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Tick Boot Camp

@tickbootcamp

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The purpose of Tick Boot Camp is to help you liberate yourself and others from suffering caused by Lyme disease.

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His sister’s Lyme disease journey changed the course of his life. Now, Dr. James Bruzzese is opening a New York City medical practice dedicated to helping people with Lyme and tick-borne diseases.

Long before becoming a physician, @bruzzesemedical watched his younger sister @juliabruzz become severely ill, lose the ability to walk, and struggle to find doctors who understood what was happening. Julia later received international attention when Pope Francis stopped to bless her at JFK Airport, and her journey was featured in the Lyme disease documentary The Quiet Epidemic.

James stood beside his sister through appointments, hospital visits, complicated treatment protocols, and the painful experience of not being heard. What his family endured ultimately shaped the physician he became and inspired his commitment to helping other patients avoid the same experience.

In our new podcast episode, Dr. Bruzzese discusses the gaps in medical education surrounding Lyme disease, why complex patients may feel dismissed or gaslit, the importance of individualized care, and how his background in internal medicine, anesthesiology, and pain medicine can bring a different perspective to Lyme treatment.

He also shares his vision for Bruzzese Medical, including compassionate care, better communication, symptom and pain management, and a team-based approach to treating Lyme disease, co-infections, and complex chronic illness.

The full podcast is OUT TODAY! Listen at TickBootCamp.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast platform.

What is the most important quality or service you want to see from the next generation of Lyme doctors? Share your thoughts in the comments. by @tickbootcamp

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a day ago

🎟️ Tick Boot Camp & Global Lyme Alliance are teaming up to give away 2 FREE tickets to a NYC Lyme community event at Hard Rock Cafe Times Square!

Join us for The Night Before the Gala — GLA First Round on Sunday, October 4.

Our friend Christina Kovacs (@christina_kovs), who recently became Chair of the @globallymealliance Junior Board, has been helping organize this more relaxed pre-Gala gathering as one of her first initiatives in the role — creating another opportunity for the Lyme community to connect, spend time together, and enjoy an evening with people who understand this journey.

📍 Hard Rock Cafe Times Square
1501 Broadway, New York, NY
📅 Sunday, October 4
⏰ 5:30–7:30 PM EDT
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 All ages welcome

The tickets include admission, light bites, and a welcome toast, while supporting GLA’s continued work in Lyme and tick-borne disease research, awareness, and patient support.

To enter: DM @TickBootCamp and tell us you want the 2 NYC Lyme event tickets.

We especially love the idea of these tickets helping someone attend who might otherwise miss out because of the cost. Lyme disease can be isolating, and opportunities to connect in person with others in the community can mean a lot.

We’re excited to support GLA, celebrate Christina in her new role, and hopefully see some of you at the Hard Rock. 💚

Message @TickBootCamp to enter for both tickets.

🎟️ Who would be your +1? Tag them below. by @tickbootcamp

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4 days ago

What if Lyme autoimmunity happened in real life? 😅

Drinks? Gone.
Food? Smacked out of your hands.
Head? Bonked.
Already injured leg? Somehow THAT gets hit too. 😂

That’s the joke behind this one.

Autoimmunity can involve the immune system becoming misdirected and reacting against the body’s own tissues. In Lyme disease, researchers continue to study how immune dysregulation and autoimmune mechanisms play a role in ongoing symptoms for some patients.

Basically: the system that’s supposed to protect you starts swinging at the wrong targets.

Anyone with Lyme ever feel like their body is causing chaos while you’re just trying to heal? 👇

Learn more at TickBootCamp.com by @tickbootcamp

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7 days ago

We’ve interviewed hundreds of Lyme disease experts. We still heard treatment discussions in this episode we had never explored before.

And one involves a newer approach being used by some clinicians treating Lyme and complex chronic illness: TruDOSE Platelet IV Therapy.

Dr. Raphael “Tito” Balbino is a physician in Jacksonville, Florida, treating Lyme disease and other complex chronic illnesses. He’s also been a longtime listener of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, which made finally getting him behind the microphone especially meaningful.

