5 On Stephen Hawking, Disability, and Capability: What Are Limitations?

A few months ago, I read an article in The Telegraph about a doctor in the UK who made a statement about how people who receive disability benefits should not because if Stephen Hawking could work, then pretty much everyone could work. The Telegraph quotes Dr. Peverley, who practices in Sunderland, England: “We are, as a profession, dedicated to making our patients as healthy as possible, and yet a proportion of punters are hell bent on trying to prove they’re really ill, and need us to confirm it."  “The fact is, nearly everyone is capable...

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10 Thoughts on "Canary In A Coal Mine" and "Under Our Skin"

It's been five years since the controversial award-winning film about chronic Lyme disease, Under Our Skin, was first released. When it was first released, Under Our Skin provided catharsis for me as a patient who developed chronic pain and chronic fatigue since that fateful day I received an infected tick bite and fell ill.  It was the first film - the only film, in fact - that I could point to, share, and say to others, "Look. Watch. I'm not the only one who is dealing with this problem". And share I did. I bought the DVD and...

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6 Meta: Post of Upcoming Post Topics

It's been a few weeks since my last post, and I would like to get back to blogging on a regular basis. How regular remains to be seen but certainly more than once every 6 months, which has been the largest gap between entries since I began this blog. I haven't blogged much this year for a variety of reasons. One reason is that there has been a lot going on in real life, so in my virtual life I took to tweeting more and writing at length less. Another is that I've been exhausted, and writing at length hasn't been coming as easily as it has...

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13 24 Hours Of Attachment Is An Estimate - Not a Safety Blanket

By now you may have heard the news that the CDC announced that there are over 300,000 estimated cases of Lyme disease in the United States each year. For many people, this estimate came as a shock, but it really shouldn't be - the CDC itself has stated in the past that reported cases are a fraction of actual case numbers - especially in highly endemic areas - and researchers have also stated a case count of 30,000 was an underestimate. Many Lyme disease patients and advocacy groups felt vindicated by the announcement, as it confirmed their position...

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9 Persistence and Politics In Chronic Lyme Disease Research

The story of the controversy over Lyme disease research and treatment guidelines seems so strange to me, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't gotten Lyme disease and ended up looking into it myself. I really thought when I first got bitten by a tick, got a rash, and got sick that it was going to be easy: take 2-3 weeks of antibiotics, get better, and go back to work. I had no idea at the time that one tick bite was going to change my life forever, and lead me down the path to learning about some controversy I previously knew nothing about....

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