A quiet weekend pottering around in the garden quickly turned into a frightening ordeal for the Koch family.
After suffering what they thought was an innocent tick bite, Libby Koch soon developed an extreme reaction and was rushed to Sydney’s Mona Vale hospital for emergency treatment.
‘She woke up the following day and it was quite red and swollen and hot and we went to the chemist,’ Sunrise host David, 61, tells New Idea.
‘They sent us to the medical centre and a doctor there said: ‘I think you need to go to hospital with this.’
‘We ended up in emergency at Mona Vale and they had her hooked up to an intravenous drip getting antibiotics.’
But the nightmare for the Koches didn’t end there.
Despite returning to the hospital every day last week for a two-hour dose of intravenous antibiotics, things weren’t improving for Libby.
‘The head of infectious diseases said they were sending her blood off to Sydney University for analysis, because there’s a potential she’s showing signs of Lyme disease,’ David explains of the unfolding events.
‘It’s an infection and it’s expanding all the time. What you don’t know, is where the tick has been before you and what it’s been latched onto.’
Lyme disease is an infectious condition caused by bacteria spread by ticks. If untreated, symptoms include paralysis, joint pains and heart palpitations.
Fortunately for the long-time married couple, Libby was treated in plenty of time to give her a chance of fending off the potential debilitating illness.
‘The beauty is that they caught it early so they have to then bombard it with antibiotics,’ the Seven star says.
‘The poor thing was just in the garden and next minute she’s in the hospital.
While David and Libby were still waiting for a diagnosis of Lyme disease at the time of printing, the couple were hopeful the mother and grandmother will make a full recovery.
‘The lesson is, it is tick season, and some of these ticks are flaming nasty,’ David says.
For the full story see this weeks issue of New Idea – out now!
