W hen you see videos of 21-year-old Max Fierek on a mountain bike, you’ll probably have no inkling of what he’s been doing for the last decade or so. Riding bikes as much as he can, of course. But there’s a lot more to his story.
Growing up in Minnesota, Max was always an active child. So, when at age nine he started complaining about how much his shins hurt, many people assumed it was a sports-related injury. His father, who had suffered for many years with persistent Lyme disease, did not make that assumption.
His dad insisted that Max get tested for Lyme—and it came up positive. He was given a short course of doxycycline which “didn’t do much.” Max recalls, “It got to the point where I was crawling around the house, because my legs wouldn’t support the weight of my body.”
Eventually, Max was seen by a Lyme specialist who gave him more antibiotics—which helped somewhat.
At that point, the family traveled to Hawaii, and Max found that spending time in the sun and being physically active helped him hold the tick-borne disease at bay. He seemed to be A-okay. He resumed an energetic lifestyle, including learning to ride mountain bikes–something that immediately captivated him…..Join or login below to continue reading.
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