Mayday

It is hard to sit back and let Lyme steal the active lives of those I love. It is hard for Noelle not to find a way to act. So she and I travelled to Arlington, Virginia to protest the IDSA (Infectious Diseases Society of America). There needs to be better education, research, testing, etc. for Lyme disease. Here are some pictures of our days protesting. Our protest actually closed their offices down. The first day they left at noon and the second day they worked from home. We did not get a lot of media coverage. Possibly because of the ongoing coverage in Baltimore that week.

This quilt represents those fighting lyme and those who have lost their battle with lyme. In the foreground they are tracing to make a chalk outline.

This truck circled the area where we were protesting. The police were very generous and even let us block traffic a couple times.

This whole thing read "IDSA Harms Lyme Patients". Noelle is holding the white sign at the end.

Thursday evening we held a candlelight vigil remembering those that have lost their lives to lyme. Honestly the list was scary long. One of the most recent casualties was a woman in her forties who took her own life. This speaker spoke out to those gathered asking that they reach out to others if they are considering suicide. Suicide and heart issues are two of the most common reasons for death in lyme patients. The chronic pain and neurological issues combine to make it difficult to press on. Each candle had the name of a lyme fighter that had lost their batttle.

Lady Lyme and the Lyme Avenger!!

http://lymediseasechallenge.org/

My favorite thing about the protest was educating people walking by about lyme disease. Many people stopped to accept information. We had personal letters from lymies telling their stories and Mayday pamphlets with lyme information. I think Noelle's favorite part was representing her many friends with lyme who were to sick to attend!