Tick Boot Camp

Episode 325: Customized Care - an interview with Katie Bork

Katie Bork is a 23-year-old nurse from Loveland, Colorado. She is currently on a healing sabbatical from her passion profession.

Although she was symptomatic since the age of 10, she largely enjoyed an idyllic childhood. However, in 2011 her health bounced back and forth between “failure to thrive” to weight gain in “excess of 60 pounds” trigging her to regularly visit the hospital

Last year, her health took a “terrible turn” causing her to feel pain all over her body that she “could not seem to remedy”. In December, she also discovered a “rash that progressively spread throughout [her] whole body”.

Her visits to medical professionals resulted in misdiagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), rheumatoid arthritis, depression, anxiety disorder, and anorexia. She was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease (Borrelia Burgdorferi, Borrelia Afzelii, Borrelia Garinii, and Borrelia Andersonii) after “begging a doctor to test her”.

Ms. Bork has utilized a variety of treatments including antibiotics, ozone, herbals, IV glutathione, and probiotics to reassemble 60% of her health.

If you would like to learn how a young nurse is utilizing customized care to manage the challenges of Lyme disease, then tune in now!

PS Jenn Hyla special guest co-hosted this interview with Rich from Tick Boot Camp!

Episode 324: LymeLight Foundation - an interview with Phyllis Bedford

Phyllis Bedford is the founder of LymeLight Foundation, a not-for-profit whose mission is to provide grants which enable eligible children and young adults with Lyme disease to receive proper treatment and medication as well as to raise awareness about Lyme disease.

Ms. Bedford is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a degree in Political Economics. She uses her God-given talents to help the chronic Lyme disease community and she’s given over $8,000,000 to 1,150 Lyme patients since starting LymeLight.

Ms. Bedford, her husband, and two daughters all have Lyme disease. She’s a congenital Lyme disease advocate and gave a presentation about it at the LymeMind Conference.

As a mother, Ms. Bedford is passionate about helping other parents advocate for their children and she wants all parents to trust their gut and never give up when it comes to their children’s health.

If you’d like to learn more about how a family’s Lyme disease journey led to the creation of a multimillion-dollar Lyme disease not-for-profit, then tune in now!

PS Christina Kovacs, from Lady of Lyme, special guest co-hosted this interview with Matt from Tick Boot Camp!

Episode 323: The Investment Officer - an interview with Paul Selian

Paul Selian is an Executive Vice President and Head of Global Credit Finance for State Street Corporation. He oversees the firm’s international lending activities across a broad range of products, managing a team of professionals in the US, Europe and Australia. Paul has served as a board member and President of the Dean Center for Tick Borne Illness and as Chair for The Posse Foundation’s Boston board. He and his family currently reside in Portsmouth, RI.

If you would like to learn more about how Lyme disease taught an investment professional to “own his own health” and never “delegate to even a doctor”, then tune in now!

PS Ride Out Lyme’s Brandi Dean co-hosted this podcast interview with Rich.

Episode 322: From Covid to Lyme - an interview with Tiffany Perez

Tiffany Perez is a 35-year-old professional tattoo artist from Pine Brook, New Jersey.

Ms. Perez led a very busy and productive life and owned her own business before getting sick with Lyme disease.

Ms. Perez had a stroke and then was diagnosed with COVID. Next, shortly after COVID, she was diagnosed with Lyme disease.

Some of Ms. Perez’s symptoms included extreme brain fog, Bell's palsy, hallucinations, short term memory loss, neck pain, depression, full body pain, and swelling of her joints.

Most of Ms. Perez’s symptoms were dismissed as being related to COVID, but she kept fighting and eventually tested positive for Lyme disease through a blood test from a cardiologist.

Ms. Perez was treated with antibiotics, antivirals, herbs, vitamins, and steroids. She also practices regular nervous system regulation and detox regimens.

If you’d like to learn how a professional tattoo artist overcame getting hit with a stroke, COVID, and Lyme disease all around the same time, then tune in now!

PS Rosmeyris Estrella special guest co-hosted this interview with Matt from Tick Boot Camp!

Episode 321: Sculpting Recovery - an interview with Flora Deborah

Flora Deborah is a 38-year-old artist, sculptor and photographer from Tel Aviv, Israel.

