It's time to get TICKED OFF. . . bostonlyme.org is sponsoring a free educational reception following the August 9th screening of the the award-winning documentary, UNDER OUR SKIN at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
The event will include a 20 minute discussion at the theater with a Lyme Disease Patient, a Lyme-Literate Doctor and a Lyme-Literate Clinical Psychologist. Immediately following the discussion, we will be hosting a free Reception at the Curry Student Center Ballroom on the Northeastern University Campus where there will be a Question and Answer session from a panel of Lyme-Literate Educators, Patients and Doctors. Legislators will be on hand to discuss current bills both on Beacon Hill and at the National Level.
UNDER OUR SKIN, The award-winning documentary will be playing at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston from August 6 - 13, 2009.
Please join us for a very special free education event after the August 9th screening
To purchase tickets for the 8/9 movie screening at 3:00 pm, CLICK HERE
Movie Screening at the Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, MA - 3:00 pm
When you arrive at the movie screening, there will be a sign-in table where you can pick up your index cards to write down any questions you may think of during the movie.
Immediately after the movie, we will spend 20 minutes at the movie theater where you will hear from a Lyme Disease Patient, a Lyme Literate Doctor, and a Lyme Literate Clinical Psychologist.
When entering the movie theater, please look for the people wearing lime green t-shirts to sign in and get your index cards for the Q & A session at Northeastern University and to get your invitation and map to the free Education Event and Reception in the Curry Student Center Ballroom on the Northeastern University Campus. (Two blocks from the MFA.) At the end of the movie, be sure to hand in your questions to people wearing lime greet t-shirts.
Free Educational Event after the Movie - 5:30 pm
We will be hosting a free Question and Answer Session with a distinguished group of Leading Lyme Literate Doctors Patients and Advocates. We also hope to have legislators on hand to discuss the current legislation that is making its way on Beacon Hill to protect Doctors and to prevent insurance companies from restricting treatment.
There will also be informational tables with free tick removal kits, Lyme Disease information literature, local Lyme advocate groups, tick prevention information and iInformation on current Lyme Disease pending legislation.
In consideration of those with chemical sensitivity, we request attendees to refrain from wearing any scented products including perfumes, cologne, aftershave, hairspray and other strong fragrances. Thank You!
Agenda of Free Educational Event:
5:30 - 7:00 - Guest speakers by a panel of Lyme Disease Professionals, Advocates, and Patients 7:00 - 8:00 - Free information tables, literature, tick removal kits, and refreshments.
Northeastern University's Curry Student Center Ballroom ... CLICK HERE for map and directions from MFA Medical Professionals Biography Rex G. Carr, MD FAAPMR
Rex G. Carr, MD is a Board Certified Specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He currently has a private practice in Hanover, NH.
He has been evaluating and treating people with Chronic Pain and/or Chronic Fatigue from all causes for over 25 years. He has been evaluating and treating people for tick borne illness for over 10 years. Leo J. Shea III, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist
Leo J. Shea III, Ph.D. is Clinical Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Rusk Institute, a division of the New York University Langone Medical Center. Prior to his present work with tick-borne and immunological disorders, he was Assistant Director of the NYU Brain Injury Day Treatment Program. Apart from his academic and clinical responsibilities at NYU Langone Medical Center, Dr. Shea is also President of Neuropsychological Evaluation and Treatment Services, P.C. with offices in New York City and Quincy, Massachusetts. His practice focuses on tick-borne diseases, traumatic brain injury, chronic illness, trauma and disaster management and provides cognitive remediation and psychotherapy to individuals and families. Dr. Shea is presently the Chairman Emeritus of the National Research Fund for Tick-borne Diseases, Inc. which funds scientific research at major medical and academic institutions. He also serves on the Scientific and Community Advisory Board for the study of Lyme disease at Stanford University Medical Center, on the Medical Advisory Board of Turn the Corner Foundation and on the Board of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS). In the past five years, he has been instrumental in raising more than $2 million to fund research of tick-borne illnesses. Sheila M. Statlender, Ph.D Clinical Psychologist
Sheila M. Statlender, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Newton Centre and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Statlender provides supportive counseling and assistance with healthcare advocacy to a number of Lyme disease patients and their families. She was one of five mental health practitioners to present a workshop on ``Psychosocial Issues in Lyme Disease'' at the 2008 ILADS Ninth Annual Scientific Session in San Francisco, CA., and is scheduled to present a similar workshop at the upcoming ILADS conference this Fall. Dr. Statlender has facilitated discussions after several screenings of ``Under Our Skin,'' and has presented to a number of professional and lay audiences on the impact of Lyme disease, including academic progress. Dr. Statlender's commitment to this arena derives from difficult personal experience: all three of her children became seriously ill with tick-borne disease, yet it took years to obtain a correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment for them. Her family's story is one of those included in ``Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic,'' written by Pamela Weintraub. Lyme Disease Patients Biography Allison Nevitt Lyme Disease Patient
The free educational event that is being organized after the movie, is to honor Allison, our friend who has been struggling to get healthy from Lyme Disease for many years. Allison's friends have donated their time and money to help put on this free event.
Allison realized something was wrong in 2005. She went from being a high-energy, compulsively organized mother and entrpreneur with a mind like a steel trap, to profound exhaustion, inability to remember things, getting lost going to work, waking up without sight and struggling to walk. It took 2 years to get a diagnosis. By that time she had Advanced Neurological Lyme Disease and was having seizures every day. Two years later, she still struggles to receive care, as insurance won't cover treatment for her Lyme-related complications of Dysautonomia and Chronic Inflammatory Demylineating Polyradiculoneuropathy.
Unable to work and relying on family and friends for the ordinary tasks of life, she lost her business. She feels lucky. She has supportive family and friends. Upon meeting other Lyme sufferers who don't she decided to stop feeling powerless and to fight. She began studying the history of Lyme Disease in the United States and learned how it is a perfect storm of all the flaws in our medical system. Public health matters are privatized to prioritize profits over patients. To address the travesty that is happening to Lyme patients, she had to become politically active. She began an awareness campaign on the 200,000+ member political site DailyKos and started writing in other venues on the internet. She is doing all that she can to raise awareness and get legislation passed to protect doctors and fund better research for understanding how to treat the disease and support patients.
Elise Brady Lyme Disease Patient
Elise is featured in the movie, Under Our Skin. She will be attending our free event at Northeastern University's Curry Center Ballroom on August 9, 2009 at 5:30.
After several miscarriages caused by the congenital transmission of Lyme disease, Elise gets pregnant again and gives birth. A mother and school administrator in Connecticut, she fears for her baby's life and health. Her Lyme literate physician wonders how many mothers unknowingly pass Lyme to their children through the womb, unaware that they themselves are infected or that Lyme can be passed from mother to child. Lyme Disease Advocates Biography Donna Castle Parent of Daughter with Lyme Disease
Donna has organized many screenings of Under Our Skin, is an advocate for North Central Massaschusetts and is also active in legislation to protect doctors.
Donna Castle is a Lyme advocate, support group leader (Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, MA) and mother. In the summer of 2005, she had received a phone call from a neurologist who diagnosed her then 25 year old daughter with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Fortunately, a close friend referred her to another neurologist in her area who re-diagnosed her with chronic Lyme disease mimicking ALS and began to treat her. Her daughter has been making gradual but steady progress ever since. After this experience, it became Donna's mission to prevent this from happening to anyone else.
If you or a loved one has ever been been bitten by a tick or suspect you have Lyme Disease, learn what you can do to help to pass legislation that protect doctors and funds research to find better testing and treatment modalities for this devastating disease.