Partners Against Lyme (and Tick Associated Diseases) was founded to advocate for and protect the rights of patients suffering from tick-associated diseases. We are unique in that we are an inclusive umbrella entity for many of the related support and advocacy groups, both nationally and internationally. PAL unites and empowers these groups so that collectively (partner-to-partner) we can fight to remove the many roadblocks preventing better testing, more accurate diagnostics, and improved treatment options for such diseases.

Since first emerging as a public health issue nearly forty years ago, Lyme disease continues to be a controversial topic and a difficult illness to treat. The “establishment” experts in medicine, science, academia, government, health, and public policy remain intractably polarized with regard to almost every aspect of Lyme and tick associated diseases. Yet, we who have Lyme or tick associated diseases are the “true experts” in that we live day-to-day with their consequences, significantly diminishing our health and our quality of life. The disease compromises our relationships with our spouses, children, family, and friends. It jeopardizes our careers, places our employment at risk, and depletes our savings. We are the foot soldiers in the fight against these diseases and we truly understand their complexity. Yet, in most cases, our voices and cries for help fall on deaf ears.