In this episode, we explore his journey from conventional Family Medicine and Geriatrics into functional and integrative medicine—including the deeply personal role his wife’s chronic illness played in changing how he approaches patients.

Then we get into the treatments.

Dr. Balbino discusses TruDOSE Platelet IV Therapy, SOT/Q-REstrain, Frequency Specific Microcurrent (FSM), antibiotics, herbal protocols, nervous system regulation, gut health, inflammation, regenerative medicine, and more.

Some of these were treatment conversations we had never explored this deeply on Tick Boot Camp before—which is exactly why Dr. Balbino says there were several “firsts” during this interview.

But underneath all of it is an important message for people living with Lyme and complex chronic illness: keep asking questions, keep learning, and don’t lose hope that healing and improvement may be possible.

Thank you, Dr. Balbino, for being a longtime listener—and now becoming part of the Tick Boot Camp community as a guest. 💚

🎧 The episode is LIVE today! Listen at TickBootCamp.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.

What treatment or topic would you like us to explore more deeply in a future episode? by @tickbootcamp

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8 days ago

More than 250,000 people learned about Music for Action through the Tick Boot Camp platform alone before the doors even opened — then thousands gathered in Central Park for a night of Lyme awareness, education, and music. 💚

On September 22, @summerstage hosted Music for Action, where Lyme and tick-borne disease education was woven throughout the entire event.

Lyme organizations and advocates shared tick prevention information, resources, and education with concertgoers throughout the venue.

During the show, LymeLnk founder @evaascar delivered a beautiful Lyme awareness message from the stage, bringing the patient experience, prevention, and the need for greater recognition directly to thousands of people.

That’s what made the night so powerful: Lyme education reached people who may never have attended a Lyme event or searched for Lyme information on their own — while they were enjoying @youngthegiant, @stlucia, friends, and one of New York City’s most iconic venues.

Lyme organizations, partners, advocates, and community members worked together to bring the Lyme conversation far beyond the traditional advocacy community.

The Lyme community showed up in force, including @lymelnk, @globallymealliance, @projectlyme, @thequietepidemic, @bayarealymefoundation, @lymelightfoundation, @lymelesshealth, @tick.mitt, Katie Tessier, @lindsaykeys, @boots919, @jenk68, Kat Silver, Lindsey Smith, @thedanaparish, @olivia_bleiweiss, @bruzzesemedical, @juliabruzz, @carter.bradsky, @monicaaene, @jasminthepoeta, @carolann.marie.love, @rikakeck, @botanicalbunny, and many more.

Patients. Researchers. Doctors. Filmmakers. Nonprofits. Innovators. Advocates.

All together, helping more people understand ticks, Lyme disease, prevention, and the reality patients face.

Music for Action showed what Lyme awareness can look like when education, community, advocacy, and fun all come together.

Full recap + photos at TickBootCamp.com/concert 💚 by @tickbootcamp

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10 days ago

Music for Action is putting Lyme & tick-borne disease on @SummerStage for 5,000 people in #CentralPark and as many of you as we can reach online.

Tuesday, Sept. 22. @youngthegiant & @stlucia. Free show, tick-borne disease awareness, and outdoor safety tips.

RSVP Music4Action.org + enter to win VIP

Livestream youtube.com/@nycsummerstage

Hosted by @CPFNYC & @LymeLnk, generously supported by @cohengive @globallymealliance, @bayarealymefoundation, @lymelightfoundation, @projectlyme, and @thequietepidemic by @tickbootcamp

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14 days ago

Could Lyme disease and Alzheimer’s disease be connected in ways we’re only beginning to understand? 🧠

Dr. Richard Horowitz is back on the Tick Boot Camp Podcast to discuss fascinating new research at the intersection of Lyme disease, brain health, inflammation, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Horowitz recently published a case report in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Reports documenting a patient with Lyme disease whose p-tau217 — an important Alzheimer’s-associated biomarker — dropped approximately 63% and returned to the normal range following a nine-week dapsone combination protocol.

