Yes, the Illinois church shooter has Lyme, and so did the face-eating chimp.

Two stories have made it in to the media lately in which the "evil-doer" of the story is mentioned as having Lyme Disease, possibly as an explanation as to why this evil has happened - the most recent being the Illinois church shooting. Some in the Lyme community are hopeful that this will cause the world to take a closer look at the extent of what Lyme Disease can do, and some are frustrated that Lyme is being given as an "excuse" - or even just an explanation - for something that really comes down to responsibility. Then there are those outside the Lyme Community that have other feelings - fear about what Lyme Disease actually might be, confusion because we are taught that Lyme Disease is a simple bacterial infection that's easily treated, and also denial that Lyme could play a part in something like this. Strangely, I'm finding myself both disagreeing and agreeing with almost all of them.

Can Lyme Disease affect the brain?? Yes, absolutely! To the point of making a completely rational person, not prone to violence, actually kill someone? Not too sure about that.

I know that I have a Lyme-infected brain, and it has altered me in some ways. I'm definitely quicker to anger and snap than I have been in the past...but it hasn't changed what I get angry about, or even how I handle my anger. I would say I have definitely acted irrationally at times....expecting Brian to actually quit breathing so I can fall asleep better isn't exactly rational, but even in those moments my sense of right and wrong has never wavered. I still believe I'm firmly in control of my actions...outside of involuntary facial twitching. ;)

And then the part of me that jumps to the other side of the discussion. While it hasn't been my experience, I can't deny that mental illness could result from brain damage caused by Lyme. But then it would be the mental illness that's the contributing factor, not the Lyme Disease. If the mental illness resulted from brain damage due to a car accident, would we be using the car accident as the contributing factor?

Either way, it seems to me the line of responsibility is drawn at mental illness and what was being done to manage it, if that were in fact the issue. One report said the shooter would sometime bark like a dog - if he wasn't fooling around, then I guess it might be an issue to look at. But was it simply the Lyme Disease that made him snap? That's a bit of a stretch to me.

Is it a chance for the Lyme community to get the attention of the public, the media, the government, or whoever they're/we're looking to for help? Uhhhhh.....I don't know. It's not a simple equation - Lyme Disease, even untreated, does not necessarily equal mental illness. Can it? Maybe, I don't know....I know it affects brain activity. I know there are others out there that believe Lyme is responsible for some cases of ADHD, autism, etc. Do I personally like the idea that the connection is being drawn between Lyme and killing people? Absolutely not, and that part of me wants the Lyme part of the story to go away completely. But if it's an opportunity to open the discussion on what Lyme Disease really is, as opposed to what we've been told to believe it is, that would benefit many, many people.

Why can't the story be "Woman Lifts Car Off Crushed Child and Saves Life; Family Says She Has Lyme Disease"....??? :)