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).
David
October 29, 2014: Holy bejesus, David Skidmore is an awesome human being! If you know him on Twitter or Facebook, you probably already know this, but believe us when we say live-action David is worth a special mention. Genuine, generous, good-humored...there just aren't enough positive adjectives beginning the letter "g" to describe this man. Cat and I are ready to be adopted! A former ad creative, David found a tick and a bullseye rash on his arm in the fall of 2009 during a trip to Pennsylvania. Despite the regular course of antibiotics prescribed to him, he went on to develop progressive symptoms including severe pain and cognitive dysfunction. A year later in the fall of 2010 he was diagnosed with late stage Lyme Disease and has since tried a host of treatments including oral and IV antibiotics, multiple supplements, frequency therapy, and bee venom therapy which saw him subjecting himself to multiple bee stings daily. Ever one to find the humor in difficult situations, David started drawing cartoons which illustrate the plight of the Lyme community and now has upwards of a thousand followers on his @LymeLoonies Twitter account where he posts many of his cartoons and seeks to infuse a little joy and laughter into the lives of those suffering from Lyme. He definitely infused joy in laughter into our day and we thoroughly enjoyed spending our afternoon with him (and his precious dog, Winnie.) If you're ever in Brooklyn, track this man down...he's well worth the commute and tolls!