My dad got tick fever last August-September. He was in the hospital for about two weeks. One of my cousins had it earlier last year and was in the hospital for about a week.
The doctors told my dad it'll be around a year before he is completely recovered.
I work in the woods usually about five days a week and I usually try to spry myself with bug spray. When I was in the Army, we'd always get the flea and tick collars for dogs and wear them around our ankles when we went to the field.
So far this year, I've had five or maybe six ticks that have latched onto me...and so far, I've been lucky and got them soon enough, I guess, that I haven't gotten sick.