Are you a Lymie?

If you have looked at this blog before, you would know about the excitement regarding the first Lyme Awareness Day in Brampton. The team who helped me make this idea real, is a wonderful group and it was an immense success. We are still on a high! We met many people, and many found support and outreach in the process. Pictures and info on this blog.

In preparation for the event, I've asked the city of Brampton to proclaim May as Lyme Disease awareness month. Upon receiving that proclamation, I did not have a presentation prepared, but offered to answer questions. I'd bullied Kim to go down with me for moral support. You can read the description of that day here on this blog. Proclamation from Brampton City Council

As a result of that day, Councillor John Sanderson asked us to set up a meeting with him, to take our request for more support to the Regional Council. As it turns out, Kim's father knows Councillor Sanderson. The meeting was set for Friday, June 8. The week before, my buddy, birthday partner and longtime friend, Joe Gray, happened to run into the Board chair of our local LHIN (Local Health Integration Network**). As usual, he started talking about the plight of Lymies in Canada and Maria Britto was very interested.  She joined in at our meeting on Friday.

THE REQUEST

We were asked to get together a list of names of Lymies in Ontario - if possible, pictures if they would allow it, otherwise just initials or first names, ages, how long infected and area - or a combination of those to show how many Lymies are in the same boat. That will strengthen our case. We are adamant to keep fighting for the right of Lymies and their caregivers. This is no longer a rare disease and it is only getting worse.

If you are willing to be included in such a list, please let me know as much information as you are willing to share, with or without a picture. I promise not to hang you out to dry! I know some Lymies are not public, for various reasons, and I respect that.  Please contact me at Lymies of Ontario  THANK YOU in advance!

After that  meeting, I met up with Jim Wilson, president of CanLyme, and we had an excellent discussion. We feel that this year things are happening! We talked about the successful Lyme Walk and the same event for next year, as well as compared symptoms and situations of Lymies. I so wish to be able to help more, but realise that the fact that I'm just over 5 ft tall and not very loud spoken, people often ignore me as part of the background. So --- I'll collect the info in the background and strengthen the arms of those who are bigger than I am!

I firmly believe that the path is being paved for us and that it will go forward, from strength to strength!

**If you haven't heard about LHIN before, here is a short summary: "LHINs are an important part of the evolution of health care in Ontario, moving from a collection of services that were often uncoordinated to a true health care system." Website

My name is Marlene and I'm a Lymie, infected in Ontario in 2007, had a positive Canadian Lyme test in 2010. Now going to the USA for treatment.