Tick Boot Camp

This week Tick Boot Camp was joined by special guest co-host Alexandra Castellanos in an inspiring interview with author, public servant, and Lyme disease family advocate Jody Hudson. Ms. Hudson is the author of one of this year’s most highly acclaimed Lyme disease books: “My Promise to Alex - Through Pain Comes Purpose...”. After building the Alex Hudson Foundation and sharing her family’s journey at public forums, Ms. Hudson answered the divine call to write a book to serve as a permanent monument to her daughter’s triumphant life. Despite 10 years of medical trauma, caused by more than 40 doctors’ incorrect diagnosis, Alex taught by example that servicing others is the path to locating life’s joys. Today, Ms. Hudson utilizes diverse media to help families locate tools that bring forward faith and joy in a quest to overcome terminal illnesses. If you would like to learn more about how the Hudson family has converted loss into faith and purpose, then tune in now!

Emily Hogan is a nurse and health coach specializing in gut health from Seattle Washington. She is the founder of the “Stick to Your Gut” health coaching business. Ms. Hogan began her Lyme disease journey while she was studying nursing during her sophomore year of college. She was studying abroad when she began to suffer a lengthy flu-like illness that she decided to ignore despite her gut telling her otherwise. Shortly after she returned from her foreign studies, she became gravely ill with “extreme GI issues”. She was rushed to the hospital and when her tests “came back negative” she was introduced to the dark side of western medicine: gaslighting. After 3 years of misdiagnosis and treatments that served to exacerbate her illness, she pivoted away from the modern medical system she “full heartedly believed in” and visited a naturopathic doctor. There she tested positive for Lyme on an IGeneX blood test and began to heal by using antibiotics and natural modalities such as herbals, probiotics, acupuncture, and sauna treatments. After being failed by the medical system she “dedicated her whole heart and life to” that “left [her] with nothing when [she] needed it most,” she began to study health coaching. While continuing to “work at the bedside” as a western trained nurse, she believed she had to supplement her training “to support others who were going through life experiences” similar to her Lyme disease journey. After learning from personal experience that “our gut and nutrition are both the most vital components to our healing journey,” she built a successful health coaching business. If you would like to learn more about how a western educated nurse learned to coach people on how to remove gut triggers, adapt diets to nourish the gut, and create a plan for long term healing, then tune in now!

Kelley Flannagan is an attorney, model, celebrity spokesperson and reality tv personality from North Barrington, Illinois and Miami, Florida. She became a household name when she starred in the ABC reality series: The Bachelor. Ms. Flannagan grew up in a large mid-western family. She and her siblings enjoyed a variety of outdoor activities during their childhood. At the same time, her body was forced to cope with the ebb and flow of a variety of childhood illnesses. After graduation from High School, Ms. Flannagan attended the University of Alabama and then the Chicago-Kent College of Law. After earning her Juris Doctorate degree and passing the bar exam, she joined a prominent Chicago law firm. In 2020, Ms. Flannagan was invited to pivot from her law career to become a member of the Bachelor Nation reality series. During season 24, she was eliminated after seven stressful weeks on the show. Shortly after departure from the show, she began to suffer severe health complications. After visiting with an array of doctors, she began to fear she may be suffering from Lyme disease. Sadly, several of her siblings were diagnosed with Lyme disease and she followed in her brother’s footsteps and tested for Lyme disease with IGeneX. When her lab work revealed positive results for Lyme and several co-infections, Ms. Flannagan felt called to share her diagnosis on her social and mainstream media platforms to build Lyme disease awareness. If you would like to learn more about how a lawyer and reality tv star is using her celebrity status to generate attention to the Lyme disease crisis, then tune in now!

