Tick Boot Camp

Danielle Cosgrove is a 26-year-old sports management professional from Long Island, New York. Ms. Cosgrove’s Lyme disease journey began in 2012 when her symptoms prevented her from achieving her dream of playing college lacrosse. Her progressing symptoms sent her to visit 9 doctors over 8 years before she was diagnosed with Lyme disease. Her diagnosis was incidental to treating at a immunological clinic and her nurse practitioner recognized her symptoms and recommended her to IGeneX for diagnostic testing. After a positive Lyme test, she moved back home to Long Island and sought treatment from the famous Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD) Daniel Cameron, MD. Today, Ms. Cosgrove is ready to aggressively treat with the Cameron protocol and to study supplemental treatment tools. If you would like to learn more about how a sports management professional is working to manage Lyme disease out of her life, then tune in now!

Gary Shope and Doctor Alex Shope are the father and son team working to disrupt Lyme disease diagnostic testing at medical start up Contamination Source Identification (CSI-Dx). Gary Shope is a serial entrepreneur who exited retirement to build CSI-Dx. Dr. Alex Shope, MD is a medical doctor who was inspired by his mentor to abandon the clinic setting and scale his work to offer health care solutions to thousands of patients worldwide. In the next 12 months, CSI-Dx will offer patients a set of affordable diagnostic tools that will remove guesswork from Lyme disease treatment. The testing will provide solid evidence of all active infections by identifying RNA through Artificial Intelligence (AI) to report all detected infections within 24 hours. If you would like to learn more about how the Shope family and CSI-Dx will use AI and RNA testing to give hope to the Lyme community and disrupt the diagnostic testing industry, then tune in now!

Misty Rangel is a 33-year-old English Arts student from Fresno, California. Ms. Rangel’s Lyme disease journey began after a doctor assured her that a bug bite on her leg “was nothing to worry about.” At the time, she was an extremely fit professional performing artist, dancer and Zumba instructor. Over the next several months, she began to suffer classic Lyme disease symptoms forcing her to visit with 15 doctors before she was properly diagnosed with Lyme disease. Despite debilitating symptoms, Ms. Rangel was determined not to allow Lyme to “shut her up” and she enrolled in college to construct a new career and she dedicated all her available free time to serving the Lyme community through public appearances, rallies, and governmental lobbying events. If you would like to know more about how chronic Lyme disease inspired a professional entertainment artist to Lyme disease community activism, then tune in now!

Theora Dobronte is a 33-year-old Registered Dietitian from California. Ms. Dobronte is one of six members of her family diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease. Her personal Lyme disease experience was induced by an intimate relationship with a man from a Lyme endemic community. Her symptoms progressed over time eventually forcing her to withdraw from athletic, social, and professional activities. After testing CDC positive for Lyme disease, Ms. Dobronte embraced an aggressive treatment regimen that included attending a Lyme treatment center in Nevada. Determined not to “give up” and “refusing to accept the fate” of chronic illness, she has progressed toward returning to social and professional activities. If you would like to learn more about how a Registered Dietitian is making use of her scientific aptitude, education, and experience to fearlessly battle Lyme disease, then tune in now!

Paola Leichter is a 35-year-old attorney from New Jersey. During her senior year in college, she developed full body seizures. Soon thereafter, she suffered additional classic chronic Lyme disease symptoms. Somehow, she found the fortitude to grit though the illness to complete law school, an advanced law degree (LLM), pass two bar examinations (New York and New Jersey) and complete a prestigious judicial clerkship. During her diagnostic journey, she visited some of the most respected medical professionals in her community, including an LLMD. She was finally diagnosed when she was fortunately treated by a substitute ENT. At her sickest, Ms. Leichter weighed 90 lbs. and was too weak to leave her bed. Today, she has recovered her weight, began driving and returned to the practice of law. If you would like to learn more about how a Lyme Literate Lawyer won an acquittal over Lyme disease, then tune in now!

