Lyme Disease Awareness Month: Alec Baldwin recalls feeling like he was 'going to die' from the illness
In a 2011 Interview with The New York Times, Alec Baldwin mentioned that he suffered from chronic Lyme disease, and it wasn't until 2017 that the actor spoke of his diagnosis again.
While on stage at the annual LymeAid research benefit hosted by the Bay Area Lyme Foundation, he had told the crowd, "I got the classic Lyme disease (symptoms) for each successive summer, for five years, every August, like this black lung, flu-like symptoms, sweating to death in my bed," Baldwin said.
"The first round (was the worst), and then it diminished, at least that's how I perceived it."
He continued, "And I really thought this is it, I’m not going to live. I was alone, I wasn’t married at the time, I was divorced from my first wife. I was lying in bed saying, 'I'm going to die of Lyme disease', in my bed and ‘I hope someone finds me and I’m not here for too long.'"
It was reported that Linda Giampa, Bay Area Lyme Foundation Executive Director had tried for years to get Baldwin to come to the event, and he had finally agreed in 2017.
"We had already sold out the event for 350 people on that night when I was told. I asked if he would do it the next night and he graciously agreed. I think he just felt the time was right to talk about it," Giampa said.
The early symptoms of Lyme disease include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes. Doctors are then able to take blood for the affected individuals to test for Lyme disease antibodies which means an infection is present — medication is then started after this.
Chronic Lyme Disease, on the other hand, produces even worse symptoms such as arthritis, joint swelling, and severe headaches and these individuals would require intravenous antibiotics for a longer duration.
After having such a horrific experience with a disease that goes unnoticed most of the time, Baldwin mentioned that he and his wife Hilaria check their children for tick bites regularly.
"I want my kids to grow up riding horses and bikes and enjoying themselves every day and not have to spend every day with us going over them with a magnifying glass to make sure they don’t have any ticks on their body or their dogs, but that is part of the lifestyle of where I live," said Baldwin.
Lyme disease is transmitted by deer ticks known as Ixodes scapularis and their bites usually go unnoticed. Most people aren't aware that they have been bitten until they either develop symptoms or are able to find the known "target or bullseye rash".
The disease causes inflammation to the joints, brain, muscles, spinal cord, heart, and the nervous system and has affected thousands of people.
May is National Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and it brings an opportunity for Lyme patients, activists and educators to share tips and open up about Lyme and tick-borne diseases. In this column, we highlight the struggles of celebrities and talk about preventive and cure measures.
