A summer trip to visit relatives near the Greek island of Syros in 2019 became life-changing for Victoria Stellas, a woman from Wales of Greek heritage. According to the report, she contracted tick-borne encephalitis after a tick bite and later became critically ill.
Her condition was severe enough to leave her in a coma for six weeks. The aftermath has continued long after the holiday ended, with permanent memory loss and seizures at night among the lasting effects described in the story.
Stellas now reportedly takes up to eighteen pills a day as part of her ongoing treatment. Her case highlights how a tick bite can lead to serious neurological illness and long-term health problems, even when the original trip began as a normal family visit.
Since surviving the illness, she has been working to raise awareness about vaccination, especially among students. Her experience has turned into a public health warning about tick-borne encephalitis and the importance of understanding the risks before travelling.
