As you are aware, Lyme Disease got its name from Lyme, Connecticut where arthritis-like symptoms were noted in a cluster of cases among children and adults back in the 1970s, but it could as well be called Wilton Disease or Norwalk Disease or Ridgefield Disease because it is as close to an epidemic among my constituents as I have seen. Whether I am at the local hardware store, whether I am in the market or a town hall, the topic of discussion is always Lyme Disease, who has it, who's treating you, how are you feeling. If it's a child, how much school have you lost, how much of your college years have you lost because of this insidious disease. And Lyme Disease has not only affected my constituents, but I am here because it has affected every member of my own family, including the family dog. My husband has suffered from chronic Lyme Disease since 1994. He suffers from severe joint and muscular pain in his shoulders, neck, elbows and hands, as well as feverish feelings, night sweats, various neurological manifestation's including anxiety, fatigue, distress and irritability.

His symptoms, because of the fact of these guidelines were very strict in force, and because doctors back in the nineties didn't understand Lyme Disease, his symptoms were misdiagnosed. And because of the misdiagnosis, he underwent painful cortisone shots and finally intensive elbow surgery at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City where a team of surgeons cut and reattached the tendons in both his elbows believing that he had a sports injury.

He has taken lengthy courses of antibiotics over the last 12 years, and although the symptoms never completely go away, these periodic treatments of antibiotics have clearly helped to achieve several lengthy periods of remission. In this regard, the disease often acts like Malaria, and it is often treated with an anti-Malarial drug. My daughter was first diagnosed with Lyme Disease in the early 1990s when she was in second grade. She is now 24 and still suffers with joint and muscle pain, fatigue and neurological symptoms. Like my husband, she has also been on and off antibiotics. I never wanted her on antibiotics for an extended period of time. I'm aware of the issues with the overuse of antibiotics, but the alternative would have been a reduced quality of life for an active young woman who was captain of her high school cross country team and was the Connecticut scholar athlete of the year.

Other people testifying today will say that there is no such thing as chronic Lyme, that it is some other named or unnamed disease, or they will say that most of these people never had a tick bite or their doctors just invented the diagnosis for want of anything else. In my case, I can say that my husband and my daughter have had on numerous occasions embedded and engorged dear tick. My daughter has also had the classic bulls-eye rash. My husband never did. This proposed bill does not seek to change our insurance laws. We have an excellent statute in place that covers medical costs associated with a diagnosis of Lyme. What we are seeking to do is protect the doctor/patient relationship. We do not believe that public agencies should use their regulatory and licensing powers to punish those doctors who are only seeking the best course of treatment for their patients.

Thank you."