"My name is Julia; you can track my story at @key.lyme.die - I’m 22, from Portland, OR. When I was 9, I was bitten by a tick and fell ill with a slew of symptoms that over twenty doctors and specialists blamed on anxiety, thought I was faking, or didn’t understand. Ten difficult years later, I learned that the tick had transmitted not only Lyme disease to me, but also the co-infections Babesia and Bartonella, undiagnosed long enough to reproduce and become chronic, inflaming my brain, weakening my immune system, and causing innumerable symptoms that made life unbearable. I’m currently undergoing rigorous, long-term treatment, overseen by caring and knowledgeable doctors. It will be a long and painful journey to possible recovery, but having the advantages of belief, support, medical care, and proof that I am not “crazy” literally saved my life. Lyme is not always an “easily treatable infection”. This false information has been dangerously spread to media sources by doctors around the country in order to silence us. But we will not be silenced, for there are many of us; far many more who do not know now, but will join us to fight in the end. I wear the white A.W.A.R.E necklace for invisible illness and mental health, to raise awareness for both, create a space of visibility for those who do not feel seen and “don’t look sick”. The people you know to be the most full of light may be the ones in the most pain. We are strong because we have to be, and we want you to know we’re here. From awareness comes knowledge, and from knowledge comes change, and change is how we survive." @key.lyme.die