Ally Hilfiger is a multi-dimensional artist residing with her husband and daughter in Los Angeles, California. Ms. Hilfiger’s Lyme disease journey began when she was bitten by a tick at the age of 7. Undiagnosed Lyme disease presented various physical and emotional challenges during her childhood, but it could not contain Ms. Hilfiger’s artistic genius. She began a professional stage acting career at 13, produced an acclaimed film at 16, and created and starred in MTV’s first reality tv program at 17. Her illness did force her to pause her career at 19 when psychiatric symptoms required an involuntary institutionalization. During her hospital stay, an enlightened doctor recognized her symptoms and diagnosed her with Lyme. After her diagnosis and early treatment, Ms. Hilfiger pursued artisan painting and built a successful fashion design company. Recently, she answered a call to dedicate her life and talents to help others heal from Lyme disease. The healing mission manifested in the publication of a widely read Lyme testimonial book. Today, she is one of the most active and thoughtful figures serving the Lyme disease community. If you would like to learn more about how Ally Hilfiger is dedicating her multi-dimensional artistic talents to helping end the suffering caused by Lyme disease, then tune in now!

Maxine (Max) Janssens is a 27-year-old architect and project manager from Perth, Australia. In 2019, Ms. Janssens and her partner took a trip to explore the west coast of the United States. At the behest of an Australian friend who contracted Lyme while traveling in the US, Ms. Janssens took precautions to protect herself from ticks and Lyme, including, daily tick checks. Shortly after returning from her trip, she began to suffer undiagnosed acute Lyme symptoms and within 6 months her “bone crushing” fatigue and brain fog required her to stop working and to return home to live with her parents. Fortunately, a friend recognized her symptoms and recommended her to one of the few Lyme literate doctors in Perth Australia who diagnosed her with Lyme. If you would like to learn more about how a young woman is using her architecture and project management skill sets to design her recovery from chronic Lyme disease, then tune in now!

Sarah Hook is an Integrative Holistic Practitioner, Health Coach, Functional Diagnostic Practitioner and Reiki Master from London, England. She was bitten by a tick at the age of 25 and managed her health challenges until professional stressors caused her health and nervous systems to crash after 8 years. Fortunately, Ms. Hook’s training and experience resulted in an early diagnosis after she sought treatment at the renowned Breakspear Clinic. Her treatment plan included a diverse set of treatment protocols including herbs, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), ozone therapy and colonics. Today Ms. Hook is preparing to return to work and to creatively share more of her treatment journey on social media, including Instagram. If you would like to learn more about how a holistic health practitioner is using her training to shorten her healing journey, maintain her social relationships and validate people living with Lyme disease, then tune in now!

