During a recent heat wave when the temperature in Ojai topped 100 degrees, Mike Rubalcava visited his friend Gavin Peters and was bothered by what he saw.

Peters, 32, suffers from muscular weakness and other symptoms from chronic Lyme disease — and the heat makes him weaker.

"When it's above 85, I'm just zapped," said Peters, a former professional skateboarder who now uses a wheelchair.

Three years ago, Peters moved from San Diego to his childhood home in Ojai so that his retired parents, Bill and Maureen Peters, could help take care of him. The only problem is their home was built in the 1950s without air conditioning.

Rubalcava could see that with Ojai's boiling weather just around the corner, Peters was facing months of suffering. His parents were considering getting a loan for air conditioning. Rubalcava decided to act. He began a grass-roots campaign to raise funds to have air conditioning installed in the Peters' home as soon as possible.

"I said, This is crazy.' I know too many people who care and can help," said Rubalcava, a film editor from Ojai. He and stepdad Rich Handley have so far collected funds and pledges totaling $10,000 to $11,000, enough to remove asbestos from the home and have a new heating and cooling system installed. The asbestos work has been done, and the rest of the work will proceed as the funds that were pledged come in, Rubalcava said.

They are seeking donations from individuals, contractors and businesses to help renovate a bathroom to be wheelchair accessible for Peters, who is prone to falling, and, if possible, have solar panels installed to cut energy bills.

"We're not going to stop. There are a lot of people helping," said Rubalcava, who credits "viral e-mail" with spreading the word.

Peters and his friends also want to raise awareness about Lyme disease and the need to be checked by a doctor immediately if you are bitten by a tick. According to the National Institutes of Health, Lyme disease is the most prevalent tick-borne infectious disease in the United States. After several months of infection, slightly more than half of people not treated with antibiotics develop recurrent attacks of painful and swollen joints; about 10 to 20 percent of untreated people develop chronic arthritis.

Lyme disease also can affect the nervous system, cause loss of muscle tone and numbness in the limbs. Untreated people can develop heart problems, hepatitis and severe fatigue.

Throughout the United States, 17,002 cases were reported in 2006, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

In the mid-1990s, Peters, who grew up in Ojai, joined Ventura's Skate Street professional skateboard team and was an instructor for its skate camp. He mentored younger skaters and also worked building skate parks. However, he began experiencing neurological symptoms that affected his balance and coordination. He had to give up skating and worked in retail sales at a skate store until he could no longer work.

Peters said he knew immediately when he was bitten by a tick on his hip in 1995 at Lions Camp. He didn't worry for a while because he didn't get ill; in fact, he had no symptoms for two years.

When the symptoms appeared, he was first diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and treated with medications for MS, but he didn't get any better.

He researched his symptoms further and eventually was found to have Lyme disease, which often is misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia, lupus, arthritis or MS. Delayed or inadequate treatment of Lyme disease can lead to "late stage" or chronic symptoms that may become disabling, which is where Peters is today.

Lyme disease can be successfully treated with antibiotics if caught early. "But it was 10 years before I found I had it. I was chasing the MS treatment," he said.

He has tried alternative treatments and has dramatically altered his diet, cutting out foods he can no longer eat due to allergies — wheat, dairy, eggs, sugar, many fruits and all meat but fish. He mostly eats beans and rice. "I had to change my life."

He hopes that it is enough.

"I've learned not to be stupid enough to predict the future. It's life; you've got to take it as it comes. I'm hoping that things will get better," he said.