Global Politician - Brooklyn,NY,USA
Recently I had a small tick on me, what is known as a deer tick. I visited a health board specifically geared to Lyme disease, because I feared I may have contracted the disease. Knock on wood, so far, it appears through symptoms and testing, that I did not contract Lyme Disease.
Although I was aware of Lyme Disease, and have written articles on it in the early 90's when it was getting more prevalent, I literally, as many journalists do, did not keep up on all late breaking information or communities that it effects. I wrote and researched my article, and went on to the next article.
Years later, I find myself back thinking about this crippling disease, not because I've been touched by it directly, but indirectly, I've seen the damage that this misunderstood disease has wreaked upon so many people.
I will not go into the almost hundred symptoms that can be Lyme disease. I won't even, at this time, go into how many other conditions and diagnosed diseases mimick Lyme, from Allergies, Fibromyalgia, Cardiac Issues and more. I just want to touch on why this is something you need to be aware of, and the importance of why we do not hear more about it.
I've encountered people who were so paranoid, perhaps because of their disease or in part, because of the way they have been treated or the way they've seen other victims of this disease treated, that they've, with only basis of limited knowledge and assumptions, readily cocoon themselves in some psuedo protection of alienation.
What does this mean? It means that the healthcare of these people is sadly inadequate. It means that these people are in a tight bond, treating everyone outside their circle as a terrorist ready to pounce upon them.
But digging a little deeper, these fears are probably and unfortunelty valid.
The disease does affect us all. Our own healthcare system, which includes the insurance companies as the obvious target of irresponsibility, turns their back on these victims. While our country spends millions of dollars fighting for rights of others in other countries, we have individuals in this country, from infants to senior citizens, who are lacking in both rights and support.
In essence, if they are open and welcoming to an outsider, they stand the chance of losing their Lyme doctors, who are their umbilical cord to a better quality of life. They stand the chance of being ridiculed, and being ostracized. Basically, like any defensive personality, they (victims) sometimes lash out before they can be hurt.
Like a child who is neglected and abused, these people often evolve into someone with a tough outer skin, but a soft, hurt and bruised interior.
We have people who are fighting for their life, literally, and being turned away from treatments or being told this is all in their heads.
This disease affects us because doctors who are knowledged in Lyme are often the brunt of larger organizations who are said to oust them. This leaves less MD's for the victims, and overall, less healthcare professionals for the general public.
Additionally, the millions of dollars that are wasted in some of the after care of these victims, on a national level, could be best spent on preventative and early intervention - thus the overall dollar spent would be reduced, and it becomes a win-win situation.
It has been a disheartening awakening to see some victims of a disease, which is literally eating away at them, to be so bitter and negative. But if these very individuals were not treated with disdain, if their healthcare system was supportive, and if they had available resources, would they feel so bitter and need to put walls up to protect themselves? No.
It's a sad day when such walls have to be built - because though a wall keeps one inside feeling safe, the reality is that they are building a prison for themselves where they will be alone, with only those like themselves, all of which have lost empowerment.
How does this change? There are many ways to promote change, and I plan on writing a series of articles devoted specifically to this cause. All articles that I write in the Lyme Series, will be available to all media outlets, for free and unlimited use. This is my way of volunteering my skills as a journalist to a cause, which needs to be addressed much more seriously than it is right now.
I'm infuriated that if my family or myself contracted a disease, that I'd have little resources and less options. I'm infuriated that friends I have who have been diagnosed with Lyme are possibly on a future roller coaster of hell, all because they happen to be in the wrong end of the healthcare stick. I'm willing to volunteer because this is a cause that needs to be addressed and can easily be remedied with just a little responsibility for those who have the power to create long-lasting change.
There is a reason why our country is one of the wealthiest, yet with one of the poorest health, dollar for dollar; it's because the public doesn't know enough to empower themselves, and the propaganda that is being spoon-fed to the public sounds good enough, but is often not supported by true fact. Lyme is one of those health issues that is glossed over, and it's time for the shroud to be lifted.
If you would like to use an article or information from an article, all I ask is that you do so by contacting myself, so that I can forward to particular organizations, the places they can find the article and where the message is getting out.
Additionally, if you are an individual and not a news outlet, please feel free to take the series or my contact information to your local newspaper.
The only way to help the physical, emotional and financial drain on this disease is to start attacking it, but with knowledge and outreach, not bitterness and fear.