“I got bit by a tick in the summer of 2016. Lyme disease can lie dormant in your system until your immune system is compromised. That is what happened to me. I was bit in 2016 and didn’t show symptoms until 2019.”

“I developed debilitating neurological symptoms from chronic Lyme disease and multiple co-infections. I lost my memory, struggled to process simple conversations, couldn’t drive safely, battled relentless fatigue, anxiety, pain, and brain fog, and eventually wondered if I would ever feel like myself again.”

“Being really sick and being told over and over that, ‘You’re over-exaggerating,’ ‘You’re being overly sensitive,’ or ‘Look, your labs are normal,’ is a special kind of torture that most people will never understand.”

“It started with a cardiac crisis. I was in my thirties, not anxious or stressed, about to embark on a hiking trip in Hawaii. I’d been a lifelong athlete—but one minute I was fit and healthy, and the next I was lying incapacitated on the floor. Jerking, vibrating, stumbling, weeping.”

“If Lyme has taught me anything, it’s this: healing isn’t about returning to who you were before. It’s about discovering the strength to become someone new.”

“My symptoms began after a surgical complication at 21 that triggered TMJ and widespread pain. I was told it was fibromyalgia, so I pushed through college, work, marriage, and motherhood while quietly fighting for my health.”

“It started with a simple weekend watching my niece play soccer at Penn State in September 2015. By the time we got home, I was in crisis—chills, body aches, chest pain. I thought it was the flu. I had no idea it was the beginning of a ten-year journey I never saw coming.”

“Yes, I lost hair. I, too, went to bed fearing I wouldn’t wake up tomorrow. And, yes, I also felt unseen and unheard. You are not alone. I am a Lyme warrior, five years into remission, with a calling to help others to feel a little less scared and alone.”

“Lyme disease has been affecting my quality of life for decades, but it was only a year ago that I was finally diagnosed with Borrelia, Bartonella, and Babesia, and began to receive treatment from a properly educated doctor.”

“Although I had a Lyme disease diagnosis, all of the adults I trusted—including a plethora of doctors—rationalized my symptoms away. I began to believe that it was normal to feel sick every day, and that this was just how everyone else experienced life as well.​​​​​​​​​”

“Lyme has taken almost everything from me, but I am still here. I dedicate all of my healing efforts toward advocacy, public education, research, and funding, and I will never shut up about it.”

“So much suffering could be saved if Lyme and chronic Lyme were discussed as a standard of medical education and training. Lyme has the ability to affect every system and organ in our bodies, and as such, every specialist should be made aware.”

“Even though I have reached remission from Lyme disease, I know what it is like to struggle with it.​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​For eighteen years, the struggle of undiagnosed Lyme disease consumed my life.”

“But that is not how Alex wanted to be remembered. She wanted to be remembered as a Lyme warrior who fought for those who didn't have a voice. She wanted to establish a foundation that would help others pay for their medical treatment. ​​​​​​​​”

“The path to healing was not easy. At times it was tough, and I was wondering what in the heck I was doing this all for. Then I realized I was enough to do this for; I was the reason! Just putting in those little steps every day added up to big wins in the end.”

“My family's story is one of hope. We learned that you can survive and even thrive while living with Lyme. While it seems unreachable, healing is possible.​​​​​​​​”

“One night, in my desperation to survive, I googled ‘Things that look like ALS’ with my one functioning hand. Lyme disease was on a list of six conditions. We took the list to the nearest Urgent Care doctor the next day, who told me, ‘I think you have neurological Lyme disease.’ She referred me to infectious disease, prescribed antibiotics, and as some symptoms began to subside, hope was restored.​​​​​​​​”

In January 2019, during a trip across Europe and Jordan, I started feeling weird. I had dizziness, light sensitivity, tachycardia, I was breathless, and I had pain in my forearms. Back in France, I saw a lot of doctors who said, ‘It's nothing except stress. You can take Xanax.’ Hell no. I was sure there was something strange in my body.”

"I am a 20-year-old college student. I love to make music and hang out with my friends. I was diagnosed with Lyme disease five years ago, and my health has been a rollercoaster ever since.​​​​​​​​”

"It seemed that, within a blink of an eye, my world was transformed. In 2021, I’d gone from an independent, straight-A, overachieving student and competitive vocalist to someone who spent more time in the hospital than in a classroom.”