MEXICO — Nina Kidwell is new to Lyme disease.

The Lewiston woman was recently diagnosed with the tick-borne illness and wants to learn as much as she can about it.

“I’ve had aches and pains before, but not like this,” she said. “I had the 28-day antibiotic treatment, but I’m trying to get educated on what to do next.”

Kidwell was one of more than two dozen people who turned out Saturday morning at Mountain Valley Middle School for the Second Annual Lyme Disease Awareness Conference.

She, and others, came to learn what their next steps might be.

Local women Diane Farnum and Rhonda Bubar are conference co-founders.

Farnum said the two are trying to get a Lyme support group established in the area. With May arriving, the ticks are out and the chance of contracting Lyme disease increases.

Farnum said a bill before the state Legislature could help those afflicted with the sometimes debilitating disease.

“It will be on the House floor soon,” she said.

Among the requirements in the majority report of LD 597, is a call for physicians to tell people who are tested for the disease that a negative result doesn’t necessarily mean the person is free of the disease. It also calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to include treatment alternatives.

One of the special speakers Saturday was Thaiadora Katsos-Dorow, a New Hampshire woman who had worked as a school administrator and higher educational professional until she contracted the disease, as well as several other bacteria that deer ticks can carry.

She said her children, Luke, age 6, and Lexi, age 3, also have the disease.

She said fewer than 40 percent of people who are bitten by the Lyme-carrying tick develop the well-known bull’s-eye rash.

The disease can cause serious health problems, she said.

“The bacteria can embed in the muscles, tendons, heart and brain in less than a week,” she said.

Before being diagnosed with the disease, she said she had boundless energy.

“Suddenly, I found myself sobbing in my lawn chair,” she said.

She said the disease has caused memory loss, emotional difficulty and a myriad of other symptoms, both in her and in her children.

“I’ve learned not to go to the hospital because there’s not much they can do,” she said.

Luke has displayed a wide range of symptoms including fatigue, joint pain, speech problems, insomnia and its reverse, a hyper-sensitivity to light and noise and an interference with emotions, she said.

Katsos-Dorow has recently written a book titled, “What’s the Big Deal About Lyme.”

Volunteer Karen Ellis of Mexico, who also has Lyme disease, said the conference is a good place to spread awareness about the tiny deer tick and the physical havoc it can cause. She said she’s been on antibiotics for six years and hopes to get off them soon.

“I’ve gone through years of testing,” she said. “The most important thing is to get a medical person who has educated themselves in Lyme disease. If one avenue doesn’t work, then try another.”

Mary Berry of Buckfield said she also has Lyme disease.

“It’s like a poison running through your body,” she said.