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Apr. 25th, 2009 12:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
badninja" It's Tick Season Again
Are You Prepared?"
Are You Prepared?"
This list is an incomplete calendar of informational events. It will be stuck on the top of my journal until June 1. If you find any information you believe ought to be here, please drop a comment, whether it's an article or event.
If you can't find an event near you? Request one. Find a way to make it happen. If you work hard enough, it will - and even the attempt itself will help bring hope to this suffering from one or more tick diseases.
If nothing else, spread the information. Link this post and any others you might find suitable on your own journal. Keep yourself informed, keep your loved ones informed. Right now, knowledge is the best, if not the only, weapon we have in this war of terror against parasites.
NASCAR, film screenings, interviews, public events, free blood screenings, etc
Vote online for Lyme Awareness car in NASCAR Race, few days left!
Designed by a Lyme patient/advocate
The Lyme Disease Awareness Race Car has passed final inspection and is now ready to "race" awareness for Lyme disease! The winner of the 'design a race car contest' will have their original design painted on an official race car in time for the weekend NASCAR races in North Carolina, where millions will see it live and on TV!
Click here to see 3D pictures (watch for the bulls-eye rash to appear), then cast your vote! You can vote once a day, so be sure to re-visit the site and watch the number of votes climb! The winning car designer receives an all-expenses paid weeks vacation, race passes, etc. for the Charlotte, NC NASCAR races. If the Lyme car wins the contest, the grand prize will be donated to a family dealing with Lyme disease.
Speaker, Pat Smith, President of Lyme Disease Association, Thursday, April 15 at 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the West Milford Elks Club, Union Valley Road, West Milford, 07480. Further questions, call the Health Department at 973-728-2725.
Health Department sponsoring two-part Lyme Disease program Free showing of “Under Our Skin” at OLQP
Learn about Lyme Disease in a two-part program sponsored by the West Milford Health Department. The first is a free showing of the movie “Under our Skin” on Thursday, April 8 from 7 to 10:30 p.m. at Our Lady Queen of Peace School gym, 1911 Union Valley Road, Hewitt.
The film is only for adults; it is not recommended for children. It depicts Lyme Disease as one of the most controversial and fastest growing epidemics of our time. It has been named the best documentary by the Houston International Film Festival, Sonoma International Film Festival, Camden International Film Festival, Okanagan International Film Festival, Durango Independent Film Festival, Cine Golden Eagle Awards, International Health and Medical Media Awards.
On the following Thursday, April 15, Pat Smith, president of the Lyme Disease Association, will speak at the West Milford Elks Club beginning at 7 p.m. Smith is a long-time advocate for those with Lyme Disease.
The Elks Club is located at 1860 Union Valley Road.
For more information, contact Bobbie Del Sol, the township nursing supervisor, at 973-728-2725.
West Conn students present free Lyme disease seminar and health fair
Written by Jeannette Ross
Thursday, 25 March 2010 12:57
Featured speakers are Lyme disease specialist Dr. Richard Horowitz, of Hyde Park, N.Y., Pat Smith, president of the national Lyme Disease Association, and Jennifer Reid from the BLAST Lyme Prevention Program.
The partnership between West Conn and area Lyme disease task forces grew out of a community needs assessment Health Promotion students conducted in 2008. Surveys and focus groups indicated that long-term Lyme disease patients were facing numerous challenges in their effort to recover.
“The patients we spoke to clearly felt they were struggling to gather information, manage their lives and connect with the resources that could be helpful,” said Health Promotion major Jessica Mahon. “We knew we wanted to teach the community about prevention, but we couldn’t ignore the message that patients wanted more support.”
Working together with the Brookfield, Newtown and Ridgefield Lyme Disease Task Forces, students designed a comprehensive program including speakers and exhibitors available to assist patients and their families in the Danbury area. Students are also compiling a patient resource directory that will be available free at the event. The Health Fair begins at 6, in the Student Center Ballroom and the presentations start at 7. The WCSU Westside Student Center is at 43 Lake Avenue Extension, Danbury.
