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S.D. (Dakota News Now) – A single tick bite in 2018 set Whitney Goetsch on a years-long path to diagnosis and eventually, to authorship
Goetsch did not begin experiencing symptoms until two months after the bite. Doctors initially attributed those symptoms to anxiety. It took approximately five years before she received an accurate diagnosis: late-stage Lyme disease in 2023 and multiple co-infections, followed by alpha-gal syndrome in 2024, a red meat allergy caused by a tick bite
Throughout all of those years, writing became a way for Goetsch to process the uncertainty of her illness and raise awareness about tick bites, especially as tick populations continue to spread to the Midwest
“When I wrote it, I felt, I thought I was going to die,” said Whitney. “It was earlier on in the Lyme treatment. I just didn’t think there’d be any hope in me recovering because it had been undiagnosed so long. So, I wrote it because I wanted to bring awareness. I wanted to help other people. So, that’s why I wrote Waves.”
She is currently participating in a federal HHS case study calledCure-ID, which researches late-stage Lyme treatments to help them achieve FDA approval and insurance coverage
The Lyme disease attacked Goetsch’s autonomic nervous system, leaving her with small fiber neuropathy. The condition causes severe blood pressure drops, mobility issues, and extreme fatigue
“What I’ve been doing is called SOT therapy, Supportive Oligal Nucleotide Therapy,” said Whitney. “It comes from Europe, and it basically targets the specific strain of Lyme that you have, and it shuts it off.”
The illness has taken a toll on the Goetsch family both emotionally and financially, but they just take it day by day
“My sons, we talk about it, and they understand, and it’s scary to them,” said Whitney. “I feel bad in a way because they are afraid of ticks, but I try to remind them that we don’t need to be afraid. We just need to be aware.”
Her husband, Tim Goetsch, fully supports her work
“I’ve always wanted her to do something with her art. I think she’s very talented and she has such good stories to share,” said Tim. “She’s kept a daily journal for, you know, 25 years, so it’s, it’s a very powerful tool for her to be able to share that with people.”
Waves is Whitney’s book about her Lyme disease journey, but she also has a children’s picture book series called Boomer’s Little Library, a companion novel focused on forgiveness, published alongside her mother’s book, and an upcoming book called Weirdo that’s based on her high school experience
You can find a list of Whitney’s books here
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