Tick Boot Camp

Lauren Less is a 29-year-old Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), real estate broker and nutrition enthusiast. While attending summer camp at the age of 13, she was bitten by a tick that she removed without adult assistance. After returning home from camp, she began to suffer classic acute Lyme disease symptoms including fatigue, joint pain and brain fog. For the next 15 years, Ms. Less’ sympto...

Adina Bercowicz is founder and executive director of LymeTV . She is a 44-year-old tick-borne illness advocate, wife, and mother living in Portland, Maine. Prior to getting sick, Ms. Bercowicz was working full time as an executive leader for a nonprofit in India, regularly attended yoga and martial arts classes, had an active social life, and traveled frequently for work. She was “active and at th...

Madi Peters is a 22-year-old medical school student from Canada training to become a Naturopathic Doctor (ND). Her Lyme disease experience has shaped her life, values, and passions. She soon will be helping others suffering from chronic Lyme disease once she completes medical school. Prior to getting sick, Ms. Peters was a very active teenager engaged in competitive dance, teaching gymnastics, par...

Liz Campbell is a 23-year-old Health Coach residing in the shadow of South Carolina’s storied Clemson University. She is working to enhance her coaching skill sets by enrollment in a Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) course of study. Ms. Campbell’s Lyme disease experience began with a month-long flu followed by severe fatigue. Weight gain, joint pain, and insomnia were added to her fatigue sympto...

Crystal Hefner is a multi-talented 35-year-old artist, model, entrepreneur, philanthropist and travel blogger from Los Angeles, California. The foundation for Ms. Hefner’s chronic Lyme disease journey was built on the footings of the iconic Playboy lifestyle. While married to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, she resided in a mold infested mansion surrounded by emotionally unhealthy people. In 2015, Ms...

Julie Yakunich is a 40-year-old Integrative Health Practitioner and Certified Health Coach specializing in Lyme disease from Chicago, Illinois. She has her own private practice, Get Well with Julie, and sees Lyme and chronic illness patients at Case Integrative Health . Ms. Yakunich’s battle with Lyme began when she was 29 years old after living a very active and high functioning life while workin...

Elected officials from around the United States joined leading Lyme disease advocates to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Advocacy Express which flipped over 40 representatives to now support Lyme legislation! Tune in to listen to Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Jane Bonner (Long Island, New York), Brookhaven Town Councilman Kevin LaValle (Long Island, New York), New York State Assemblyman Steve...

Amanda Rojas is a 31-year-old medical collections supervisor. She is planning on continuing her college education soon and wants to help others navigate through the craziness of Lyme disease. Ms. Rojas’ battle with Lyme began at Christmas time when she was 25 years old. She visited over 30 doctors, specialists, urgent care facilities, and hospitals, but none of them could discover the root cause o...

Julie Comble is a 23-year-old student and online tutor from Paris, France. She is studying English and Modern Literature at Sorbonne University, Paris. Ms. Comble’s Lyme disease journey began with severe fatigue in her early teens. Three months after her parents terminated an unstable and often volatile relationship, she suffered a rapid acceleration of symptoms. She lost 17 pounds, suffered sever...

Hana-li Pendery is a 33-year-old entertainer, public speaker, business owner and entrepreneur. Her artistic parents named her in homage to the Peter, Paul & Mary classic song Puff the Magic Dragon. Ms. Pendery’s battle with the Lyme dragon began when she was “about 16 years old." She managed her symptoms for over a decade until she lost the ability to sleep. Eventually her sleep disorder...

Liz Walcott is a 36-year-old MBA/ CPA and serial entrepreneur residing in New York City, New York. Ms. Walcott’s Lyme disease journey began in 2012 when she was “burning the candle at both ends” while working at a top US accounting firm In New York City. For several years she excelled in a demanding corporate culture with a code of conduct that required spin/workout classes before breakfast, long...

Dr. Timothy Haystead is a UK-educated Doctor of Biochemistry, University Professor, entrepreneur, and world-renowned scientific researcher. Dr. Haystead graduated with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Biochemistry from Cardiff University (United Kingdom) and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Dundee (United Kingdom). He and his wife (a medical doctor) immigrated to the US to “seek adventur...

Brianna Marie is a 39-year-old Holistic Doctor, athlete, and mother. She is the creator of the Holistically Fit Protocol and the @HolisticallyFitMomma and @HolisticallyFitBabe social platforms. Dr. Brianna Marie grew up in a tick endemic community and suffered from classic Lyme symptoms since early childhood. Despite growing up the child of a medical doctor and treating with “dozens” of “allopathi...

