CN Tower green for Lyme Disease

Groups in green -- but covered in jackets, scarves and coats against the unseasonal chilly weather at the foot of the CN Tower! That was the scene in the heart of downtown Toronto, Ontario on the evening of May 17, 2014.  We gathered to wait for the promised green lights on the CN Tower, the tallest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere.

 Little groups gathered, some greeting others and generally just talking, catching up, making new connections and finding support networks as we waited for darkness.

 Around us were thousands of young people, running around in very scanty outfits, getting ready for a concert in the Rogers Centre (formerly Skydome). We were amazed, and pulled our jackets closer around our shoulders!

 Robin from City TV arrived and took footage of the gathering while we settled in for a group picture. He received an education during the interview, for sure! He left with pictures of the large tick we found on the dog in Whitby last year (see this blog post), a T-shirt from the Brampton LymeWalk, tick cards and brochures from CanLyme to hand around the office. There was a news clip on the 11 o'clock news, with great footage of the Toronto skyline with the green tower standing proud and tall above the buildings and glistening on the water of Lake Ontario.

These collages just try to show the groups of people, the photographers trying to get a good shot (and a chilly bum in the process), Arno chatting to Robin and the scene at the foot of the tower. Hopefully the passers by took notice, and some did stop to talk and ask questions!

Collages created to combine shots -- click on the picture to see a bigger view.

Combination picture of the tower as it got darker can be seen below. Not an easy picture to take, for sure,

but more are coming. This is just a sample to show what happened in Toronto. Many couldn't attend, so the 30 who were there really represent hundreds of people suffering from Lyme Disease, too sick to get out, too weak to get around by themselves, and probably too depressed to even consider joining others.

May the day come, soon, that we all might stand up and get the treatment we deserve to get well again, to reclaim the months and years that were stolen from us because of this treatable, preventable illness, and that there will be research done to give the answers we are still trying to find ourselves.

MAY: Lyme Disease Awareness Month. 

 

 *Green prayer shawl made by good friend Sue.

Green Niagara Falls and CN Tower this weekend

This weekend, May 16 - 18, 2014, will be a big one since more than 50 Lyme Disease Awareness events all over the world will be happening! Here is an interactive map as well as several posts about events happening worldwide (Link will open in a new window CLICK)

Here in Ontario, there will be green lights on the CN Tower on Saturday, May 17. The lights will be visible when it gets dark enough and will stay the whole night apart from the usual red and white lights on the hour, every hour, to honour Canada. Picture below was taken when we attended the green lights at the CN Tower in 2013, trying to get the attention of any media. This year, as usual, media was slow in reporting this event. Only 680 News so far gave some notice about the green lights on these Canadian icons. 

For two blocks of time of 15 minutes each, at 10: 30 pm and 11 pm on Saturday night, there will be green lights on both the American and Canadian falls of Niagara Falls. Picture below was taken when a large group attended - more pictures elsewhere on this blog if you look in the search box. 

IN THE NEWS:  Very interesting article in the little magazine, "Prevention", by Katherine Harmon Courage. The article explains why one man volunteered to have 8 of the blood-sucking ticks attached to his leg, to help with research.  LINK 

CDC Lyme Disease Widget

Third annual Brampton LymeWalk

Hard to believe, but the LymeWalk is over! Once again a success, thanks to friends, volunteers and people trying to give the help and support we Lymies so desperately need.

Some pictures help to tell the story. The T-shirt features our usual Brampton tick and the Lyme green awareness ribbon.

People started arriving from around 9 am, many to register in person because they had a lot of trouble registering on the Running Room website. Tables were set up with information about other Lyme groups, to share and connect. 

Of course the Lyme Mobile was there to be admired, draw attention, be photographed and lead the Walk once we started! Thanks as always to Colony Ford for this wonderful tool to create awareness. 

People gathering around the registration table, buying white T-shirts, making donations for bracelets or green T-shirts and decals for a vehicle or window. 

The help of my patient, supportive husband is invaluable with all these Lyme awareness events!

Various green decorations made their appearance to get the point across! This young girl sported bright green nail polish and partenered that with one of the green silicone bracelets. 

Even the dogs had green ribbons! 

I made earrings out of green silicone bracelets. Green socks, shoelaces and sunglasses featured on several participants. 

Thank you to so many helpers and friends who gave their time! 

The silent auction table had many items, but several were not sold. Kijiji might have to help out here!

Time for pictures before the start of the Walk. 

The Lyme Mobile nosing through to lead the way!

Remember that the CN Tower in Toronto, both Falls in Niagara Falls and the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie will be bathed in green lights for Lyme Disease Awareness on Saturday, May 17th from around 9 p.m. There will be groups of people wearing green at each of these locations to hand out information, make noise, take pictures and to create awareness about this fast spreading disease. 

• View some pictures from 2013, when the CN tower went green and we attended in good spirits, despite the sudden cold! LINK  of some digital pictures and (2) LINK of SLR pictures
• Pictures from 2013 when Niagara Falls went green: LINK 

NOTE: There are T-shirts available if anyone would like to order one to be mailed. There are green shirts from our previous events as well, available for a donation and shipping costs. Most sizes left are L, XL and XXL