Teen blames bizarre accent, violent seizures on lyme disease

Elaina, 16, is affected with a unique situation of Lyme disease, with signs and symptoms which includes a speech disorder and seizures. (Courtesy Elaina

You'd don't know it sitting across from 16-year-old Elaina that they is affected with an uncommon and debilitating situation of Lyme disease. The spark-plug of the teen is vibrant, bubbly, and positive when confronted with what she describes like a four-year nightmare.

She thinks she was bitten at 12 with a tick on the soccer area in her own Nh town and therefore created a co-infection of Lyme and the other microbial parasitic illness known as Bartonella.

In many, Lyme disease will manifest in fatigue or chronic discomfort. That is what I experienced after i was have contracted Lyme six years back. A 3-day remain in a healthcare facility along with a round of anti-biotics and that i was normal again.

Not too for Elaina. Her signs and symptoms have ranged from seizures to lack of motor function to light and seem sensitivity. Most unusual of is exactly what she describes like a tightening of muscles in her own throat triggered by stress and fatigue. The end result, she states, is definitely an changed spell-like condition throughout which she talks with what seems like a Russian accent. Sometimes, she can't even remember what she states or does throughout individuals episodes.

We observed it disorder ourselves whenever we turned up to interview the teenager, whose surname and home town we are not using.

And listed here are videos that her mother, Becky, shot for Elaina's blog.

The signs and symptoms that she suffers have triggered skepticism among doctors, a number of whom speculate that they is faking it for attention.

But her physician, Dr. Lynn Durand, states that although he can't explain it, he does not doubt it either. "Lyme might have some very strange signs and symptoms," he stated. "And i believe what is so important about Lyme disease is the fact that patients will show with strange signs and symptoms and, we, the medical community, won't understand what to create from it, and regrettably we believe, 'If diagnosing is not within my mind, it should be within the patient's mind, so they ought to be causeing this to be up.'

"My feeling is the fact that it is extremely, necessary for go ahead and take patients in their word and listen to what they've and extremely attempt to explore exactly what the causes are."

Watch the entire story around the full episode of "20/20."