Learn more about Lyme & tick-borne diseases

We’re combatting Lyme & tick-borne diseases (Lyme+) through storytelling & education

Photographer, Jiatong Lu, poses with her award-winning project "Nowhere Land" on the chronic Lyme community, showcasing the neglect and mistreatment she and others have endured for decades

Photographer, Jiatong Lu, poses with her award-winning project "Nowhere Land" on the chronic Lyme

community, showcasing the neglect and mistreatment she and others have endured for decades

Our Mission

Storytelling is the oldest form of communication. Across time, cultures, and languages, stories allow people to place themselves in someone else’s shoes. The ultimate understanding, the universal connector.

Through the power of storytelling, LymeLnk is increasing awareness and education on Lyme & tick-borne diseases (Lyme+). We believe that personal stories can create compassion, understanding, and action in ways that statistics alone cannot.

We share the pain of the community and their purpose to pay it forward. These stories aren’t linear: some without recovery, some channeling their experiences, becoming creators, all voices for change.

By elevating these voices, we aim to educate the public on Lyme+, support patients, and advocate for better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

Education for the community, by the community

The problem

⋅

The problem ⋅

A single tick bite

An infection
transmitted

Lives changed,
forever

Almost 15% of the global population has been infected with Lyme disease 

In the U.S. alone, the CDC estimates about 500k new cases annually, which is more than breast cancer, HIV, and tuberculosis combined, and likely grossly underestimated due to inaccurate diagnosis and surveillance.

After being bitten by a tick, corkscrew-shaped bacteria infect the body

An infected tick might have the Lyme bacteria, and or many possible combinations of tick-borne infections, including Babesia, Bartonella, Anaplasma, and more.  Although symptomology varies greatly, it commonly creates flu-like symptoms and a rash at the onset, and later, brain fog, arthritis, fatigue, and or mental disorders.

Of those infected with Lyme disease, there is a 75% higher rate of death by suicide

And while some cases are acute, one in five people do not fully recover after treatment, symptoms lingering and growing more severe, like sudden onset schizophrenia, facial paralysis, or being bedridden. Despite being the leading vector-borne illness in the U.S., Lyme received $106 of federal funding per patient from the NIH in 2023. An NIH study in a newly at-risk, North American region reported that only 54% of respondents had heard of Lyme disease.

As climate change increases the spread and density of ticks, tick-borne illness 2x annually 

We have the opportunity to educate and protect a majority of the U.S. population, especially those most vulnerable.