Driving directions: http://www.wcsu.edu/campustour/directions.asp
West Conn Event Calendar: http://www.wcsu.edu/newsevents/events.asp
LDA and UOS part of Garden State Film Festival
The Garden State Film Festival (March 25-28) is in its 8th season, and this year has chosen for its charity partner the Lyme Disease Association. The festival will show Under Our Skin on Thursday March 25, 2010 at 7PM at the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park. LDA will host a panel discussion featuring Dr. Robert Bransfield, Red Bank, Psychiatrist, President, International Lyme & Associated Diseases Society at the conclusion of the award winning Lyme disease documentary. LDA will also staff an information booth with literature.
Spotlight on Lyme
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Pier Village, Long Branch, New Jersey
Come enjoy a beautiful day on the Jersey Shore and help raise awareness for Lyme disease by participating in our 5K run/walk fundraising event. Our 3 mile run or walk will be fun for the whole family. Working together we can all make a big impact by raising money for research to fight this debilitating disease. Bring all of your friends and family member, and help us make a difference!
When: Sunday May 2nd from 3:00 pm until 5:00 pm
Where: Cross of Glory Lutheran Church
61095 Campground Road
Washington, MI 48094
Bring your friends, family and neighbors to learn more about a health threat that can hit anyone, just from the bite of a tiny tick.
Linda Lobes, President of the MLDA will be showing a 20 min. video, distributing literature and answering your questions about Lyme Disease in Michigan.
Learn:
What Lyme Disease is
How you get it
Where you get it
What to do if you get it
How to protect yourself and your family
Proper tick removal
Yes, Lyme Disease Is A Health Threat in Michigan!
For directions or more information, please call: 1-888-784-5963 or email LPurdy1040@aol.com
Lyme Disease program to be held at West Caldwell Library
WEST CALDWELL TWP. – The West Caldwell Health Department will offer a free educational program on Lyme Disease at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 28 at the West Caldwell Public Library, 30 Clinton St.The program will be presented by Dr. Peter Wenger, professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark.
“As we enter the spring season, deer ticks - the species most often responsible for transmitting Lyme disease – are again becoming active,” said West Caldwell Health Officer Peter Tabbott. “Given the interface between the West Essex area’s densely populated communities and expansive wooded areas in closer proximity to the Passaic River, area residents consistently experience significant rates of Lyme disease.”
This program will provide residents with valuable information on the history and clinical significance of Lyme disease, recognition of its symptoms and means of prevention, he said.
Dr. Peter Wenger is medical director and consultant epidemiologist with the Newark Department of Health and Human Services and has been a faculty member at the UMDNJ School of Public Health since 2000.
Dr. Wenger is board certified in pediatric infectious diseases and has worked for the U.S. Public Health Service. He has written several chapters in medical texts, has been published in peer-reviewed medical journals and has lectured extensively nationally and internationally.
For additional information, call the West Caldwell Health Department at (973) 226-2303.
Annual West Caldwell Health Day on May 12
Residents from the West Essex area are invited to participate in free vision screening, weight and nutrition counseling, blood pressure check, diabetes screening, stroke risk assessment, spinal assessment, cancer education and information on senior services.
In addition, for a fee, Medical Laboratory Diagnostics will conduct a variety of blood chemistry tests, including CHEM 23 health panel with hemogram and lipid profile, thyroid check, Lyme disease check and more.
Pre-registration and payment are required for laboratory screenings, but all other services are free.
Call (973) 226-2303 for more information or to register for blood work.
Danbury Library offers Lyme disease program
When the Freddie Award-winning film "Under My Skin," which explores the Lyme disease epidemic, was shown at Southbury Library, the audience was so large that people had to make reservations. On Saturday, Weintraub and the movie will be featured at Danbury Library, and organizers of the event are expecting a similar turnout. Weintraub, whose book, "Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic," was published this year, will speak and sign copies of her work from 1 to 2 p.m.
