A YOUNG Ebbw Vale woman who is housebound because of a rare disease is trying to raise money for treatment so she can one day travel again.

Cally Smart, 23, who has been diagnosed with the life-limiting Chronic Lyme Disease, has not been on holiday in more than 12 years despite her love of travelling.

Lyme disease, which is caused by the bite of a tick, causes a range of symptoms including muscle pain, fatigue, headache, fever, light sensitivity and heart problems.

Ms Smart, who is unable to work or go out with her friends, first developed symptoms of the disease four years ago and since then has been leaving the house less and less.

She said: “On my worst days I can’t leave the house because the symptoms get worse. Some days I can go outside but the next day I’m in agony from muscle pain.”

According to a leading doctor who specialises in the disease, there is a lack of awareness and treatment options for the disease in the UK.

Tim Brooks, head of the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory, said: “There’s an ongoing intellectual dispute about what Chronic Lyme Disease is in the UK. Many doctors do not agree with the diagnosis of it.”

Ms Smart wants to go to the USA to meet experts from the International Lyme and Associated Disease Society who are world leaders in Lyme Disease research.

She and her boyfriend, Stephen Dobson, have started a campaign in the hope of raising £30,000 to pay for a course of antibiotics available in the USA.

Helen Laird, 43, Ms Smart’s mum and full-time carer, said: “Cally’s been going through this for four years. It’s basically taken her life away from her.

“She was doing media in college a while back and used to go out with friends but can’t do any of that now. It’s been really stressful.”

Ms Smart has previously sought private treatment at Breakspear Hospital in Hemel Hempstead where she was given herbal therapies.

Her doctor, Dr Jean Monro, said: "Doctors are aware of the condition but not all of them recognise how common it is.”

Charity Lyme Disease Action agrees there is a widespread lack of knowledge and awareness of the disease in the UK. A spokesperson said: “Many people with typical symptoms will not even be tested for the disease and many people with the disease remain undiagnosed.”

Ms Smart's 27-year-old boyfriend, Stephen Dobson, who started the fundraising campaign, said: “We started an online campaign, Cally’s Cause, after I saw first hand what this horrible illness has done to her.”

To donate to the fundraising campaign visit https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/1p753.