Infection left me 'completely bedbound' and daughter has it - now look at me

Infection left me 'completely bedbound' and daughter has it - now look at me Kirstie has faced a health battle for years - now look at her A mum who has battled an infection that doctors could not work out for years says her daughter also has it - but both have refused to give in. Now she has revealed she burst into tears after defying the warnings of medics in a remarkable turnaround. Kirstie Haysman, 38, was wrongly diagnosed for over 30 years by 40 different doctors, who told her she had everything from lupus to fibromyalgia. She says was advised by medics to "accept" being confined to bed. By the time she finally received a correct diagnosis of Lyme disease in 2023, Kirstie was bedridden, a state she claims was made worse by years of receiving incorrect treatment. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted to humans by ticks, which triggers symptoms such as aches and lack of energy, and if detected early enough, can typically be treated with antibiotics. The hypnotherapist, from Watford, Hertfordshire, said: "I was completely bedbound. I had to crawl to the toilet if no one was there to help me. "Doctors told me to just accept that this was my reality, and to get rid of any hopes or dreams I had. I decided my life wasn't going to be over and that I'd got to make my daughter proud. I realised I've got to help people and raise awareness for this awful illness." She is a fighter and competes in Miss GB. And this is what helped her defy the warnings from medics. "I was determined to walk on stage at Miss GB without my wheelchair," she said. "I absolutely cried my eyes out on stage when I won." Kirstie has battled ill health since birth, nearly losing her life as an infant in what doctors attributed to pneumonia. Throughout her childhood and adult years, she endured repeated hospital admissions with persistent ear and urinary infections, which medical professionals believed stemmed from an autoimmune condition. After giving birth to her daughter Harriet, now 14, in 2012, Kirstie started experiencing severe exhaustion and developed widespread rashes across her body, which doctors identified as lupus symptoms. She was prescribed steroids in an attempt to reduce inflammation, which she now suspects actually worsened her condition. When the treatment proved ineffective, she returned to hospital repeatedly and received multiple diagnoses ranging from connective tissue disease to fibromyalgia. Kirstie turned to hypnotherapy to manage her symptoms, and set herself the goal of being able to walk on stage without a wheelchair at the Miss GB awards in October 2025. Now her daughter Harriet, 14, who has also been diagnosed with Lyme disease, is set to compete in Miss Teen GB in October 2026. Kirstie's Lyme disease battle "I think I had eight different diagnoses in the end", said Kirstie. Yet she said her health kept declining, and she started suffering from migraines, brain zaps and sleeplessness. She said medical professionals prescribed methotrexate, an immune system suppressant used for treating autoimmune disorders, but this merely weakened her body further. Her hands became 'disfigured', resulting in agonising, swollen joints that left her unable to pick things up, forcing her to abandon her career as a chiropodist, as she could no longer pick up the scalpel. "It ended up looking like I lived in a pharmacy because I had so many medications", she said. Following additional tests, she was informed that prolonged steroid use had caused her bones to deteriorate – with a radiologist telling her she had 'the bones of a 70-year-old'. By 2022, Kirstie's condition had left her completely bedridden, requiring carers to visit and assist with washing and dressing, as well as relying on her daughter Harriet, who became a young carer at just 10 years old. "I could hardly move my body. I would wake up screaming in pain because my joints were so inflamed that my knees looked like watermelons", she said. "They were so full of fluid and swollen." In January 2023, an acquaintance suggested she might be suffering from Lyme disease, prompting Kirstie to begin looking into the illness. She arranged to travel to Mexico in February for blood tests specifically targeting Lyme disease, and was stunned when the results came back positive. While she felt relief at finally receiving a diagnosis, she has no recollection of ever being bitten by a tick, which left her baffled. Stem cell therapy and her daughter's diagnosis Following her diagnosis, Kirstie embarked on a course of antibiotics and explored stem cell therapy in a bid to repair the damage her body had sustained. "That helped for a bit, but not long term", she said. Kirstie remained bedridden for two years, with doctors doubting she would ever recover. Yet her health began to turn a corner when she embarked on hypnotherapy, a treatment that harnesses hypnosis to assist with pain management and stress relief. "When I was bed bound, I would visualise that I was well, and it really helped to regulate my nervous system", she said. Through hypnotherapy, Kirstie gradually regained her strength, and by late 2023 she had progressed from being bedridden to using a wheelchair, before eventually graduating to a Zimmer frame. Yet just as Kirstie's health was turning a corner, her daughter Harriet began suffering from body aches and migraines. Kirstie arranged for Harriet to be tested for Lyme disease, and she received her diagnosis in July 2023. Kirstie believes she passed the condition on to her daughter. "Now that I've passed it down to my daughter, I think that I was born with it, and that it's come down the whole family line, as my whole family has suffered with illness", she said. Prior to falling ill, Kirstie had competed in the Miss Great Britain and Miss London City pageants, and was crowned Miss Hertfordshire in 2015. As her health improved, she set her sights on re-entering the competition, giving herself a year to be well enough to walk across the stage using just a walking stick. After months of training, she was crowned the first disabled title holder in the competition's 80-year history in October 2025. Keen to follow in her mother's footsteps, Harriet, who is currently managing her illness through a herbal regimen and supplements, is due to compete in Teen Miss Great Britain in October 2026. "She's so excited, and she's going to use the platform to raise awareness about young carers", Kirstie said. Having completed her hypnotherapy diploma in July 2026, Kirstie says she is now fully equipped to support others facing similar struggles. "I've always loved helping people, and it's so good for everything from insomnia to helping with trauma", she said. Kirstie has also launched a petition calling for improved testing for Lyme disease. You can see it and sign it here. NHS guidance on Lyme disease - symptoms The health service says Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that can be spread to humans by infected ticks. Their website has lots of information about the condition. Symptoms can include: - A circular or oval shape rash around a tick bite. The NHS says: "The rash can appear up to 3 months after being bitten by an infected tick, but usually appears within 1 to 4 weeks. It can last for several weeks." - The rash can have a darker or lighter area in the centre and might gradually spread. - It's not usually hot or itchy, the NHS says. - The rash may be flat, or slightly raised, and look pink, red, or purple when it appears on white skin. - It can be harder to see the rash on brown and black skin and it may look like a bruise.