Young woman who begged to go to Dignitas after insect bite left her in agony for a decade finally begins treatment in US after kind-hearted strangers donated £50,000

A young woman battling a mystery condition who begged her mother to help her die has begun treatment in America after hundreds of well-wishers donated £50,000 to help end her suffering.

Kirsty Keep repeatedly asked her mother Theresa to take her the Swiss suicide clinic Dignitas after a decade of suffering symptoms including facial paralysis and difficulty breathing.

Bitten by a tick at age, 12, the now 23-year-old has been receiving treatment including steroids and chemotherapy for the mystery illness.

Different doctors have diagnosed her with different conditions, including lupus, Ehler Danlos and Postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) – but her mother is convinced she has Lyme disease.

Describing herself as ‘alive but not living’, Miss Keep’s mother recently shared a heartbreaking video of her daughter writhing in pain on a hospital bed.

Since then, more than 1,500 people have donated to a fundraising page her sister created in order to send her to a specialist clinic in the US for treatment.

Kirsty Keep, 23, has begun treatment the Sponaugle Wellness Institute, Florida, after hundreds of well-wishers donated £50,000 to help end her suffering. She has been battling a mystery illness for more than a decade

Miss Keep has now begun treatment in America after hundreds of well-wishers donated £50,000 to help end her suffering

Miss Keep from Maidstone, Kent, said on Instagram: ‘Hey everyone, I made it to the USA and I got a photo just before the storm started.

‘I’m having some treatment now and I’ll let you’ll know how it goes.’

She has arrived at the Sponaugle Wellness Institute, Florida, for treatment her mother believes may be her last resort.  

The institute was set up by Dr Rick Sponaugle, and claims to specialise in tickborne diseases.

Mrs Keep said: ‘This isn’t going to be a quick fix, we still need as much help as possible.’

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Before flying to the US, she wrote on the fundraising page: ‘Let’s hope and pray this is the beginning of a better life for Kirsty.

‘We’re so thankful for the help you all have given with out everyone’s help we wouldn’t have been able to move forward like this you have all given Kirsty some hope and you can’t even imagine what that means so thank you all so much. 

Miss Keep’s ordeal began at 12 years old when she was bitten by a tick in her garden, and the bite spread to the size of her hand.

Kirsty Keep, 23, has been left with facial paralysis, having seizures and in agonising pain for after being bitten by a bug in her garden (left, on a ‘good day’ and right, in hospital)

In the 10 years after she was bitten, Miss Keep, pictured on a good day, became so weak she couldn’t get out of bed and says she felt as though her ‘bones were snapping’ and her ‘muscles ripping’

In the past, Miss Keep has been diagnosed with lupus, but another doctor later said she may have Ehler-Danlos syndrome. In February she released an emotional plea asking doctors for help

In the next decade she developed sudden and severe facial pain that felt ‘like electric shocks’, and her face became paralysed by Bell’s Palsy.

She became so weak she couldn’t get out of bed, started having seizures and says she felt as though her ‘bones were snapping’ and her ‘muscles ripping’. 

One doctor initially diagnosed with the autoimmune condition lupus, but later a specialist said he believed she may have Ehler-Danlos syndrome.

Mrs Keep recently shared a heartbreaking video of her daughter writhing in pain on a hospital bed – which spurred hundreds of donations to her fundraising page

Over the past two years, the pain became so unbearable that Miss Keep asked her mother to take her to Dignitas, a clinic in Switzerland that offers assisted dying

People with this condition have a genetic defect in their connective tissue, the tissue that provides support to many body parts such as the skin, muscles and ligaments.

Mrs Keep believes her daughter is suffering from Lyme disease, although tests in the UK came back negative.

 MIss Keep’s mother believes the treatment in America is her daughter’s last resort

Earlier this year, Miss Keep released an emotional plea asking doctors for help.

In a post uploaded to Instagram, she wrote: ‘I’m suffering so bad, I’m in chronic pain every day. I’m always sick, I’ve lost 10kg in just over a year.

‘I’m tired and I don’t know how much more my body can handle. I don’t know what to do next. I’ve tried so many things and am willing to try one more thing to save my life.

‘My family and anyone else unable to live because of this awful illness we know nothing about. So I was wondering if anyone could help in any way.’

She then flew to Germany for further tests, which were also inconclusive. 

For the past two years, the pain has become so bad that Miss Keep begged her mother to take her to the Swiss assisted dying clinic Dignitas.

While she has ‘good days’, she now requires 24/7 care and is regularly hospitalised.

Speaking in March, Mrs Keep said: ‘When she has bad days you feel like you’re watching her go.

‘She’s begged me to take her to Switzerland and said she doesn’t want to do it any more.

‘That’s not something you want to hear from your daughter. You’re heartbroken every day. 

For more information or to donate, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/8pnwn724