#42: Lyme Ninja – Alison Marchese Perch - Lymie Moms Unite

Alison Perch was very young when she contracted Lyme. As a child she started suffering from migraines and by the time she was in 7th grade her neurological symptoms forced her out of school. For years she had a laundry list of physical and neurological symptoms that kept getting worse throughout her teens and into her 20s. She was 27 when she was finally diagnosed with Lyme Disease. And spent years after that getting treatment, getting married, herxing, relapsing, and getting better again. After she had gotten married she wanted to start a family, but was worried about transmitting the disease to her child. A family member volunteered to be a surrogate, and she was able to have a baby girl. However her Lyme literate doctor wanted to test her child just in case, and 14 days after she was born, her daughter tested positive for Lyme. The news that her daughter had tested positive for lyme, the memory of what her mother had been through supporting her, and her experience with more general Lyme support groups inspired her to create a Lymiemom social media group, which can be found on Facebook and twitter. She wanted to help provide support for mothers with Lyme disease, mothers of children with lyme disease, and people in treatment who want to start a family. On Mother’s Day she was interviewed about Lyme Disease on a local fox news channel near Philadelphia, and continually works to raise awareness and provide support for people with Lyme disease.