President's Blog - Lyme Disease Association

Slam Dunk for WNBA−Slam for Delle Donne & Lyme Patients

July 15, 2020

From LDA President Pat Smith’s Blog: What has happened to one of the best Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players is no surprise to the Lyme Disease Association or hundreds of thousands of chronic Lyme patients like Elena Delle Donne, of the Mystics, who has battled Lyme disease for years. She has been denied by the WNBA league’s panel of physicians as having a health exemption due to being at high risk for COVID 19, thus unable to be paid for exemption status if she does not play the upcoming season.

Dr. Neil Spector, Inspiration Extraordinaire, Passed Away

June 17, 2020

Neil Spector, MD at 2018 LDA/Columbia Lyme Conference

From LDA President Pat Smith’s Blog: It is with great sadness that we in the Lyme community say goodbye to someone whose life was dedicated to helping others through his work as an oncologist and a researcher, Dr. Neil Spector. Dr. Spector devoted his life to saving the lives of others, first through his work on therapies for cancer patients and from his personal experience with Lyme disease.

Dirty Little Secrets of Lyme Disease

May 1, 2020

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, a time to remind ourselves that Lyme is a disease that has been neglected, minimized, and ridiculed over decades and still continues to be. We all need to redouble our efforts to get an accurate test and to get patients properly treated and treated with dignity. The continued arbitrary […]

Polly Murray “First Among Many” Lyme Advocates

July 25, 2019

I am sad to hear about the passing of Polly Murray, an artist, and a Mom, who was responsible for realizing something was wrong when she and her family, and many children in her neighborhood, suffered from similar symptoms. Polly’s family and neighbors were either unable to be diagnosed by mainstream medicine or were diagnosed […]

Shame on the New York Times!

June 28, 2019

What a tremendous disservice the New York Times has done printing an article in 2019 that carries a message that doctors, supposedly experts in the field, tell parents of children who they diagnose with Lyme “ Great news, it’s Lyme disease, that’s the best thing it could be….It’s baloney that you can’t cure Lyme disease, […]

Tick Talk from Washington, DC & the Scoop on Companion Bills

June 13, 2019

The last year has seen a flurry of activity in Washington. Here’s the scoop on the bills, briefings, and bipartisan politics.

2016 Final Lyme Case Numbers: Wondering If Surveillance Can Get More Confusing?

January 1, 2019

The Lyme Disease Association (LDA) reports that the total number of CDC reported 2016 Lyme cases are now available. Never saw them? Not surprising. In the past, the CDC consistently reported Lyme numbers on a weekly basis, as they do with the other reportable diseases in its MMWR Report, which is published weekly. The last weekly case numbers reported, however, were reported one year ago for 2016.

What are Lyme Disease Symptoms & Signs?

January 1, 2019

Lyme disease symptoms and signs can vary depending on what stage of Lyme disease the patient has. Lyme disease is an infection caused by either Borrelia burgdorferi or Borrelia mayonii 1 bacteria, the latter recently discovered in the Midwest to cause Lyme disease. Both bacteria are transmitted by the Ixodes scapularis tick (deer tick).

Saluting Jean F. Galbreath & Harford Cty. Lyme Disease Support Group, Inc.

August 11, 2017

Mrs. Jean F. Galbreath, President of the all- volunteer Harford County Lyme Disease Support Group, Inc.

The Lyme Disease Association, Inc. (LDA) would like to thank Mrs. Jean F. Galbreath, President of the all-volunteer Harford County Lyme Disease Support Group, Inc., for her dedication and hard work over the past two decades. The HCLDSG was organized by Jean in 1995 and incorporated in 1997. Over time the group has filled a void in education in the area of Harford County, Maryland, a state which ranks 8th in case numbers in the last official CDC reported numbers from 2015.

LDA Responds to CDC Limiting Lyme Disease Treatment

June 18, 2017

The time has come when the public is entitled to know who in government or elsewhere is controlling the treatment of Lyme disease. 43 years into the disease, patients who can range from just infected to seriously debilitated with long-standing disease, are all thrown the same tired old bone, 3 weeks of doxycycline.

Patricia Smith

President’s Blog