“The Cellular Wellness Solution - Tap Into Your Full Health Potential with the Science-Backed Power of Herbs” is the newly released bestselling book by the brilliant Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD) Bill Rawls. During Lyme Disease Awareness Month (May 2022), Tick Boot Camp challenged Dr. Rawls to “unofficially launch” his then unpublished book, live and unscripted. Dr. Rawls took up the gauntlet and this podcast is the audio of the Instagram Live broadcast. If you would like to learn more about why herbs are a vital element of every Lyme disease patient’s toolbox, then tune in now! Note: The Cellular Wellness Solution is now available as the #1 New Release on Amazon. If you order the book today and then visit CellularWellness.com, Dr. Rawls will provide you with bonus extras including the Cellular Wellness Workbook.

Dr Jessica Peatross is medical doctor and board-certified hospitalist. She is the founder of the Wellness Plus by Dr Jess platform and the highly acclaimed Lyme disease medical infotainer. Dr Jess was raised in rural West Virginia by a preacher-missionary father and dietitian mother. Her sheltered religious upbringing and a broken back suffered in an auto accident informed her decision to prepare to serve by attending medical school. While attending medical school, she developed a passion for internal medicine and after completing her residency she chose to work as a hospitalist. Unfortunately, her time as an in-hospital “first responder” negatively affecting her health because she was constantly in “fight or flight”. Dr Jess left her job as a board-certified hospitalist to focus her practice on root cause answers for her patients. When she understood that “disease is not one thing but a combination of toxicity and pathogens,” she built a platform to entertain while teaching complex medical topics. Today, Dr Jess is serving the community on both free and subscription platforms. She offers unparalleled free content on her social media and in-depth video courses and community through her subscription Wellness Plus platform. If you would like to learn more about how Dr Jess’ post traumatic growth allowed her to transform medicine and the treatment of Lyme disease, then tune in now!

Nicoleta Forbes is a married 36-year-old realtor from St Petersburg, Florida. She and her husband co-manage their family, a successful real estate business, and Lyme disease. In 2016, the couple were both physically unwell and Mr. Forbes was diagnosed with Lyme disease. His debilitating symptoms became life threatening, forcing the family to close their business, sell their house, and focus full time on healing. While supporting her husband’s healing, Ms. Forbes felt like “she understood her husband’s symptoms so well and could truly understand what he was going through”. In 2018, she discovered her sympathy was in fact empathy because she tested positive for a cocktail of tick diseases including Lyme, Bartonella, Babesia, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Her diagnosis helped her to understand why her life was bookmarked with “seasons of feeling good and then not”. Fortunately, “the trial and error with [her] husband” allowed her to shorten her treatment journey and work with a health care provider she trusted. Ms. Forbes treated with antibiotics, herbals, lymphatic drainage massages, a rife machine, ozone therapy, cryotherapy, and glutathione through a nebulizer. She modeled her husband’s treatment path except he utilized additional SOT and Lyme N therapies. Today, the couple have returned to work and have rebuilt their real estate business after learning how to turn their treatment into a lifestyle. If you would like to learn more about how a real estate professional performed her “due diligence” and paid the customary “commissions” in order to go to “closing” on Lyme disease, then tune in now!

Dr. Casey Kelley is a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor and the founder and Medical Director of Case Integrative Health. Tick Boot Camp has featured Dr. Kelley’s work online and on episodes 98 and 170 of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast. For the past two years, podcast co-hosts Matt Sabatello and Rich Johannesen challenged Dr. Kelley to honor Lyme Disease Awareness Month by answering your questions in real time on Instagram Live. This podcast is the audio of the 2022 Instagram Live broadcast. If you would like to learn more about how Dr. Casey Kelley demonstrated that she “really knows the ropes” and gave Matt and Rich “the ole one-two”, then tune in now!

