Hairdresser Ian Norris is back in business after blood tests in Germany and advice from an American consultant put back him onto the path to recovering from a debilitating illness.
Three months ago Mr Norris was in a mobility buggy after being struck down with mystery fits, exhaustion and pain which baffled UK medics.
Now, following a global search, blood tests in Germany and help from an American health specialist, he is back on his feet preparing to open a new hairdressing business after he was forced to stop work earlier this year.
The cause of his illness came down to a tick bite - just like American singer Avril Lavigne who broke down on a chat show when she told how ill she had been with the little understood Lyme’s Disease.
Ian said: “It has been a bizarre journey. I was always having ambulances called. In just one day my wife called an ambulance twice where I was fitting.
“At one point I spent three weeks in the Queen Elizabeth at King’s Lynn where they tested everything but had no idea why I was so desperately poorly.
“I was sent to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. Addenbrooke’s, back and forth for tests.
“Nobody had any idea what was wrong. The problem is that tests in this country for Lyme’s Disease are only 20 per cent accurate so I was not showing up on the radar.
“Eventually I started going on Facebook health forums, Googling, doing research and realised it was highly likely this is what was making me so ill.”
It was in 2014 during a sailing trip that Ian was bitten by a tick which made his leg swell and put him on antibiotics for two weeks.
But what nobody realised was this seemingly unimportant event led to being struck down with Lyme’s which attacks the immune system.
It slowly reduced him from a healthy, sporty and active 53 year old hairdresser to a physical wreck.
Ian said: “I couldn’t even walk to the toilet. Some fits would last up to an hour and a half, it was terrifying.
“It was upsetting to think my life had all of a sudden ended and nobody had a clue how to help. I had a disabled badge. It was a terrible time for my family.”
His research led him to having a blood test with a specialist clinician in Germany which proved he had Lyme’s.
He then found an American consultant and read a book called The Medical Medium which recommended a super clean eating regime of just organic vegetables, wild fish, fruit, water and coconut water to ensure his immune system became strong again.
He also takes a range of supplements, pro-biotics, spirulena, Omega 3, bromaline and protandium, all designed to strengthen the immune system and reduce inflammation.
Ian said: “Prior to this I had never taken a vitamin in my life and I would have laughed off stuff like this.
“Not any more,” he said.
“Thanks to this I have gone from a wreck to strong enough to go back to work. This is powerful stuff.
• Hair by Ian at Cappuccinos opens on October 18 in Leverington. He previously ran his Cappuccinos salon in Walsoken for 10 years.
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