When it comes to understanding the impact that Lyme Disease has on the lives of individuals and families, there’s no better source of reference than going straight to the proverbial horse’s mouth. That’s why in October of 2014, we launched “The Big Green Heart Tour” – a campaign to bring awareness to the eight hundred and twenty-two people diagnosed with Lyme Disease every single day.
In thirty days we traveled over 10,000 miles and interviewed more than seventy Lyme Fighters in over twenty states. And that was just our first trip! We hope to do many more. In fact, our goal is to show people the impact that one single day has on the lives of eight hundred and twenty-two people, which is why we’re going to keep planning trips until we’ve met and interviewed eight hundred and twenty-two Lyme Fighters.
Check out the gallery below to learn about the Lyme Fighters we’ve met so far (more pictures coming soon!)and subscribe to our YouTube channel to be the first to know when we’ve started posting the interviews (coming May 2015).
Julie
October 24, 2014: Met with Julie in New Jersey who shared with us her difficult journey with Lyme. Despite having a bullseye rash and testing CDC positive on the standard ELISA test, Julie still had persistent and progressive symptoms following the standard course of antibiotics that left her debilitated. A former IT professional, Julie had to leave work when pain, fatigue and cognitive impairments left her unable to work or care for herself. Still, the many doctors she saw denied the possibility that Julie's progressive symptoms could be related to her original bout of Lyme Disease. After immersing herself in research on Lyme, Julie eventually found doctors that would treat her with longterm antibiotics for Lyme and her multiple co-infections. She is now doing much better and is in the process of looking for employment again.