Hilary Jane is a 32-year-old multidisciplinary artist, entrepreneur, and internationally recognized tattoo artist from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her Lyme disease symptoms began when she was in her early 20s. She suffered a “gigantic bullseye rash on [her] thigh that kept spreading.” The rash got infected, triggering her to seek treatment from a medical doctor that “didn’t catch on to what it really was.” She believed the rash was from “a spider bite or maybe Lyme,” but her speculation was not supported by her doctors. For the next 10 years her artistic endeavors progressed, and her career offered her the opportunity to travel the world. Her extreme travel, social, and work schedules suppressed her immune system causing her to develop progressively debilitating symptoms, eventually resulting in total burnout. Seeking solutions to her health crisis, she turned to a naturopathic doctor. The naturopath diagnosed her with Lyme disease and treated her with “supplements, detoxing, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and infrared sauna.” The game changing treatment for Hillary Jane was the discovery and use of ancient Egyptian healing rods. If you would like to know more about how an internationally renowned artist used an ancient treatment to make significant health gains, then tune in now!

Lauren Lovejoy is the charismatic entrepreneurial founder of the Lyme service organization Lyme Warrior. She grew up and lives in rural Virginia. Ms. Lovejoy was living a life of a normal 20 something, working in a law office by day and attending graduate school studying Analytics at night. She filled her remaining time participating in social activities and training at a CrossFit gym. One weekend, when she took an 8-hour road trip, she suffered a panic attack, shaking, and an out of body experience. After returning to school, she began to suffer from disorientation and vision loss. Her symptoms continued to build to the point that she had to acknowledge she “could not continue her job or her education.” Her illness remained undiagnosed, despite visiting “piles of primary care doctors, every category of specialists (twice), and functional medicine” professionals. One renowned neurologist told her “there was nothing he or any doctor could do for [her]” and she had to accept her “life as being home bound.” Her diagnosis arrived as a gift from a nurse at a holistic clinic that rejected her as a patient. He told her “based on your symptoms, you sound like you have Lyme disease” and encouraged her to attend a specialized Lyme clinic. During her time studying Lyme disease, she discovered her story was not uncommon. She learned that the well documented disease was “still denied by [her] government, and most doctors.” This information inspired her to create the Lyme Warrior non-profit from her couch. If you would like to learn more about how Lyme Warrior Lauren Lovejoy discovered that it was her job to try to prevent her Lyme disease story “from happening to as many people as possible,” then tune in now!

Blakeley Boyd is a 20-year-old farm girl from Alabama who has a heart of gold and a passion for spreading the love of Jesus to those around her. She spent her growing up years with her eight siblings working her farm with her dad and being homeschooled by her mom. All growing up Blakeley often was there always offering a helping hand to those who need it. That good work ethic and passion for loving others running through her veins drove her to dream of doing mission work into her adult years. At a young age, Blakeley felt greatly called to spend her life being the hands and feet of Jesus. When Blakeley was 17 years old, she quite suddenly developed many unexpected symptoms that left her incapacitated and seemingly cemented to her couch for a time. She spent her first year of Lyme looking for a diagnosis, suffering greatly, and treating her Lyme and coinfections with antibiotics. With little results seen on that path, Blakeley and her mother went searching for answers for other alternative treatments that placed her feet on the path of healing. At this time, Lyme and coinfections seemed to rob Blakeley of her dreams and deprive her of her capability to do anything she had once done or ever desired to do. Blakeley also found that she lost many friendships and relationships due to her persistent suffering. And like many of those in the Lyme community, that hindered her ability to heal. About a year and a half into her Lyme journey, Blakeley was able to connect to the chronic illness community online and eventually meet some of her best friends and community. Throughout these experiences, Blakeley is well on her way to healing now and beautifully finding ways to fulfill her dream of being the hands and feet of Jesus through The Chronically Care Project, despite her suffering. If your interest is piqued, and you want to know how a small-town girl from Alabama is healing from Lyme through Jesus and a constant drive to transform hearts, tune in now! P.S. Claire Dalton, Blakeley's best friend whom she because of their commonalities in Lyme and in life, special guest co-hosted this episode with Matt from Tick Boot Camp! You don't want to miss this episode all about The Chronically Care Project, how it can help you, and how you can get involved in giving back to the Lyme and chronic illness community! Care Package Applications for #TheChronicallyCareProject open on June 6th, 2022. Go apply for a care package!