A potentially life-threatening disease is impacting a Ft. Payne family. Now, a woman is at U.A.B. Hospital in Birmingham, fighting to recover.
Doctors there say it's the first case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever they've seen in years.
According to Morrison Sanders, his wife, Helena, fell extremely ill with a fever of 104 degrees and an unusual rash a couple of weeks ago.
Their doctor in Ft. Payne couldn't pinpoint the problem. "He had no idea what it was." Morrison Sanders said. "He had never seen anything like it."
Last Saturday, Helena was rushed to U.A.B., where doctors diagnosed her with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. "It can be fatal." said UAB physician Dr. David Pigott. "That's pretty rare, but the longer the patient has the disease, and it's undiagnosed and untreated, the more severe the disease can become."
Morrison Sanders Morrison Sanders The disease is spread by infected ticks, and it is not communicable from person to person. Doctors say they can treat it with antibiotics. Doctor Pigott says more people who get the disease don't even remember being bitten by a tick.
