Infection left me 'completely bedbound' and daughter has it - now look at me

A mum who has battled an infection that doctors could not work out for years says her daughter also has it - but both have refused to give in. Now she has revealed she burst into tears after defying the warnings of medics in a remarkable turnaround.

Kirstie Haysman, 38, was wrongly diagnosed for over 30 years by 40 different doctors, who told her she had everything from lupus to fibromyalgia. She says was advised by medics to "accept" being confined to bed.

By the time she finally received a correct diagnosis of Lyme disease in 2023, Kirstie was bedridden, a state she claims was made worse by years of receiving incorrect treatment. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted to humans by ticks, which triggers symptoms such as aches and lack of energy, and if detected early enough, can typically be treated with antibiotics.

The hypnotherapist, from Watford, Hertfordshire , said: "I was completely bedbound. I had to crawl to the toilet if no one was there to help me.

"Doctors told me to just accept that this was my reality, and to get rid of any hopes or dreams I had. I decided my life wasn't going to be over and that I'd got to make my daughter proud. I realised I've got to help people and raise awareness for this awful illness."

She is a fighter and competes in Miss GB. And this is what helped her defy the warnings from medics.

"I was determined to walk on stage at Miss GB without my wheelchair," she said. "I absolutely cried my eyes out on stage when I won."

Kirstie has battled ill health since birth, nearly losing her life as an infant in what doctors attributed to pneumonia. Throughout her childhood and adult years, she endured repeated hospital admissions with persistent ear and urinary infections, which medical professionals believed stemmed from an autoimmune condition.

After giving birth to her daughter Harriet, now 14, in 2012, Kirstie started experiencing severe exhaustion and developed widespread rashes across her body, which doctors identified as lupus symptoms. She was prescribed steroids in an attempt to reduce inflammation, which she now suspects actually worsened her condition.

When the treatment proved ineffective, she returned to hospital repeatedly and received multiple diagnoses ranging from connective tissue disease to fibromyalgia. Kirstie turned to hypnotherapy to manage her symptoms, and set herself the goal of being able to walk on stage without a wheelchair at the Miss GB awards in October 2025. Now her daughter Harriet, 14, who has also been diagnosed with Lyme disease, is set to compete in Miss Teen GB in October 2026.

"I think I had eight different diagnoses in the end", said Kirstie. Yet she said her health kept declining, and she started suffering from migraines, brain zaps and sleeplessness.

She said medical professionals prescribed methotrexate, an immune system suppressant used for treating autoimmune disorders, but this merely weakened her body further.