LAKE HODGES (KGTV) - A San Diego woman tells 10News she was bit by a tick at Lake Hodges and diagnosed with Lyme disease a month later.
Sheila Greer has hiked Lake Hodges for 33 years she tells 10News, "I've never had an issue."
Greer hiked the same trails at the end of June. She says that's when she believes she got bit by a tick, "The trail had bushes coming up that I would have to brush through and something in the back of my mind said, that's a prime area for ticks. But, I discounted it because I've hiked there for 33 years."
Greer got diagnosed with Lyme disease a month after the tick bite. Usually, tick bites have a ring around the bite but her's did not. For that reason, she thought it was a spider bite and waited to see a doctor.
She tells 10News she struggled with neck pains and unbearable headaches. Greer finally got a Western Blot test which confirmed her diagnosis.
The County of San Diego tells 10News, "Lyme disease is rare San Diego County and we have not had a positive tick found in many years."
Because Greer thought she had a spider bite, she didn't know to look for a tick to bring to the county for testing.
Greer has been seeing a doctor regularly and is now on antibiotics, "I'm taking antibiotics and I'll be taking antibiotics for a minimum of three months, maybe much longer."
