symptoms were dismissed at the hospital.
Annette Jackson recalled how she searched for a diagnosis for her symptoms for years. “Life was just debilitating after that, trying to find someone to help me,” she told CBS Detroit.
Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia bacteria, which are typically carried by black-legged ticks, according to the Mayo Clinic. After being bitten, people may develop a rash, but if left untreated, symptoms can include fever, facial paralysis, arthritis, heart problems, dizziness, nerve pain, inflammation of the brain and spinal cord and pain in the hands or feet, according to the CDC.
Jackson first noticed something was awry when she found a bite on her body after a day at the park with her family. But after repeated visits to the hospital, she still wasn’t able to get a diagnosis.
She recalled one visit when the healthcare professionals allegedly told her, “Well, this is not a cold and this is not the flu. We don’t know what you have, but you have something. Your white blood cells are off the charts.”
Jackson claims she was sent home and told, “There’s nothing we could do for you.”
Eventually, after years of symptoms, her doctor diagnosed her with Lyme disease.
She explained that, due to the nature of the disease and its ability to “mimic” many symptoms of several other diseases, it is “very hard for doctors to pinpoint.”
As a result of her eventual diagnosis, she had to pay out of pocket for her treatment. Now, she’s working with local officials to secure better insurance coverage for Lyme disease and explained that she wants to raise awareness “because awareness saves lives.”
While Lyme disease is common in the Midwest, Northeast and Northwest, case counts in Michigan alone have increased by 168% since 2020, which recorded 452 cases that year, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The number of cases rose to 2,167 in 2025, per The Detroit Free Press.
Michigan State University professor Jean Tsao, a disease ecologist and specialist in tick-borne diseases, told the outlet that ticks are spreading from rural areas into more suburban and urban areas.
“Their populations are exploding in places where it is more populous with people,” Tsao told the Free Press in an interview published on April 20. “We’re seeing a steep increase in the abundance of ticks in much of southern Michigan, and that’s where the most people live.”
source: https://people.com/woman-says-she-was-sent-home-from-hospital-with-lyme-disease-symptoms-11958722
(C) Lyme Borreliosis Foundation