The movie will be shown at 2:30 p.m. "It's all about making people aware," said Kathy Blyskal of Danbury, a member of the Ridgefield Lyme Disease Task Force, which is sponsoring the program. "Too many people are still not aware of the major impact that Lyme disease can have on their lives." The event, which will be in the Farioly Program Room at the library, is free. Lyme disease is the subject of a bitter debate between two camps, one led by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, which believes there is no such thing as chronic Lyme disease and that those who contract the tick-borne illness can be cured by a short course of antibiotics, The second, more vocal group, believes the disease can be chronic, requiring months of treatment.
Weintraub, a journalist who has written four other books and hundreds of articles on science and medicine, chronicles her family's struggle with the disease and spotlights the raging debate in the medical community. "Under Our Skin," a documentary released earlier this year, is the recipient of a Freddie Award, considered to be the Oscar of health care films. The movie follows the stories of those afflicted with the disease and the doctors who treat them. "The Danbury Library has been very receptive in hosting this program," Blyskal said. "We're hoping for a good turnout." Contact John Pirro at jpirro@newstimes.com or at (203) 731-3342.
If you go:
What -- Lyme disease program
Where -- Danbury Library, 170 Main St.
When -- Saturday From 1 to 2 p.m., author Pameal Weintraub will speak and sign books. At 2:30 p.m., the film "Under Our Skins" will be shown.
Overwhelmed by the list? You should be. And yet, it's hardly putting a drop into the barrel. Most of these events circle around the same general area. One day, we hope to keep everyone informed. But for now, we must deal with one barrier. For now we come to this:
http://www.newstimes.com/news/
National Panel Concludes Lyme Disease Doesn't Exist
by Robert Miller, Staff Writer
The national medical association that sets guidelines for treatment of infectious diseases Thursday unanimously confirmed the policy it established in 2006 -- that the condition known as chronic Lyme disease doesn't exist.
"The Review Panel finds that the 2006 Lyme Guidelines were based on the highest-quality medical/scientific evidence available at the time and are supported by evidence that has been published in more recent years,'' the Infectious Disease Society of American concluded in a report issued Thursday.
"In addition to the review by this Panel, the recommendations in the 2006 Lyme Guidelines are further corroborated by guidelines and statements by other independent bodies in the United States and Europe," the report stated.
Dr. Steven Phillips of Wilton, who has been a strong proponent of the existence of chronic Lyme disease as a condition that should be treated by a long-term course of antibiotics, pointed out Thursday that the IDSA chose the members on the review panel -- analogous, he said, to the accused in a trial getting to pick all the members of a jury.
"I shouldn't be surprised but I still am,'' he said.
Phillips said that in the hearings that led up to Thursday's report, physicians who are members of a second group -- the International Lyme and Associated Diseases -- presented more that 400 pages of testimony, citing more than 1,000 reports in scientific journals, all pointing to chronic Lyme infection.
Phillips said he's never seen a scientific panel reach a unanimous finding, which, he said, raises the question of whether the panel was interested in science, or "simply the rubber-stamping on an intransigent ideology.''
"I shouldn't be surprised, but I still am." I think many of us feel that way right now. You can believe it exists chronically, you can believe it doesn't. But you cannot deny acute infection, and their actions have led to those with 'typical findings', such as bullseye rashes, not being treated. How's that for a kick in the pants?
However, as I recently said to the Michigan Lyme Support mailing list... "I was surprised by how long it took me to dig out every single event I could find. People are becoming aware. We're getting more on our side.
The battle today may have been lost, but we have far more soldiers than we previously thought. I'm going to strike that as a win."
Don't let them take you down and don't let your hope die. We're getting places, folks. Equality in treatment is going to happen. Our efforts now will help ensure our childrens' safety. I'm never giving up again.