In this landmark episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, hosts Richard Johannessen and Matt Sabatello sit down with Dr. Alan MacDonald, a pioneering hospital pathologist whose work has shaped — and challenged — the understanding of Lyme disease for more than four decades. Often referred to as “the Lyme doctor’s doctor,” Dr. MacDonald was among the earliest physicians investigating Lyme disease in the late 1970s and early 1980s, during the initial outbreak on Long Island, New York. While many of his findings were dismissed or attacked at the time, decades later they continue to resurface in modern research — increasingly validated by advances in molecular diagnostics. This episode captures Dr. MacDonald’s scientific journey, his discoveries, and the systemic resistance he faced while uncovering uncomfortable truths about Lyme disease, chronic infection, and neurodegeneration. About Dr. Alan MacDonald Dr. Alan MacDonald was a retired hospital pathologist who trained at Tufts University and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, later serving as Chief Resident in Pathology at NYU Bellevue. He spent many years working at Southampton Hospital on Long Island, where he became deeply involved in early Lyme disease diagnostics and research. As a pathologist, Dr. MacDonald specialized in diagnosis through tissue, blood, and microscopy, earning the nickname “doctor’s doctor.” His career focused on uncovering disease at the cellular and molecular level — especially where conventional testing fell short. Update: Dr. MacDonald recently passed away, but his work continues to influence Lyme research, neurodegenerative disease studies, and the broader conversation around chronic infection. Key Topics Covered in This Episode The Early Days of Lyme Disease on Long Island Dr. MacDonald recounts being on the front lines as Lyme disease first emerged near Shelter Island, just miles from Southampton Hospital. He describes collaborating with early Lyme pioneers, setting up one of the first hospital-based Lyme testing labs, and performing diagnostic work before standardized tests even existed. Why Lyme Disease Is a Polymicrobial Infection Contrary to the idea that Lyme disease is caused by a single bacterium, Dr. MacDonald explains why Lyme should be viewed as a polymicrobial illness. Ticks carry multiple pathogens, including Borrelia species, Babesia, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, parasites, and more — often transmitted simultaneously. Mother-to-Child Transmission of Lyme Disease One of Dr. MacDonald’s most controversial early findings involved Borrelia burgdorferi detected in miscarried fetuses, placental tissue, and umbilical cord blood. He explains why transplacental transmission of Lyme disease is biologically unavoidable — and why this evidence was rejected despite clear pathology. Lyme Disease and Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and MS Decades before today’s research, Dr. MacDonald identified Borrelia spirochetes, DNA, and biofilms in Alzheimer’s disease brains. He draws parallels to syphilis, another spirochetal infection long known to cause dementia, and explains why infection-driven neurodegeneration has been so fiercely resisted in Alzheimer’s research. He also discusses connections between Lyme disease and: Alzheimer’s disease Lewy Body Dementia Multiple Sclerosis–like syndromes Parkinson’s disease Biofilms: The Missing Piece in Chronic Lyme Dr. MacDonald explains how Borrelia forms biofilms — structured bacterial communities that protect the organism from antibiotics and immune attack. He describes finding biofilms: In Alzheimer’s plaques In skin manifestations of Lyme Circulating in blood Embedded in chronic tissue infections He emphasizes that biofilms are always a marker of chronic infection, not acute disease. Why Lyme Testing Fails So Many Patients This episode provides a deep dive into why standard Lyme tests are unreliable. Dr. MacDonald explains: Why antibody tests miss chronic infection How Borrelia changes form (spirochete, cystic, L-form, granular) Why DNA-based testing is the future How immune complexes and biofilms create false negatives He also discusses advanced diagnostic tools like FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) and DNA probes — many of which he developed or refined himself. Blood Transfusions and Lyme Disease Dr. MacDonald outlines the scientific basis for Lyme disease transmission via blood transfusion, referencing Babesia’s known transfusion risk and Borrelia’s ability to survive in stored blood. He raises concerns about undetected European Borrelia strains entering blood supplies. Parasites, Lyme Disease, and Chronic Illness One of the most eye-opening sections of the interview explores Dr. MacDonald’s discovery of parasitic organisms in spinal fluid and brain tissue, including microscopic tapeworm-like larvae. He explains: The symbiotic relationship between parasites and Borrelia How parasites may shelter Lyme bacteria Why antiparasitic treatment may be critical in chronic Lyme cases Politics, Suppression, and the Standard of Care Dr. MacDonald speaks candidly about: Being accused of fraud for publishing Lyme pathology findings The role of academic gatekeeping in suppressing research How medical politics shape “standard of care” Why doctors fear treating chronic Lyme patients He explains how lack of publication access directly harms patients by preventing clinicians from practicing evidence-based, patient-centered medicine. A Legacy That Continues Throughout this episode, it becomes clear that many of Dr. MacDonald’s “controversial” ideas were simply ahead of their time. From congenital Lyme disease to biofilms, neurodegeneration, and DNA-based diagnostics, modern science is now revisiting questions he raised decades ago. Update: Though Dr. Alan MacDonald is no longer with us, his work lives on — in the research, the patients he helped, and the growing body of science finally willing to look where he told us to look all along.

Dr. Casey Kelley is a Lyme Literate Integrative Medical Doctor from Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Kelley shared her personal and professional journeys with Lyme disease in Episode 98 of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast. To celebrate Lyme Disease Awareness Month, Tick Boot Camp issued a challenge to Dr. Kelley to answer your questions live and in real time. This podcast is the audio of the Instagram Live broadcast. If you would like to learn more about how Lyme Literate Integrative Medical Doctor Casey Kelley took on all challengers including the rapid fire “follow-up” questions from co-hosts Rich Johannesen and Matt Sabatello, the tune in now!