Tick Boot Camp

Cole Elbel is a 25-year-old native of rural Pennsylvania residing in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Elbel’s rural childhood experience caused him to suffer 3 attached tick bites resulting in constant fatigue during his youth. His immune system managed the undiagnosed Lyme disease symptoms until he was faced with several high stress events during his senior year in college. He then began to suffer debilita...

Traci Weintraub is a 40-year-old entrepreneur and sitcom television entertainment professional from West Hollywood, California. Originally from the Long Island, New York region of the east coast Lyme belt, Ms. Weintraub moved to California after she graduated from college. She enjoyed an active professional, social and athletic west coast lifestyle until she began to suffer leg heaviness and pain,...

Dan Price is a 42-year-old married father serving as the Executive Pastor of a church located in Bend, Oregon. The Price family began a relationship with Lyme disease in 2012 when Pastor Dan began to suffer a long-term fever and fatigue that progressed to brain fog, short term memory loss, anxiety, and depression. He treated with 5 doctors before he was diagnosed with Lyme disease. After his diagn...

Noel Elie is a 35-year-old actor, model, director, producer and entrepreneur from Los Angeles, California. Her acting resume includes appearances on CBS’s Blue Bloods, CW’s Dynasty, NBC’s Shades of Blue and ABC’s Shark Tank. In her business life, she worked with many iconic brands and NY Times bestselling authors until she became chronically ill. Approximately one year ago, Ms. Elie developed debi...

John Tubbs is a 41-year-old empathic Licensed Massage Therapist and Certified Health Coach from upstate Slingerlands, New York. His Lyme disease journey began at the age of 27 when he suffered classic flu like symptoms, intense neck pain and Bell's Palsy. He was diagnosed with Lyme disease by a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) and achieved short term remission after being treated with several c...

Tori Piskin is a 30-year-old comedian, producer, editor and podcaster from Los Angeles, California. Ms. Piskin was raised in a traditional close-knit New York Jewish familial environment. Her family was activated to help as soon as her chronic symptoms presented during her senior year of college. She was diagnosed and in treatment with a well-known Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD) within months...

Danielle Cosgrove is a 26-year-old sports management professional from Long Island, New York. Ms. Cosgrove’s Lyme disease journey began in 2012 when her symptoms prevented her from achieving her dream of playing college lacrosse. Her progressing symptoms sent her to visit 9 doctors over 8 years before she was diagnosed with Lyme disease. Her diagnosis was incidental to treating at a immunological...

Gary Shope and Doctor Alex Shope are the father and son team working to disrupt Lyme disease diagnostic testing at medical start up Contamination Source Identification (CSI-Dx) . Gary Shope is a serial entrepreneur who exited retirement to build CSI-Dx. Dr. Alex Shope, MD is a medical doctor who was inspired by his mentor to abandon the clinic setting and scale his work to offer health care soluti...

Misty Rangel is a 33-year-old English Arts student from Fresno, California. Ms. Rangel’s Lyme disease journey began after a doctor assured her that a bug bite on her leg “was nothing to worry about.” At the time, she was an extremely fit professional performing artist, dancer and Zumba instructor. Over the next several months, she began to suffer classic Lyme disease symptoms forcing her to visit...

Theora Dobronte is a 33-year-old Registered Dietitian from California. Ms. Dobronte is one of six members of her family diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease. Her personal Lyme disease experience was induced by an intimate relationship with a man from a Lyme endemic community. Her symptoms progressed over time eventually forcing her to withdraw from athletic, social, and professional activities. Aft...

Paola Leichter is a 35-year-old attorney from New Jersey. During her senior year in college, she developed full body seizures. Soon thereafter, she suffered additional classic chronic Lyme disease symptoms. Somehow, she found the fortitude to grit though the illness to complete law school, an advanced law degree (LLM), pass two bar examinations (New York and New Jersey) and complete a prestigious...

Ally Hilfiger is a multi-dimensional artist residing with her husband and daughter in Los Angeles, California. Ms. Hilfiger’s Lyme disease journey began when she was bitten by a tick at the age of 7. Undiagnosed Lyme disease presented various physical and emotional challenges during her childhood, but it could not contain Ms. Hilfiger’s artistic genius. She began a professional stage acting career...

Maxine (Max) Janssens is a 27-year-old architect and project manager from Perth, Australia. In 2019, Ms. Janssens and her partner took a trip to explore the west coast of the United States. At the behest of an Australian friend who contracted Lyme while traveling in the US, Ms. Janssens took precautions to protect herself from ticks and Lyme, including, daily tick checks. Shortly after returning f...

