The internet is reacting to Serena Williams’ husband sharing some news about his health that surprised him at a recent visit to his doctor. Alexis Ohanian revealed that he was diagnosed with Lyme disease in a July 16 post on X, writing in part:
“Doing a full battery of health scans, tests, etc, and found out I have lyme disease. Wild. No symptoms, thankfully, but gonna treat.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, Lyme disease is an illness caused by borrelia bacteria. The disease typically spreads to humans through bites from ticks carrying the bacteria.
Fever, headache, tiredness and muscle soreness are among the symptoms of the disease in its earliest stages. But without treatment, those symptoms can progress to include neurological problems, memory loss and inflammation of the brain and heart. According to the CDC, over 475,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease each year.
Although Ohanian says he doesn’t spend a lot of time outdoors, the 41-year-old revealed in his post that he’s not the first in his family to be diagnosed with the disease.
“I’ve got a loved one who had it a few years back, showed tons symptoms etc and just couldn’t figure it out until they tested him for it and then found it (treated it successfully, too),” he posted on X.
Well wishers left lots of messages of support on Ohanian’s post, which has received over 142,000 views as of this writing. The husband and father of two says he’s going to take his medication and seek treatment, writing, “can’t keep me down, tick!”
He also used the opportunity to encourage his followers to check in with their doctors regularly. “Please talk to a doctor! Do not listen to me for any health advice!” he wrote.
