Bartenderbonnie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 49177
posted
Good News About Dr. Jemsek! An Update, January 31, 2026 JAN 31, 2025
Today, it was brought to Dr. J’s attention that there were rumors spreading on the Internet about him—again. So he asked us, Zoe and Gene, his editorial team, to please send you all, who have shown concern, an encouraging note to set things straight.
Dr. Jemsek is alive and well. For the last few months, he’s been settling in his hometown in North Carolina after the closure of the Jemsek Specialty Clinic (JSC) in Washington, D.C.
Now that Dr. Jemsek is retired, as he says, he can tell it like it is. He wants to dedicate his retirement to continuing to focus on patient advocacy and advancing the public’s understanding of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.
For that purpose, Dr. Jemsek has been working with us, Zoe and Gene, for many months to create a newsletter, Choose Life Over Lyme!, where he will be sharing updates about his work in this new chapter, including the reasons for his sudden transition from practicing medicine—news that many of you, his patients and peers, have been waiting to hear for some time.
Dr. Jemsek appreciates your support and patience as he prepares to share his message. To receive Dr. Jemsek’s updates, please subscribe at: ChooseLifeOverLyme.com
Over the past couple of years,
we—Dr. J, Zoe, and Gene—have also been working together to lay out his life story. Dr. J decided to write his memoir as a way of paying homage to his patients who have suffered from chronic, “mysterious” conditions and their loved ones. He says, “Patients are curious, independent-minded, and highly motivated to learn and share their findings as they strive to reclaim their health.”
These are the people he most deeply respects and wishes to continue to support in his retirement.
In his forthcoming memoir, Dr. J wants to take us through the story of how, after 20 years doing HIV/AIDS medicine, he began taking care of patients coming to his clinic with chronic manifestations of Lyme disease.
As he saw how devilish this disease was, he decided to delve into the challenge.
For the next 25 years, under constant scrutiny from medical boards and the media and facing a stream of lawsuits, Dr. Jemsek continued to practice “common sense medicine”—that is, listening to patients, trusting the evidence of his clinical findings, and pioneering treatment paradigms along the way. For this, he became a godsend to patients and a pariah to “Medicine Inc.”
Over the time that we, Zoe and Gene, have been working with Dr. J on his memoir, we’ve gotten to know and love a man who, while he may seem to be tough on the surface, is in fact mischievous, deeply sensitive, and filled with devotion—to God; to his patients, who give him the inspiration to go on; to his father, a family doctor who set an example of integrity and love for the patient; to his family, whom he’s supported through wave after wave of personal challenges—all the while sustaining a practice that often came under attack, until the clinic’s very last day.
Dr. J would not like us to tell you how much warmth, love, and poetry is in his soul—but it’s true—and you’ll have a taste of that in his forthcoming writings.
In the spring of 2026, we’ll be posting more news about Dr. J’s upcoming memoir… Stand by!
Stay up-to-date!
In closing, we invite you to receive accurate and up-to-date information about Dr. Jemsek by following the official sources of information:
aklnwlf
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 5960
posted
Wonderful news! I'd love to read his story. Was a patient at his clinic in NC and was treated by a few NPs who were so kind and caring, SB in particular.
Also met many Lymenet folks at his Medical Board hearing.
I heard him play the piano (baby grand?) there in that office.
I'm so glad he and his family are OK.
-------------------- Do not take this as medical advice. This comment is based on opinion and personal experience only.
Alaska Lone Wolf Posts: 6918 | From Columbus, GA | Registered: Jul 2004
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