Tick Boot Camp

Debbie Nichols and Candice Matthis are the charismatic co-founders of TwoAlphaGals, an Alpha-Gal Syndrome (AGS) health and wellness community. Ms. Nichols’ Alpha-Gal journey began when she realized that red meat consistently made her stomach hurt. Ms. Matthis’ journey began with GI issues that presented shortly after she discovered a tick attached to her toe. Their paths crossed and their relationship was born out of a realization that they shared similar dietary restrictions when meeting at a social gathering. As the relationship grew, they realized they were travelling on parallel medical journeys later resulting in a joint diagnosis of Alpha-Gal Syndrome. Together, they developed a support system that allowed them to improve their own lives, the lives of their families and the lives of people in the tick-borne disease community. If you would like to learn more about how the bond between two women from Virginia manifested into an advocacy, health, and wellness community, then tune in now!

Katie DePaola is an entrepreneur, author and the creative force behind a globally recognized education and training program. She is the founder of Inner Glow Circle, a company dedicated to training and certifying woman as life coaches. Ms. DePaola’s Lyme disease experience began with a tick bite suffered the summer before she moved to Nashville, Tennessee to attend the elite Vanderbilt University. For the 9 years following her tick bite, the formerly energetic young woman suffered declining health with symptoms that included extreme fatigue, constant pain, mood swings and paralysis to her hands, feet, and face. Despite consulting and treating with over 30 health care practitioners, her mysterious illness went undiagnosed until she visited the famous LLMD Dr. Joseph Jemsek, MD. Between 2014 and 2017, she treated with several well-known Lyme disease specialists where she learned how to rebuild her health and, in the process, discovered her life’s purpose! Ms. DePaola’s spiritual journey laid the foundation for her to build and run a successful business and in 2020 to publish the acclaimed book “At Least You Look Good: Learning How to GLOW Through What You Go Through.” If you would like to learn how a young entrepreneur discovered her Greatest Level of Want (GLOW); i.e., want for herself, for others and for the world, then tune in now!

Dr. Leo Shea is a neuropsychologist, Lyme disease pioneer and polymath with offices in Boston and New York. Dr. Shea began his professional career as a successful international business consultant where he developed a passion for identifying and developing human resources. Provoked by his passion, he returned to academia to earn dual PhDs in psychology. In 1995, while serving as the Assistant Director of the NYU Brain Injury Day Treatment Center, he began to treat patients with Lyme disease who were exhibiting classic brain injury symptoms. Today, Dr. Shea is the President of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Educational Foundation (ILADEF), the Immediate Past President of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), staff psychologist and Clinical Associate Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at the Rusk Institute, NYU Langone Medical Center, and Principal of Neuropsychological Evaluation and Treatment Services (NETS). If you would like to learn more about how a Lyme disease pioneer is constructing customized psychological care for patients with neurological disorders, traumatic brain injuries, Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, then tune in now!

Jenn Hyla is a 39-year-old author, field biologist, and health coach mentoring Lyme disease recovery and veterans of the US military. In the fall of 2011, after suffering numerous “bug bites” during basic training for the US Air Force, she fell ill with knee swelling, fever, swollen glands, aches, and fatigue. Military doctors prescribed Ibuprofen and 24 hours of bed rest. Over the following 4 years, her health steadily declined. She was misdiagnosed with arthritis and giardia until her primary care physician tested her for Lyme disease. The diagnostic delays and failures from the medical industry gave rise to the belief that healing from Lyme disease would require Ms. Hyla to take radical responsibility for her health through citizen science. Utilizing a diverse range of healing tools, she recovered 90% of her pre “bug bite” health, developed a business to mentor Lyme recovery and authored “The Lyme Ease Survival Guidebook.” She has also developed a free Lyme Ease Herx Guidebook to help those with Lyme disease get through treatment reactions and symptoms. If you would like to learn more about how Lyme disease transformed a field biologist to a published author and Lyme recovery coach, the tune in now!

Malorie Green is an entrepreneurial beauty industry professional from Long Island, New York residing in south Florida. Ms. Greens’ chronic illness developed after undergoing a dental procedure. Her symptoms included fatigue, neck pain, joint pain and ironically hair loss. Ms. Greene’s hair loss symptom was particularly stressful because she believed her changed appearance would cause her customers to lose faith in her ability to meet their needs. Her mind told her that if she did not make a healthy appearance, she could not help her customers look good and feel good. After suffering for several years without a diagnosis, at the age of 26 she was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease. During her healing journey, Ms. Greene learned that she needed to feel good emotionally to fertilize an environment for healing, triggering an entrepreneurial epiphany. If you would like to learn more about how a beauty industry professional discovered the importance of scaling healing from the outside-in, then tune in now.

