“I’ve been healthy my entire life," Dallas Thompson said, adding, "I hardly got sick”
Credit: Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Georgia firefighter Dallas Thompson was bitten by ticks on a camping trip in Florida in July 2025
- Ten days later, he began experiencing severe flu-like symptoms and was eventually diagnosed with Lyme disease diagnosed with Lyme disease
- He said his life has “drastically changed,” and now he suffers from muscle pain, headaches, fatigue, and neurological issues
A firefighter in Georgia is sharing how his Lyme disease symptoms have been impacting him for nearly a year.
Dallas Thompson was on a camping trip in Florida in July 2025 when he was bitten by several ticks. he told WTOC. But it was 10 days later that he began feeling sick, with flu-like symptoms.
He told the outlet that he did not develop a rash, which is typically the first sign of the tick-borne disease. However, he noticed a small red bump on his leg.
Now, Thompson suffers from muscle pain, constant headaches, and fatigue. “Like I started having these kind of neurological symptoms of like really forgetting things, brain fog, really bad, like COVID brain fog, but way worse,” Thompson said.
He explained that his diagnosis has "drastically changed" his life. “I've been healthy my entire life. I've been an athlete my entire life. I hardly got sick,” the veteran and former firefighter said.
Credit: Getty
"I don't know what tomorrow's gonna bring," he said. “It's an eye-opener, you know? I don't know if I'm ever gonna get better, if I'm gonna be the same."
Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics within the first 10-14 days of infection.
If not treated, patients could suffer from severe headaches, neck stiffness, rashes, facial palsy, arthritis, heart palpitations, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, dizziness, nerve pain, brain and spinal cord inflammation, numbness, or tingling in the hands or feet, pain in tendons, muscles, joints, and bones, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Lyme disease is caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria and is transmitted by black-legged ticks and the lone star tick. The lone star tick is typically found in the South, including Florida, according to the Florida Lyme Disease Association (FLDA).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that there were nearly 89,500 Lyme disease cases in Florida in 2023, more than double the 30,158 reported in 2010.
However, FLDA claims Lyme disease is undercounted in Florida, saying that "CDC surveillance counts place a heavy emphasis on 'high incidence' states," typically the states in the Northeast and upper Midwest.
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PEOPLE reached out to Thompson for comment.
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