“All the news that’s fit to print”? Then why isn’t there constant press coverage in the NYT and every other news outlet about Lyme and other horrific diseases carried by ticks? Where’s the reporting about the lack of proper diagnosis and treatment and the latest research results?

We’ve asked this question thousands of times. We have plenty of topics: Raising awareness. Emerging science. Suffering patients. Impacts on families, businesses, the economy.

Just recently I heard yet another story that should be told, about a group of boys in my area who found a way to connect with each other. These young kids have been housebound, some for years.

They’ve missed going to school, making friends, playing sports. Not to mention how they’ve suffered with the many cruel symptoms of this disease.

They’ve discovered that online gaming is a way to break the isolation and connect with others who understand what the most of the world fails to see. The fact is, they are living with an invisible disease when they should never have gotten this sick in the first place.  Now they live isolated, with an invisible and limited social life.

The organizers of the rally and vigil this week (September 15,16, and 1) at the offices of The New York Times in New York City say the paper is emblematic for all newspapers. It will surely draw the kind of attention we need to move toward public awareness. Toward individuals and families receiving information about treatment options that could save them untold agony and grief. Toward research money to help answer questions for which there are no answers today.

We simply need journalists everywhere to take the five questions every cub reporter learns and aim them at Lyme: Who? What? When? Where? Why? As we know, once they truly start to understand the realities of this illness, they will be so shocked they won’t be able to stop digging for answers.

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Tagged: lyme, lyme disease, lyme protest, lyme rally, new york city, New York Times, september