Galesville Police Chief Randy Sacia is back at work and recovering from Lyme

Galesville officer battles back from Lyme disease

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STORY PHOTO




By David Krotz / Winona Daily News

..
After a four-month battle with a mysterious illness that wracked his
body and sapped his strength, Galesville Police Chief Randy Sacia is
back at work and recovering from Lyme disease.

GALESVILLE, Wis. - Randy Sacia knew he was in trouble last July 2
while celebrating his wedding anniversary in the back yard.

He didn't have a clue how bad it would get.

Sacia and his wife, Laurie, were going to make a little campfire down
the back slope by a creek. Sacia, 48, bent over to pick up two pieces
of wood and shooting pains ran through his hands. Back in the house, he
crossed his arms in front of his chest and he couldn't stand the
pain.

The episode was followed by excruciating pains in his ankles and knees
and, two days later, a fever of 104.3 degrees.

His wife took him to a hospital emergency room in

La Crosse, where they drew blood and tested for Lyme disease, a
tick-borne disease that can be found across the United States but is
most prevalent from Maryland to Maine on the east coast and in the
upper Midwest.

The results came back negative.

Sacia, Galesville's police chief, got worse. Laurie saw the symptoms
developing.

"I could tell he was having a hard time getting in and out of the
squad car," she said. "Every day, it was like he would wither
before my eyes."

Repeated visits to the doctor for more tests didn't help.

Sacia lost his appetite; when he did eat, he said everything tasted
like garlic. A dedicated weight lifter, he shrunk from 190 pounds to
138. His body was put through a three month ordeal that included
shooting pains in all his joints, debilitating weakness and spirit
pushed to the breaking point. Sometimes he could hardly stand. At one
point, he suffered such delirium that he didn't know who he was. And
at times, it felt as though there was crushed glass under his skin.

"I felt we were going to lose him," said Sacia's mother, Bev
Sacia. "Even the hospital called him their big mystery. He was seeing
things. He was in another world, seeing bugs and people who weren't
there. You had to be there to believe it."

Friends who visited Sacia were brought to tears.

"To see a friend of yours (like that), almost like a second son, it
brought tears to my eyes," said his friend Don Bautch. "Friends of
his came in to visit him and came away bawling."

"I only knew he was sick and nobody knew what was going on," said
Sacia's friend, Trempealeau County Sheriff's deputy Andrew Sheldon.
"I remember one time he didn't have the strength to open a bottle
of pop and his hands were shaking."

In late July, a blood test taken at the Galesville Clinic indicated
Lyme Disease. Sacia had suspected Lyme disease because his dog,
Courtney, had been diagnosed with the disease in July. With treatment,
her condition improved within 24 hours.

Sacia was taken to the hospital and put on intravenous antibiotics for
four days.

But even with IVs administered at home, his condition didn't improve.
He couldn't sleep, was so weak he could barely whisper, suffered cold
sweats and, in the fetal position, wracked by pain, he rocked back and
forth into the night.

One night in late August, the pains stopped. But the ordeal was far
from over.

When his ankles became inflamed and swollen, Sacia had another four-day
hospital stay followed by IVs of anti-inflammatory medicine at home.
The severe pains were gone, but the weakness and dehydration continued
until a blood clot near his knee caused his entire leg to swell up.

Blood thinners and other treatment slowly brought Sacia back to the
point where he could eat normally and gain some strength.

A 28 year veteran of the Galesville Police Department, Sacia is a
fixture in the community, familiar to just about everyone.

"Randy's always been very well liked," said Bautch. When he and
Laurie moved to a new house, 15 pickup trucks and 25 guys showed up.

When he got sick, Bautch said the community rallied behind him.

"Galesville backed him 100 percent," said Bev Sacia. "When the
mayor came to see him, he told him not to worry about his job. If it
wasn't for the caring people and friends being there for him, he
wouldn't be here."

He returned to work for light duty in November and slowly built his
stamina. Last week, he weighed in at 160 pounds and said he was close
to full strength.

"At night I would pray that he would get better, and he did,"
Laurie said.

Lyme disease cases growing

The number of reported cases of Lyme disease is growing in Minnesota
and Wisconsin.

In 2002, there were 867 reported cases in Minnesota, more than four
times the number in 1994.

The Minnesota Department of Health counted 1,023 cases in 2004, a
record number and an 18 percent increase from the prior high in 2002.

In Wisconsin, the number of reported cases more than doubled from 1994
to 2002.

In 2005, there were 400 cases reported in the Gundersen Lutheran
network in 21 counties of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, said Bridget
Pfaff, an infection control specialist, but the geographic range of the
cases is expanding.

Nationally, the federal Centers for Disease Control show that 23,763
cases of diagnosed Lyme Disease were reported in 2002 from 47 states
and the District of Columbia.

According to the CDC, the greatest risk in the Midwest is in western
and northern Wisconsin and the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. But the
incidences are increasing in Minnesota.

Contact reporter David Krotz at dkrotz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or call
(507) 453-3524.

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