When he woke up groggy one morning while at Reading Festival, Joe Blackaby thought it was just a hangover.
But little did the music loving teenager know that he had been infected him with a devastating disease.
Six years on, he now struggles to walk, talk and do simple tasks without feeling exhausted.
He also has major problems with memory, cannot focus his vision and suffers spasms similar to a Parkinson's patient.
"It has taken my life away from me. It's an awful feeling watching your body deteriorate so rapidly, yet I would do anything to get better from this disease."
He claimed that so little is known about his condition that doctors in Wales do not know how to treat him.
"My doctor has given up on me getting better, but I have not given up on myself," he added.
Joe's hell began back in 2013 when he went to Reading Festival with friends.
Shortly after arriving, he noticed he had been bitten by a tick - but he pulled the bug out from his leg and thought nothing of it.
However, the following morning he woke up feeling very unwell. Initially he thought he was suffering with a really bad hangover, but as time went on his health deteriorated further.
It took three years for him to be officially diagnosed with , a rare condition which often leads to people feeling very unwell for several weeks. In most cases patients begin to improve following a three-week course of antibiotics, but in Joe's case it has lasted six years and counting.
He said the infection has affected most of his major organs, including his heart and left him with debilitating neurological issues.
"Every day is a battle to keep fighting," added the 22-year-old, who used to be a keen surfer.
"I have memory issues and I do not remember things from my past. Photos of me feel like someone else's life. It makes life feel meaningless when you forget everything you have done.
"My brain will often feel like it is on fire as it gets inflamed. At these times I can't communicate at all. I just lie in a dark room for weeks waiting for it to pass."
Joe, who lives in Caldicot, said he has lost a considerable amount of weight as his body is no longer able to absorb nutrition from his food properly.
"I feel like a shell of my former self," he added.
"The bacteria is eating the cartilage in my body and causing bones in my spine to move out of place, resulting in muscle tears. It's very painful and upsetting.
"I know the more time that passes the more irreversible damage my body goes through, but currently there is nothing I can do but watch it happen."
Joe insisted the only way he can get his life back is by travelling to Jemsek Clinic in the United States, which specialises in Lyme disease.
He said clinicians will offer him a structured antibiotic protocol in a bid to combat his complex range of symptoms.
"The clinic has helped thousands of others overcome this illness and I have faith the same can happen for me," he added.
A friend of Joe's set up a GoFundMe page to try and raise the money he needs to get to the USA.
And within just two months the total has already reached more then £20,000.
"I thought it would get to about £200, maybe £600 after a couple of months," he said.
"But one day it just get shared so many times. It gives me hope that I will be able to go to America one day and finally get better."
In response a Welsh Government spokeswoman said: "NHS Wales should follow the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance on Lyme disease, which covers awareness raising for healthcare professionals, clinical guidance on the diagnosis and management of the disease and information for patients.”
More information about tick bites can be found at:
http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/888/page/43862
http://www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk/encyclopaedia/l/article/lymedisease/
