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).
Donna
October 28, 2014: Trekked up to northern Pennsylvania to meet with the wonderful Donna whom I've known on Twitter for quite some time now. She welcomed us into her lovely home and fed us one heck of a delicious (and gluten free) lunch as she shared with us her experience with #Lyme, including the time she was referred to Dr. Gary Wormser but promptly canceled her appointment after reading people's horror stories. A former elementary school teacher, Donna eventually had to give up teaching when sudden hearing loss in one ear led her to lose confidence in her ability to supervise her young students. Despite this serious symptom, Donna's condition went dismissed by doctors who misdiagnosed her with ear and upper respiratory infections until it became incurable. As her symptoms progressed, including pain and anxiety, she was further misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia and it wasn't until she saw a therapist who had Lyme Disease that she began finding answers to her inexplicable symptoms. We had such a wonderful time with Donna and can't wait to visit her and her awesome dog again!