In 2012, shortly after giving birth to her third child, Gorham resident April Gerry began suffering from debilitating headaches. Then came numbness and tingling in her extremities, extreme fatigue and weakness, fevers, heart palpitations and more.

According to Gerry, she went from doctor to doctor, and was misdiagnosed multiple times. Hospital bills were piling up.

“I was diagnosed with MS, and began treatment for it,” she said last week. “It just made me more sick.”

Finally, in 2014, Gerry began her own research into her ailments, and within a few months she had an answer – she had Lyme disease. Gerry immediately began treatment for chronic Lyme disease, which had been given years of time to manifest.

On June 22, Gerry was presented with a check for $13,500 from the Westbrook Knights of Columbus, a goodwill gesture that shocked her. The group, holding its annual awards banquet that night, told Gerry it was a charity raffle, and secretly invited some of her family and close friends to witness it.

“I’m still at a loss for words,” she said about the funds raised in her honor. “I’ve been trying to think of ways to thank them and there’s nothing I can do that would express how much it means to me.”

Lyme disease is an infectious disease transmitted by deer ticks. If left untreated, the disease can cause an array of symptoms. Because Gerry wasn’t diagnosed with the disease for roughly two years, her symptoms were more severe, known as chronic Lyme disease.

While Gerry, 31, has been undergoing treatment for some time, she said her battle has been up and down. She has undergone rounds of powerful antibiotics and other medications that have come with their own set of side effects, she said. Gerry’s doctor told her she has also contracted three other infections from the tick – called babesia, bartonella and anaplasmosis.

“It seems I take a few steps forward but then a few steps back. It’s very discouraging,” she said, adding that just days before she was presented with the check from Knights of Columbus, she was bedridden with symptoms.

The Westbrook Knights, led by Grand Knight Greg Jones, raise money for needy families or those suffering from medical issues on a yearly basis. Through charity raffles, dinners and a community presence at events like Together Days, the group raised $13,500 in Gerry’s honor.

Last week, Jones said the State Council of the Knights of Columbus also donated $2,500, for a total of $16,000.

“It lifted me up,” Gerry said. “It let me know that there are good people out there who are rooting for me.”

Jones said his daughter grew up with Gerry, and that when he found out she was sick, the Knights took her on as their benefactor for the year.

“Every year we pick a person, and raise money,” he said. Last year, the Knights raised $10,000 for a 9-year-old girl who had a stroke. Jones said the organization is now looking for their next project.

He estimated that the Westbrook Knights, which is based at St. Anthony’s, give away between $35,000-$50,000 a year.

“I could tell they weren’t doing it for recognition either,” Gerry said about the fundraising. “It’s just what they do. They’re a group that truly care about people.”

The Knights also awarded $2,500 in scholarship money at the June 22 banquet.

Gerry’s battle with Lyme disease isn’t simply solved by the funds, however. She said the money would pay for her treatment and medication for roughly 8 months.

Gerry said awareness of Lyme disease still has a long way to go, especially as annual statistics show growing numbers.

“It could become an epidemic around here,” she said, adding that medical professionals also struggle with diagnosing the disease correctly. Gerry said she had to go out of state before she was diagnosed.

Constance Dickey, the president of the nonprofit organization MaineLyme, said this week that Lyme disease in Maine has been on the rise. Each year, she said, the Maine CDC reports an increase in numbers.

“In 2014 there was a small increase in the number of Lyme disease cases, around 1,390, but the other infections that travel in the same ticks doubled in some cases, and had significant increases in others,” she said.

Dickey said awareness of the disease is the biggest challenge, stating that prevention of tick bites is the easiest and most effective way of avoiding tick-borne diseases.

“Many people don’t ever see the tick attached, and some of the other tick-borne diseases can be transmitted in a shorter time than Lyme can,” she said.

Dickey said being aware of tick habitats, using effective repellents, using permethrin on your clothes when possible, and doing tick checks at the end of the day are all helpful in preventing the disease.

Since being diagnosed, Gerry said she has helped more than a dozen other people with similar symptoms find a diagnosis.

“I don’t want other people to go through this,” she said.

As for the fundraiser in her honor, Gerry said, “I was completely surprised, I was at a loss for words.”

April Gerry, the beneficiary of a recent Knights of Columbus fundraiser, poses for a photo with her three children recently. Gerry was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease last year, and she has been undergoing treatment as well as raising awareness about the disease since. Courtesy photo