Jody Hudson delivered the following remarks as public comment to the federal Tick-Borne Disease Working Group on Feb.28.

Have we heard from a doctor yet? Is someone going to be able to help me?

These were the same questions that my 22-year-old daughter Alex had asked over the past ten years.  After being seen by over 40 doctors and being labeled a “medical mystery,” Alex finally received a proper diagnosis in May of 2017–she had Lyme disease.

The next year was spent racing from one medical facility to another–all in vain.

Instead of helping my daughter find the proper treatment for her Lyme disease, the medical community dismissed Alex as an anxiety-ridden patient, an anorexic young woman, and better yet…a psychiatric individual who needed to be put on a 5150 psychiatric hold.

Have we heard from a doctor yet? Is someone going to be able to help me?

I couldn’t look my child in the eye and explain doctors simply didn’t understand her disease. There were no more hospitals to be admitted to, no more doctors to reach out to, and no more answers to our questions.

There was nothing more that I could do to help my child. As a mother, I was supposed to fix things. But I couldn’t fix this.

Alex Hudson passed away on March 24, 2018, weighing a mere 57 pounds. Lyme disease had destroyed her body but not her spirit.

I made a promise to my daughter that her death would not be in vain. Her legacy lives on with the Alex Hudson Lyme Foundation and my new book titled “My Promise To Alex”.

I encourage everyone on this panel to read about Alex’s story and witness the tragedy that Lyme disease patients and their families endure trying to beat this disease. Ask yourselves: Is there any other disease where the patient must become the doctor as well?

Have we heard from a doctor yet? Is someone going to be able to help me?

Click here for more information about the Alex Hudson Lyme Foundation.

Click here to read our review of her book “My Promise to Alex.”