After a tick bite, Rene is paralyzed from the waist down

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You are damaged by a tick bite and are in a wheelchair. This year there should be more ticks than ever before. What do you think when you hear reports like this?

Rene Rumberger: Hope people take this seriously! That’s so important. And I think the topic will continue to become more explosive. The dry weather is like a booster for ticks. If the winter wasn’t really cold – cold kills ticks – the animals crawl out of every hole at eight or nine degrees and a little sun. You don’t just get them in the long grass, that’s a misconception. Three to four centimeters of grass height is enough. You stop for a moment and then…

Can you remember your tick bite?

Rumberger: Yes. It was July 2014, I was a freelance artist at the time and performed as a fire breather. Shortly before that I suddenly thought: Something is crawling on my left calf. I even think I remember briefly thinking about a tick. And that I calmed down the next moment: That must have been a mosquito. Before performances I was always quite under adrenaline. I concentrated on the show and put aside what I noticed in the short term.

When did the complaints come?

Rumberger: The spot turned red the very next day. The performance was on a Saturday, on Monday I’m going to my family doctor. I described the incident to him and he said it could actually have been a mosquito. I can still hear his words: Don’t drive yourself crazy!

And did you stick to that?

Rumberger: Exactly, there was a week’s vacation on the Baltic Sea, finally switching off and relaxing. But unfortunately I felt pretty bad all week long. As if I had a flu infection. I had headaches, aching limbs, felt exhausted and tired. Immediately after the holiday I’ll go back to the doctor.

What did he mean this time?

Rumberger: It was a substitution. He said he could take my blood “to rule out the tick thing”. Interesting, obviously nobody took it seriously at the time. Antibodies against Borrelia were detected in the laboratory. I’ll probably have to take an antibiotic there, I asked the doctor. But he said: Honestly, if you have a good immune system, your body can do it on its own.

With what you know today: who did what wrong and when?

Rumberger: I would actually say that the substitute doctor was the sticking point. Of course, it would have been best if I had started taking an antibiotic before the holiday. But even a week later, I was told later, my chances of recovery would still have been good.

What happened then?

Rumberger: The symptoms kept getting worse. I was totally exhausted, my whole body hurt. For eight weeks I ran from doctor to doctor. To the orthopaedist, to the rheumatologist, even to a specialist in tropical medicine. I reported the Borrelia that had been detected, but that didn’t seem relevant to the doctors. Instead, there was talk of possible arthritis. Because certain levels of inflammation in my blood were elevated, I was given cortisone.

So antibiotic therapy was still not an issue?

Rumberger: No, only after these two months. A surgeon – don’t ask me why this kind of doctor – prescribed me the active substance – in high doses, for three weeks. According to the motto: safe is safe. If the symptoms are caused by a tick.

And then you would have peace, was that the prognosis?

Rumberger: No, the doctor told me straight out: If the symptoms were really caused by Borrelia, the chances that it would heal after such a long time would be fifty-fifty. At first it looked good…

Did the symptoms improve?

Rumberger: And yes, after a short time I felt in top shape. Today I know that’s the insidious thing about Lyme disease. It can lie dormant in the body for months or even years. And then suddenly it erupts.

For you, the renewed outbreak led to a drastic deterioration, even to the point of being in a wheelchair. Tell me how that happened.

Rumberger: My left foot suddenly stopped playing when walking up the stairs. He just didn’t do what the brain told him to do. I fell several times. I’ll be right back to said surgeon. Again he was honest, said I had obviously taken the pills too late. He sent me to a neurologist. However, he couldn’t really help me.

And the symptoms got worse and worse, standing and walking, at some point that was no longer possible. All in all, it took no less than three years before I finally got the correct diagnosis from a confirmed expert in the field of Lyme disease, whom I googled myself. Rheumatism, arthritis, MS… it’s unbelievable what people have accused me of up until then. And of course: the psyche. For the expert, on the other hand, the matter was immediately clear. It doesn’t get any clearer than that, he said.

What is the diagnosis?

Rumberger: Incomplete cross section. I’ve been in a wheelchair since 2017.

What exactly is damaged?

Rumberger: The spinal cord. It has been attacked at times by the Borrelia. You can imagine it a bit like cutting a cable: a short circuit occurs. Between the brain and my legs there is something like a partial cut: the brain gives commands, but the legs don’t know what to do with them. I have an established 20 to 30 percent residual function in my legs. That’s not enough for walking or running. But I don’t want to complain, based on the prognosis at the time, I’m doing really well.

What do you mean?

Rumberger: Well, there was the option that my condition could get worse. Up to bedridden and artificial respiration. In fact, my condition has remained largely unchanged since 2017, also thanks to physiotherapy and occupational therapy. Overall, my life has been uphill since 2019, despite everything.

What are you alluding to?

Rumberger: I separated from my then wife in 2018, which was long overdue. Since 2019 I have been with my current partner, who is also in a wheelchair. We met through a singles site for people with disabilities. No, life wasn’t over – I used this experience for my job. I haven’t been able to perform as an artist since the tick bite.

But now I had an idea where I could possibly pick up. As a child I sang in the school choir, always had an A in music, later I did a singing training. I decided to try it as a crooner.

And?

Rumberger: At first, Corona threw a spanner in the works, but it’s been going for a while. I perform at city festivals, benefit events and in retirement homes. I was recently at an event in Berlin, had an audience of 20 to 70. An unbelievably great moment and then the thought occurs to you: maybe it took this hammer blow in my life so that I finally saw clearly where I was stand and where I want to go.

In retrospect, of course, it’s easy to say, of course I could have done without this tick bite! If only I had taken the pills on time, I would be healthy today. That can get you down.

Are you sure that an antibiotic would have saved you?

Rumberger: For my specialist, this is as certain as amen in church. And for most people who know me, it seems that it is. A friend of mine had a tick on her hip last week and she knew what to do. Off to the doctor and if in doubt, take these tablets once too many.

Ignorance about tick bites is a big problem. Many people think that if they are vaccinated they are safe. That’s wrong. There is no vaccine against Lyme disease. The tick vaccination is only effective against TBE, the meningitis. It is therefore not possible without a thorough check after spending time in the great outdoors! And certainly not without action when an animal is actually found.