In this conversation, Dr. Horowitz takes Matt and Rich deep into what that finding could mean and why he believes we need to look more closely at the potential role of infections and chronic inflammation in neurodegenerative disease.

We discuss Lyme disease and Alzheimer’s, p-tau217, amyloid and tau, neuroinflammation, dapsone combination therapy, the NLRP3 inflammasome, Lyme testing, and how his 16-point MSIDS model may offer a broader way of thinking about the many factors that can affect brain health.

Dr. Horowitz also shares his vision for bringing physicians and researchers together to collect standardized data, track biomarkers, and investigate these questions on a much larger scale.

This is exactly the kind of research conversation we want to amplify: asking new questions, following the data, and exploring what we may still have to learn about Lyme disease and the brain. 💚

🎧 The NEW episode with Dr. Richard Horowitz is OUT NOW!

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, your favorite podcast platform, or visit TickBootCamp.com.

If this research gives you hope or makes you think differently about Lyme disease and brain health, please LIKE and SHARE this episode so more people in our community see it. 💚 by @tickbootcamp

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15 days ago

What can the Lyme community accomplish in just 20 minutes? 💚

Approximately $120,000 raised — during the live auction alone.

Hundreds of patients, researchers, physicians, advocates, nonprofit leaders, families, and friends came together at Gotham Hall in New York City to celebrate Project Lyme’s 10th Anniversary Gala — and the impact this community can have when we work together.

One of the most powerful moments of the night came during the live auction, when the room rallied together to raise approximately $120,000 in just 20 minutes.

And that was just the auction — separate from the incredible support provided by the event’s sponsors, attendees, donors, and others who helped make the evening possible.

The room was filled with people advancing Lyme disease research, working to improve testing and treatment, expanding access to care, supporting patients and families, preventing tick bites, raising awareness, and fighting for a better future for everyone impacted by Lyme and tick-borne disease.

That is the power of community. 💚

There is still so much work ahead: better diagnostics, more research, greater physician education, improved access to care, more awareness, and more answers for patients.

But this night was a reminder of what is possible when we come together.

💚 Help carry that momentum beyond this room.

🔄 Share this post to help spread Lyme disease awareness.

💬 And tell us in the comments: What is the ONE thing you most want to see change for the Lyme disease community over the next 10 years?

📸 See more photos, meet some of the people helping move the Lyme community forward, and read the full story from the evening: TickBootCamp.com/gala by @tickbootcamp

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19 days ago

🎙️ NEW EPISODE: Could bacteriophages already living inside your body become a tool against Lyme disease and other infections?

Dr. David Jernigan, inventor of Induced Native Phage Therapy (INPT), joins Tick Boot Camp to explain an approach that is very different from conventional phage therapy.

Instead of introducing outside phages, INPT is designed to influence native bacteriophages already present in the body. We dig into how this works, why he developed it, and its applications for Lyme and tick-borne illness.

We also get into biofilms, Bartonella, Babesia, MCAS, Herxheimer reactions, antibiotic resistance, and why treating the infection may be only part of recovering from chronic illness.

🎧 The full episode is available now on the Tick Boot Camp Podcast.

Learn more at TickBootCamp.com

💬 What role have antibiotics played in your Lyme journey—and do you think we need more ways to address persistent infections? by @tickbootcamp

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22 days ago

🎸 Lyme disease is about to take center stage in Central Park.

On September 22, Young the Giant and St. Lucia will perform a FREE concert at SummerStage in Central Park to raise awareness about Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.

Music for Action is bringing thousands of people together for an evening of live music with an important message: ticks are a growing public health threat, and knowing how to prevent tick bites and recognize the risks of tick-borne disease matters.

Ticks aren’t only a concern when you’re hiking deep in the woods. People can encounter them in parks, yards and other outdoor spaces, including in and around urban areas.