Erin Reeves is a 27-year-old veteran of the Air Force reserves originally from Plymouth, Massachusetts. She is a medical technician, a published model, and a student. During her time in the military, she served as an Aerospace Medical Technician and after discharge she worked in a diverse set of medical environments. Ms. Reeves began to suffer from the symptoms of Lyme disease at the age of 12. The time between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis was 13 years, during which time she was treated by scores of doctors including a number of military doctors during her 6 years of military service. Ironically, Ms. Reeves was diagnosed when she was scanned with a diagnostic tool during a training. A colleague scanned her arm and discovered evidence of a Lyme co-infection that was later confirmed by her treating physician. Finally locating a diagnosis liberated Ms. Reeves from terrible anxiety and provided hope she would locate a plan to end her suffering. If you would like to learn more about how a veteran of the American armed forces is winning the war with Lyme disease, then tune in now!

Emily Levy is the 27-year-old visionary female entrepreneur and co-founder of Mighty Well. Mighty Well is a medical wearables company that grew from a vascular access equipment company (PICCPerfect) to a community that has defined the Adaptive Fashion industry. Ms. Levy’s journey to CEO of a venture capital backed category king began when she was bitten by a tick at the age of 6. For the following 6 years, untreated Lyme disease presented as chronic illness without a diagnosis until the end of Ms. Levy’s first year of college. The many trials faced by Ms. Levy and her 2 best friends and caregivers during their collective college experiences became the inspiration for the three to start a movement “to change the perception of patients from victims to fighters.” If you would like to learn more about how functional and stylish apparel, accessories and medical wearables were manifested by Lyme disease and the love that developed between 3 college classmates, then tune in now!

Jennifer Hoffmann is a 36-year-old multi-talented artist from New Rochelle, New York. She is a touring opera singer, board member of Generation Lyme and a project manager at Project Lyme. Ms. Hoffmann recalls having suffered multiple tick bites during her childhood, and she was recently reinfected after a tick bite in 2020 from visiting New York City’s Central Park. Since the age of 7, she has suffered classic but undiagnosed Lyme disease symptoms that interfered with her artistic, educational, and social activities. Prior to receiving a Lyme diagnosis from an enlightened allergist, she received “double digit” diagnosis and treatments that “never yielded positive results.” Since testing positive for Lyme, she has utilized a diverse set of treatment tools including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, herbs, ozone and IVIG. If you would like to learn more about how an artist is using her creative spirit to heal herself and others from the suffering caused by Lyme disease, the tune in now!

Ava Passarelli is a 15-year-old young woman from Chicago, Illinois. Ava lives with her dynamic mother Liza Blas, her father, and her younger brother. Prior to attending high school, Ava attending a sleep away camp in Minnesota where she suffered multiple tick bites over two summer seasons. The summer camp officials did not notify Ava’s parents of the tick bites, nor did they provide Ava with prophylactic medical treatment. Ava’s parents discovered that Ava was bitten by a tick after they received a letter from their daughter 10 days after one tick bite incident. Shortly after returning home from her summer camping experience, Ava began to suffer various neurological Lyme disease symptoms that were diagnosed by health care providers as anxiety, depression, OCD, eating disorders and Tourette syndrome. Eventually, a Chinese medicine doctor offered to test Ava for Lyme disease using an IGeneX test kit that returned positive results for Lyme disease. Ava’s mother Liza built a multi-level healing framework for her daughter by locating and hiring many of the most highly regarded treatment professionals in the world; including in-patient treatment at Sanoviv Medical Institute in Mexico, Michelle McKeon (Tick Boot Camp Podcast episode 141) of Lyme and Cancer Services in New York and the renowned Lyme Literate Integrative Medical Doctor, Doctor Casey Kelley (Tick Boot Camp Podcast episode 98), MD, of Case Integrative Health. If you would like to learn more about how Ava Passarelli and her mother Liza Blas are working together to power through Lyme disease, then tune in now!

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 debilitating symptoms including headaches, nightmares, severe fatigue and joint stiffness. Because his symptoms continued to spike, he accepted the advice of a family member and returned home to Pennsylvania to visit a Lyme literate doctor who diagnosed him with Lyme disease. Mr. Elbel spent 3 years treating with antibiotics, vitamins, dietary restrictions and the Canadian SOTA protocol. Mr. Elbel has returned to full-time work and enjoys a social life with restrictions. If you would like to learn more about how a financial professional utilized the power of the mind and the power of his relationship with God to heal from Lyme disease, then tune in now!