Russ Bell is a married father of two minor children. His MIT educated wife Nicole describes him as the most intelligent man she had ever met. Mr. Bell grew up in the American South where he enjoyed outdoor sporting activities such as hiking and shooting. He understood that ticks and tick bites were part and parcel of a sportsman’s outdoor experience. Toward the end of his professional career, Russ...

Patricia Cosulich is a 26-year-old multi-talented artist, entrepreneur and social innovator. She is the playwright and producer of The Great Imitator , a Lyme disease play designed to “change the way we view healing, build community, mobilize policy change and fundraise through storytelling.” Ms. Cosulich was a gifted child that enjoyed the exploration of her talents until she suffered the tragic...

Marsha Goins is a 41-year-old Oxford University and London School of Economics educated marketing entrepreneur. She is the founder of @MomToMomfluencer , a business “help[ing] mompreneurs grow and monetize [business] on Instagram.” Ms. Goins began the momprenership phase of her career after working in the not for profit and big business sectors. She served on conflict resolution teams in several w...

Brett Knight is a 26-year-old licensed personal trainer currently working full time parenting her son and healing from Lyme disease. She has been managing Lyme-related health issues for “all of her adult life” and her earliest symptoms presented by the age of 17. Ms. Knight’s Lyme symptoms began with “feeling off,” “ringing in [her] ears,” and insomnia. Over time, she suffered from back pain, feve...

Tiara Smith is a 27-year-old financial industry marketing specialist from Kansas who was introduced to Lyme disease by a spouse suffering from the chronic disease. Inspired to assist her wife overcome the illness, Ms. Smith joined Lyme groups and studied the work of Dr Bill Rawls and herbalist Stephen Buhner. As she witnessed her spouse go “through hell on antibiotics,” she searched for a sustaina...

Megan Ward is the 30-year-old founder and CEO of Ergo Hemp Co. , a health and wellness company established to provide the community with reputably sourced CBD products. Ms. Ward grew up in the heart of the Long Island, New York Lyme belt. Her environmentally aware parents and grandparent taught her to conduct regular tick checks, often resulting in finding biting ticks on her body. By the age of 8...

Colonel Nicole Malachowski is a nationally recognized fighter pilot and military commander. Her 21-year military career included flying 26 combat missions, serving as the first female Thunderbird pilot, serving as a White House Fellow in the administrations of Presidents Bush and Obama, and commanding the 333rd Fighter Squadron at Seymour Air Force Base in North Carolina. Colonel Malachowski is a...

Martha Edmister is a multi-talented 47-year-old artist, entrepreneur, and mental health coach from Baltimore Maryland. Her health journey began after suffering a childhood tick bite, 2 years before Borrelia Burgdorferi was identified as the bacterial cause of Lyme. Shortly after her childhood tick bite, she developed health issues that were followed for 14 months by the head of endocrinology at DC...

Nora Claire is a 30-year-old entrepreneur from Denver Colorado. Her Lyme disease journey began immediately after being bit by a tick when she was 17 years old. Ms. Claire developed a summer flu within a few days of her tick bite but didn’t connect it with the tick bite because she didn’t notice a rash. A few months later, she developed fatigue, joint pain, depression, and anxiety. Ms. Claire’s sym...

Tricia “Trish” Baden is the 33-year-old Candle Scientist behind Flores Lane from West Hollywood, California. Her Lyme disease journey began while on a cabin trip with her ex-boyfriend and his family to Northern Wisconsin when she was 23 years old. Ms. Baden became immediately ill during the last day of her trip with a sore throat, bump on the back of her head, and a fever. Her symptoms progressed...

The Tick Boot Camp community has partnered with Global Lyme Alliance (GLA) Ambassadors Ali Moresco and Meghan Bradshaw to host a free virtual kick-off party and donation drive. On Sunday, October 3, 2021, the GLA Global Gala watch-party will be preceded by a Tick Boot Camp kick-off party. You are invited to join the party at 11:30 am EST via Zoom at Tickbootcamp.com/GLA . You are also invited to s...

Katie Beecher is a 55-year-old peer reviewed and verified Medical and Emotional Intuitive and Licensed Professional Counselor from Jacksonville, Florida. Her work has been featured on Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop, Kourtney Kardashian’s Poosh and many other media outlets. Ms. Beecher’s Lyme disease journey began during her childhood, but was not diagnosed until approximately 8 years ago. She suffered a l...