Imagine waking up every day feeling as if you had a horrible flu. Imagine that you continue to wake up with pain, brain fog, anxiety, and crushing fatigue every day for weeks, months, even years. Imagine how that would impact your ability to go to work, school, or take care of dependents. This is reality for many chronic Lyme sufferers.
Pennsylvania is the #1 state in the nation for Lyme Disease cases, and Bucks County is the 2nd highest county in PA for Lyme. One in five Lyme patients go on to have long term chronic symptoms even after treatment. Nearly half a million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with Lyme and TBDs every year, and cases are rising. Kids are at especially high risk, and 40% of new cases are children. Here in Pennsylvania, approximately 81 children are diagnosed with Lyme every day. A person can be infected with multiple tick-borne diseases (called co-infections) from just one tick bite, some of which can be life threatening like Babesia or Powassan Virus. Another tick-borne infection on the rise causes Alpha Gal Syndrome, a sudden allergy to red meat and mammalian products. Tick-borne co-infections are not included in standard Lyme testing, and not everyone gets a bullseye rash, making diagnosis difficult. Lyme can affect everyone very differently and is greatly misunderstood and underestimated. A Lyme patient in a support group once said “when you are diagnosed with Lyme, no one brings you flowers or casseroles.”
May is Lyme Awareness Month and to raise awareness a group of youth artists have worked together on one collaborative floral painting titled “Flowers of Hope” which will be sold to the highest bidder as a fundraiser for PA Lyme Resource Network . The painting and free Lyme prevention brochures provided by The Pennsylvania Lyme Resource Network, will be on display from May 1 through June 30 at Countryside Gallery, located at 2 South State Street in historic Newtown. Bidding forms for the silent auction of this piece are available at the gallery, or bids can be placed via email at youthartsilentauctionbids@aol.com. Bidding ends June 30.
In addition to the silent auction of the floral painting, note cards and prints will also be on sale. All of which are perfect for gift giving, or to show your support to someone who has Lyme. 100% of proceeds from the sale of these items will be donated to PAlyme.org, an all-volunteer organization dedicated to education, prevention, support and patient advocacy.
