Madison Area Lyme Support Group

https://nowthisnews.com/swamp-boy  Go here for the comic By Kris Newby

Illustrated by Mado Peña. Additional editing by Joshua Davis and Gina Mei.
Co-published in partnership with Epic Magazine.

In 2015, the day before Halloween, a mild-mannered teenage boy suddenly became delusional. He informed his parents that a demonic voice had begun speaking to him. Over the next weeks, his psychosis deepened: He believed he had transformed into his favorite comic book character, the Swamp Thing. And he was convinced that a family cat was possessed and was telepathically instructing him to murder his own brother.

The family panicked. What the hell happened to their sweet boy? Doctors pronounced that the teen had sudden-onset schizophrenia and he was repeatedly sent to a psychiatric ward. “Schizophrenia from one day to the next?” his parents wondered, dumbfounded. The specialists had few answers, so the parents began an 18-month journey to solve the mystery on their own.

This harrowing medical mystery was published in collaboration with NowThis and illustrated by comic artist Mado Peña, who brought the teenage boy’s hallucinations to life.

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**Comment**

This comic is based on the true story of a 14 year teenager with Bartonella which highlights how this common illness can manifest psychiatrically.  It really is a “must read” and should be given to anyone who doesn’t believe how devastating it can be.  Although it’s presented in comic-strip formatting, the material is as serious as a heart attack.

To learn more about Bartonella history, diagnosis, and treatments, watch the medical education courses on Invisible International’s Montecalvo Tick-borne Disease Education Platform.

For more:

• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/01/03/bartonella-treatment/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/08/30/new-case-report-neuropsychiatric-symptoms-and-bartonella-associated-skin-lesions/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/04/24/human-bartonellosis-an-underappreciated-public-health-problem/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/11/01/understanding-bartonella-symptoms-testing-and-treatment/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2022/01/18/clinical-spectrum-of-persistent-bartonella-infection-and-considerations-in-diagnosis-treatment/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/07/16/5-questions-to-discuss-with-your-physician-when-bartonellosis-is-suspected/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2022/01/07/bartonella-infection-in-mom-and-both-sons-anxiety-panic-attacks-insomnia-inconsolable-crying-irritability-adhd-rage-and-of-course-pain/  Please note the spider infestation. See this article for more on transmission.