Ms. Deborah was born in Evian, France and raised in Milan, Italy. During her childhood in Italy, she discovered an aptitude and love for the drawing arts.

In 2015, she moved to Israel to attend graduate school. Shortly after earning a master’s in fine arts degree and beginning a career as a sculptor, a friend noticed a bullseye rash on the back of her arm and urged her to visit a doctor to be tested for Lyme disease.

Approximately one month later, she discovered a second bullseye rash on her calf. Despite visiting 30 doctors and asking to be evaluated for Lyme disease, she was not treated for Lyme. In less than two years, she progressively developed chronic symptoms that rendered her bed bound.

Desperate for a diagnosis, Ms. Deborah stepped out of the public health care system and had “blood work privately” tested by Armin Labs in Germany and she tested positive for Lyme disease.

If you would like to learn more about how a bed bound artist rediscovered her childhood love for the drawing arts while treating and healing from Lyme disease, then tune in now!

Episode 320: Silent Suffering - an interview with Lauren Murphree

Lauren Murphree is a 29-year-old certified IV technician from Tennessee. She’s also the author of Silent Suffering: Finding God's Faithfulness in Chronic Lyme Disease.

Ms. Murphree was flourishing and working full time. She was an athlete and was very social.

Ms. Murphree was first diagnosed with Lyme disease when she was 9 years old, but it didn’t “wreak havoc” in her life until she was around 20 years old.

Some of Ms. Murphree’s symptoms have included neuropathy, neck and back pain, brain inflammation, loss of energy, jaw pain, tremors, sharp shooting pains in her head and body, heart palpitations, body weakness and numbness, cognitive dysfunction, arthritis, heat intolerance, memory loss, insomnia, chest pain, panic attacks, Lyme rage, depression, anxiety, loss of appetite, nausea, light and sound sensitivity, POTS, heart and lung weakness, muscle spasms, tinnitus, exercise intolerance, dizziness, and more.

Ms. Murphree’s Lyme relapse wasn’t diagnosed until her early twenties after two years of suffering. She was finally diagnosed with a Lyme relapse through a Western Blot blood test and an IGeneX specialty test.

Ms. Murphree was treated with Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN), Disulfiram, Low Dose Immunotherapy (LDI), Bee Venom Therapy (BVT), Cowden Protocol (Nutramedix), various antibiotics, rife, ozone, and more.

If you’d like to learn how a young woman has used an arsenal of treatments to treat chronic Lyme disease and wrote a book about her experiences to help the millions of people suffering with this horrible disease, then tune in now!

PS Michelle McKeon, the Lyme Specialist, special guest co-hosted this interview with Matt from Tick Boot Camp!

Episode 319: Self Healer - an interview with Jennifer Sala

Jennifer Sala is a 32-year-old herbalist and research writer from Ellsworth, Maine.

Ms. Sala was a healthy baby, and she was accepted into her school’s talented and gifted program at a young age. She was bit by ticks all throughout her life but didn’t know what they were.

Ms. Sala’s health started to decline after a tick bite when she was 4 years old, and she crashed at the age of 10 shortly after developing a bullseye rash from another tick bite. She was then infected later in life while living in Texas when she was 18 years old from another tick bite with Relapsing Fever and Mycoplasma.

Some of Ms. Sala’s symptoms included Lyme rage, heat intolerance, dizziness, fevers, body pain, and a brain infection. She first heard of Lyme disease from friends when she moved back home to Main at 23, but she wasn’t properly diagnosed until she was 29 by a naturopath.

Ms. Sala treated her tick-borne illnesses with high dose antibiotics, cryotherapy, herbs, a mitochondrial optimizer, supplements, and more.

If you’d like to learn how Ms. Sala has been able to recover 85% of her health after a lifetime of Lyme disease and co-infections, then tune in now!

PS Liza Blas special guest co-hosted this interview with Matt from Tick Boot Camp!

Episode 318: Healing in Harmony - an interview with Micaela Hoo

Micaela Hoo is a 28-year-old freelance content creator, social media manager, Global Lyme Alliance (GLA) peer mentor, and entrepreneur from Los Angeles, California. She is the co-creator of My July, a clean skin care brand.

