Every week over 5,769 Americans are diagnosed with Lyme Disease and other tick-borne illnesses. Most of them never see a bulls-eye rash, many of them don’t even see a tick, but almost all of them struggle to get an accurate diagnosis despite debilitating symptoms and numerous visits to specialists.

An ongoing debate within the medical community coupled with inadequate testing leaves thousands of patients suffering every year at the hands of doctors not yet educated about Lyme and tick-borne illnesses. Many of them are misdiagnosed for months or even years, allowing the infection to progress and resulting in persistent and debilitating symptoms that become almost impossible to treat.

Our gallery seeks to put a face to the 5,769 people diagnosed every week while helping the public to better understand the difficulties faced by many in simply getting diagnosed. Click any picture for details on each Lyme fighter’s journey.