The event is presented by @LymeLnk & @CPFNYC, generously supported by the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation’s Cohen Lyme & Tickborne Disease Initiative and community sponsor @GlobalLymeAlliance, as well as @BayAreaLymeFoundation, @LymeLightFoundation, @ProjectLyme, and @TheQuietEpidemic

🎤 Young the Giant
🎶 St. Lucia
📅 Tuesday, September 22
🚪 Doors: 6 PM | Music: 7 PM
📍 SummerStage at Central Park, NYC
🎟️ FREE | All ages | First come, first served
✅ RSVP & Details: Music4Action.org

You can also RSVP for a chance to win VIP access. An RSVP is not required to attend and does not guarantee entry.

Seeing Lyme and tick-borne disease awareness reach thousands of people on a stage like this matters. Every person who learns about tick prevention, recognizes the risks of a tick bite, or gains a better understanding of tick-borne illness is another person who can help protect themselves, their family, and their community.

💚 We’re especially excited to see so many people and organizations from across the Lyme and tick-borne disease community coming together for this. Tick Boot Camp co-founders Matt Sabatello and Rich Johannesen will be there, along with many of our friends in the community, and we hope to see you there too!

💬 Tag someone who would love to see Lyme disease awareness getting a stage like this. What does it mean to you to see Lyme reaching a mainstream audience? taken in Central Park Summer Stage by @tickbootcamp

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a month ago

“The worst part of the worst season of the worst year for the tick threat is just getting started.” That alarming line appears in this weekend’s New York Times Magazine.

The cover is impossible to ignore: a massive tick and the words “THERE WILL BE BLOOD.”

The story comes just one week after Tick Boot Camp coordinated a tick-dragging study on Long Island with Researcher Monica Cipriani to document the ticks people are encountering right now.

And what we found was alarming.

In one 20-second drag on a residential property, we found FOUR lone star tick bombs. Each cluster can contain huge numbers of nearly microscopic larvae capable of getting onto a person or animal at once.

Researcher Monica Cipriani explained that late summer can bring especially large numbers of lone star larvae as egg masses hatch. The Times points to the same late-summer surge as newly hatched larvae emerge.

And tick encounters are surging. The Times reports CDC emergency-room visits for tick bites jumped 50% in April compared with last year. By August 18, visits had already surpassed every previous full August on record.

This isn’t just about Lyme disease or alpha-gal syndrome. Lone star and blacklegged ticks are associated with serious health threats, including ehrlichiosis, tularemia, babesiosis and other tick-borne infections.

We also collected the invasive Asian longhorned tick, another warning sign of a changing tick landscape.

Researcher Monica Cipriani educated us about the threat to livestock. Thousands can overwhelm one animal, taking so much blood that cattle can become severely anemic or die. They can also spread the parasite responsible for bovine theileriosis. Survivors can be left seriously ill, hurting animal health and farm productivity.

The New York Times is sounding the alarm nationally. The study we coordinated on Long Island showed what that threat looks like right here in our own backyards.

With ticks making national headlines, do you think Lyme and tick-borne diseases are finally getting the attention they deserve? Tell us in the comments.

See what we found and learn how to protect yourself with our Tick Bite Blueprint at TickBootCamp.com. by @tickbootcamp

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a month ago

She was bedbound for 2 years. Today, she’s celebrating 12 years symptom-free from Lyme disease. 💚

After going undiagnosed for more than 16 years, Hannah Green says severe late-stage Lyme nearly took her life.

Then her story changed.

Hannah found a path that helped her fully recover in just 11 months, and she has now remained healthy and symptom-free for 12 years.

In our newest Tick Boot Camp Podcast episode, Hannah shares her entire journey with Rich: years without answers, becoming her own researcher, what helped her recover, and the message she wants other Lyme warriors to hear.

There is hope. Healing is possible. 💚

🎧 Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcast, Spotify, all major podcast platforms, and on TickBootCamp.com

@hannahgreen_lyme_success_story by @tickbootcamp

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a month ago