Sarah Hook is an Integrative Holistic Practitioner, Health Coach, Functional Diagnostic Practitioner and Reiki Master from London, England. She was bitten by a tick at the age of 25 and managed her health challenges until professional stressors caused her health and nervous systems to crash after 8 years. Fortunately, Ms. Hook’s training and experience resulted in an early diagnosis after she soug...

In this landmark episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast , hosts Richard Johannessen and Matt Sabatello sit down with Dr. Alan MacDonald , a pioneering hospital pathologist whose work has shaped — and challenged — the understanding of Lyme disease for more than four decades. Often referred to as “the Lyme doctor’s doctor,” Dr. MacDonald was among the earliest physicians investigating Lyme disease in...

Dr. Casey Kelley is a Lyme Literate Integrative Medical Doctor from Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Kelley shared her personal and professional journeys with Lyme disease in Episode 98 of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast. To celebrate Lyme Disease Awareness Month, Tick Boot Camp issued a challenge to Dr. Kelley to answer your questions live and in real time. This podcast is the audio of the Instagram Live broadc...

Danielle Pashko is a nutritionist and author working at a clinical medical practice based in New York City, New York. After overcoming a battle and writing a book on thyroid cancer, she began to exhibit symptoms of Lyme disease. Her Lyme disease went undiagnosed for over a year despite visiting 14 doctors exhibiting classic symptoms. Ms. Pashko was finally diagnosed after her primary care doctor t...

Dr. Leslie J. Douglas is a geneticist and molecular biologist from Colorado. Currently she is the Principal Investigator and Laboratory Manager for DNA Connexions . DNA Connexions is a top US based testing company focusing on bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic molecular based detection assays. Dr. Douglas' current professional focus is the research and development of PCR (direct DNA) based Ly...

Emma Pikoulas is a 22-year-old lifelong resident of tick endemic Long Island, New York. Ms. Pikoulas was bitten by ticks on numerous occasions during her childhood. She was first diagnosed with a tick infection (Mycoplasma) at the age of 16 and then Lyme disease and coinfections after a relapse at the age of 19. Ms. Pikoulas has treated with several of the top Lyme Literate Medical Doctors (LLMDs)...

To honor Lyme Disease Awareness Month and all those suffering from Lyme disease, Dr. Bill Rawls, MD joined the Tick Boot Camp podcast to announce that his company is giving away free copies of the bestselling "Lyme disease healing bible:" Unlocking Lyme. Dr. Rawls also shared with the Tick Boot Camp community that his company will continue to offer free monthly Lyme disease related webin...

Dr. Joseph Burriscano is America's first Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD). He began practicing medicine in Lyme endemic eastern Long Island, New York, a short time and distance from where the first Lyme infected ticks examined by Dr. Willy Burgdorfer were dragged. Dr. Burriscano's clinical observations resulted in the discovery and development of diagnostic and treatment protocols that were con...

Lindsay Ruiz is a 44-year-old large scale corporate organizational change leadership professional from Charlotte, North Carolina. Ms. Ruiz earned her B.S. in her native Venezuela, a master’s degree in the United States and she is currently doctoral candidate. Ms. Ruiz presented classic Lyme disease symptoms to over 20 medical professionals over the course of one year. One of the doctors that helpe...

Layla Perchal Neal is a Jacksonville, Florida based media professional and photographer originally from Leicester, England. Ms. Perchal Neal was bitten by ticks on at least four separate occasions prior to suffering chronic Lyme disease symptoms. When she began to feel fatigue and brain fog, Ms. Perchal Neal sought the assistance of medical doctors; including, infectious disease doctors who resist...

Freddie Kimmel is the host of the Beautifully Broken Podcast and part of the management team at AmpCoil. He is also a functional health coach through IFHC, Gut Health Specialist, Citizen Scientist, Reiki Healer, and public speaker. He has been featured in, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, LA Talk Radio, and in Dance Magazine. Freddie is a proud survivor of metastatic cancer, Lyme disea...

Elizabeth Brannan is a 33-year-old cowboy from Ventura, California. Ms. Brannan identified as a cowboy for most of her life. Her Lyme disease journey began when she was bitten by a tick at work resulting in a bullseye rash. She visited a doctor who diagnosed and treated the rash as ringworm. Thereafter, Ms. Brannan rapidly developed classic Lyme disease symptoms. Eventually, she lost the ability t...