Born in the eastern United States Lyme belt, Ms. Hoo’s childhood was interrupted by persistent illness, learning difficulties, issues with word recall, and heightened sensitivity. She made frequent trips to doctors and medical centers without securing a diagnosis.

Ms. Hoo’s health did not improve when her family moved across the county to pursue professional opportunities on the west coast. Frustrated by the medical community’s failure to diagnose the source of her chronic symptoms, she turned to social media where she was told she “sounds very Lymie”.

As a graduation present, her dad offered to pay for a visit to a highly regarded California based Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD). Her gift included an IGeneX Lyme disease test that answered the multiyear medical mystery.

If you would like to learn more about how Lyme disease inspired a digital creator and entrepreneur to build a social platform that bravely represents “what it looks like when you do not feel well”, then tune in now!

PS Randi Goodman from Think Lyme special guest co-hosted this interview with Rich from Tick Boot Camp!

Episode 317: Lyme Support - an interview with Doctor Christine Arseneau

Dr. Christine Arseneau is a 38-year-old pharmacist who spent 6 years training at a hospital before managing an integrative compounding pharmacy where she now works today. She is the founder of Lyme Support which serves clients suffering with Lyme disease and tick-borne infections, is certified in Clinical Cannabinoid Pharmacy, and has a Functional Medicine Certification in Health Coaching.

Despite moving around a lot as a child because her father was in the Army, Dr. Arseneau was a straight A student and excelled at everything she did. Although her life seemed perfect from the outside, she never felt important or valued as a child since her mother had narcissistic tendencies and anxiety resulting in her emotionally abusing Dr. Arseneau.

Dr. Arseneau was bit by a tick and became sick at 9 years old, but she didn’t begin to have major health issues until she was 27 with things like meningitis, a rare form of cancer, debilitating fatigue, and pain. Finally, at the age of 29, she was diagnosed with Lyme disease, Babesia, and Bartonella.

Dr. Arseneau treated using Byron White Formulas (A-L Complex and A-Bart), Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN), plant medicine (psilocybin and ayahuasca), and more.

If you’d like to learn how a determined pharmacist refused to stay sick and overcame chronic Lyme disease to now help others heal, then tune in now!

PS Amanda Millie special guest co-hosted this interview with Matt from Tick Boot Camp!

PPS get Dr. Arseneau has a free virtual training for anyone struggling with chronic Lyme disease, pain, fatigue, and chronic complex health challenges titled How I Cured My Chronic Lyme Disease: The #1 Thing You Need to Know That Doctors Aren’t Talking About.

Episode 316: Reclaiming Embodiment - an interview with Dana Papadopoulos

Dana Papadopoulos is a 30-year-old not-for-profit Media Director residing in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Ms. Papadopoulos was transformed from an active, healthy, athletic child and young adult to a chronically ill 18-year-old woman. Then, for almost a decade, she battled a series of seemingly separate symptoms including anorexia, extreme GI issues, gastroparesis, POTS, EDS, fibromyalgia, ovarian cysts, hypotension, anemia, PCOS, leaky gut, and more.

Despite treating with over 50 medical doctors and medical centers, including the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, she continued to suffer from poor health while collecting an array of diagnoses. Finally at the age of 27, a local chiropractor diagnosed her with Lyme disease utilize blood testing.

Her Lyme disease diagnosis became a blessing in that it permitted her to locate a focus for healing. After treating for one year, she successfully abated her symptoms and moved into a new apartment. Sadly, the new apartment had mold that reignited Lyme causing her to lose functionality.

Today, she is preparing to revisit Bee Venom Therapy (BVT) by rebuilding her gut, utilizing routine detox tools, exercising, and performing breath work and chanting.

If you would like to learn more about a young woman had to rebuild trust in herself, get back into her body and listen to body signals to overcome the challenges caused by Lyme disease, then tune in now!

PS Katie DePaola, from IGC Coaching School, special guest co-hosted this interview with Rich from Tick Boot Camp!

The goal of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast is to help people liberate themselves and others from suffering caused by Lyme disease through validation, community building, belief that healing is possible, and modeling success. Listen to our Tick Boot Camp podcast using all major podcast streaming services such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. Our podcast is also integrated with smart home devices, such as Amazon Alexa and Apple TV. Ask your device to "play the Tick Boot Camp Podcast!"