LYME MEDIA CAMPAIGN

The Lyme community is launching a photo campaign campaign to get more media attention for Lyme. We are asking for your photos.

We will post the photos on flickr, develop the photos and send prints to 4 major news outlets.

What we’re asking you to do:

Take a photo of yourself holding a sign
(Photo examples: http://www.flickr.com/groups/lyme300000)
Email your photo to: lyme300000@yahoo.com

SIGN INSTRUCTIONS:

Print out one of our signs & fill it in

OR Make a LEGIBLE sign of your own by writing:
- “I am one of the 300,000 plus annual Lyme patients being ignored by the CDC and HMOs”
- ” I live in (state or province or country) “
- “I’ve had Lyme for _____ years” OR “It took _______ years to get diagnosed”

KEEP SIGNS SIMPLE. LOTS OF WORDS ARE HARD TO READ.

PHOTO INSTRUCTIONS

We are making a serious statement so the photo composition and your expression should reflect your true feelings about being ignored by the CDC and how Lyme has impacted your life.

Please hold the sign close to the camera so it can be read easily.

Please show:

If you have an IV
If you’re bedbound
If you use a wheelchair

NOTE: You can either cover part or all of you face if you don’t want to be seen. Please Email your photo to: lyme300000@yahoo.com

Campaign Closed

SPREAD THE WORD!
Post on FACEBOOK.

More information: https://lyme300000.wordpress.com/
Questions: nationallymeheadquarters@gmail.com

NOTE TO VIEWERS: It is usually difficult if not impossible for others to perceive just how painful it can be to live with a severe chronic illness whether it be cancer, diabetes, or Lyme disease. People struggling with Lyme can be extremely debilitated but look completely “normal.” It’s always a challenge to try and convey one’s experience of illness through a photograph. In an article in Psychology Today entitled, “Turning Straw Into Gold,” Toni Bernhard explains the dilemma that people with an invisible illness often face when presenting themselves publicly. Viewers of the “We are the 300,000” photo campaign should keep this dilemma in mind when viewing the photographs:

www.psychologytoday.com/blog/turning-straw-gold/201109/th…

The dilemma of how to “present” to the world. Should we spruce ourselves up and risk people erroneously thinking we can participate fully in whatever they’re doing? This is particularly a dilemma during the holidays and at family gatherings. People suffering from chronic pain or illness will take great care to look their best for everyone, only to be criticized for not pitching in more with the cooking and clean-up. The alternative is to stay in our sweats which can lead to feelings of guilt that we’re letting ourselves go and not doing enough to lift our spirits.

We’re often misjudged by others if they see us looking nice or being active in any way. Healthy people tend to assume it’s all or nothing: we’re either sick or we’re not; we’re either in pain or we’re not. And so, if they see us doing anything “normal,” they assume we’re 100% well. This has happened to me many times. Someone will see me at an espresso place with a friend and assume I’ve recovered, unaware that I came from the bed and will collapse on it after the visit. People aren’t deliberately being insensitive. They just don’t know.