Touched By Lyme
By Dorothy Kupcha Leland
This blog has several goals. First, to explore the personal side of Lyme disease and how it affects individuals and families. Second, to highlight useful information for people seeking answers about this complicated illness. Third, to help foster a sense of unity and shared purpose among the many diverse members of the Lyme community. Dorothy, who serves as President of LymeDisease.org, has a family member with Lyme disease. She is co-author of a book called When Your Child Has Lyme Disease: A Parent’s Survival Guide.
TOUCHED BY LYME: Lyme film premiere postponed for a good reason
Rhisa Marie Perera, Lyme patient-turned-film-producer of Your Labs Are Normal, suddenly has a very GOOD problem to solve. The film she wrote and co-produced about…
TOUCHED BY LYME: Of Alzheimer’s, Lyme, and family caught in the squeeze
Nicole Bell had a life that many people would envy. She had an exciting, high-powered job, a handsome, smart, and loving husband, two beautiful children,…
TOUCHED BY LYME: Apply for financial assistance for Lyme treatment
Several organizations that offer treatment grants for Lyme disease have application deadlines approaching. Lyme Treatment Foundation The Lyme Treatment Foundation provides medical treatment grants to…
TOUCHED BY LYME: What? Only 7 cases of Lyme in Massachusetts?
Advocates have objected for years to how severely the CDC undercounts Lyme disease cases. LymeDisease.org’s Lorraine Johnson took a deep dive into this issue in…
TOUCHED BY LYME: When Crossfit crosses paths with Lyme disease
CrossFit is a competitive sport that incorporates elements of weightlifting, gymnastics, and other vigorous athletic endeavors. Suffice it to say, people who excel at this…
TOUCHED BY LYME: Revisiting an anthropologist’s view of Lyme-related suicide
I first came across Aaron Jackson in 2018, when he submitted a guest blog for our website. It was titled An anthropologist’s view of Lyme…
TOUCHED BY LYME: Resources to help figure out your next move
One of the most important things a person with Lyme disease needs is clear, concise information. Here’s a list of useful resources to get you…
TOUCHED BY LYME: The poignant Lyme story behind Messy Buns Bakery
As I scrolled through Facebook the other day, a post from the Messy Buns Bakery in Nova Scotia caught my eye. There turns out to…
TOUCHED BY LYME: Let the gaslighting and stigmatization stop here
The third panel of the federal Tick-Borne Disease Working Group held its first meeting today–online. I was one of 10 people selected to deliver verbal…
TOUCHED BY LYME: Why wait for 3 negative COVID tests to consider Lyme disease?
A Massachusetts resident named Mary Carey has written an important opinion column in her local newspaper, the Greenfield Reporter. In it, she tells how in…
TOUCHED BY LYME: The thorny question of (no) insurance coverage for Lyme
People suffering from persistent Lyme disease typically make a lot of unpleasant discoveries early on. For instance, how many different places your body can hurt….
TOUCHED BY LYME: With so much to do, how do advocates keep going?
Lisa Kilion’s family has experienced both Lyme disease and Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome, or PANS. PANS is an autoimmune reaction that can be triggered by…