Focus – Opinions and Features

By Fred Diamond When I decided to learn more about how persistent Lyme disease affected a family member I loved, I went onto Facebook and typed in “Lyme disease.” I was shocked to see hundreds of groups appear, some with tens of thousands of members. I devoted a chapter in my... Read More »

By Ryan Prior More than three years out from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific authorities continue to monitor long COVID, the syndrome comprising the disabling aftereffects of SARS-CoV-2 that can last for months and years after one’s initial infection. If public... Read More »

By Fred Diamond When I first began educating myself about what family members need to know about persistent Lyme, one of the books that had an impact on me was Gregg Kirk’s “The Gratitude Curve: Using the Lessons of Chronic Illness to Reach Personal Empowerment.” In my boo... Read More »

by Nicole Danielle Bell When I finally realized that my husband’s early-onset Alzheimer’s was caused by Lyme disease and other co-infections, I tried to use my engineering background to make sense of it all. I very quickly found myself lost. An excerpt from my memoir about... Read More »

By Katy Reid, LPC Navigating complex, chronic illness is a uniquely stressful situation for both patients and their caregivers. I dealt with this myself starting at age 16, when a myriad of tick-borne diseases created a slow, physical, decline until I was bedridden. My parents... Read More »

By Christina D. Campbell The phlebotomist leaves to photocopy my blood test order. Meanwhile, I stare at the offensive words on the whiteboard. They’ve been there at least a month. I saw them during my last draw. The words irritated me then, and they irritate me now. I dread... Read More »

by Mary Jane Heppe I probably contracted Lyme decades ago without seeing a tick or a bull’s-eye rash, but only began exhibiting early-stage symptoms in 1998. I had been a major athlete and was terrified that I’d lost energy and use of my body. I asked for two Lyme... Read More »

By Fred Diamond When I wrote Love, Hope, Lyme: What Family Members, Partners and Friends Who Love a Chronic Lyme Survive Need to Know, I was surprised to learn that many relationships were at risk due to the challenges tick-borne illnesses caused. I launched the Love, Hope, Lyme... Read More »

By Daniel A Kinderlehrer, MD Those of us dealing with Lyme disease are well aware that most symptoms reside in the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. And for many of us, the worst symptoms in the nervous system are neuropsychiatric. The severity of anxiety, panic attacks,... Read More »