Larchmont nurse Eileen Valerio, who has Lyme Disease and also lost a brother to complications from the disease as well, is promoting the event.
Larchmont Elementary School nurse Eileen Valerio has become known around Larchmont and the Mt. Laurel School District as something of a “Lyme Warrior.”
Valerio not only lost her brother to complications from Lyme Disease in the summer of 2015, but she was later diagnosed with the disease as well.
As she’s learned more about the disease, Valerio has made it her mission to educate as many people as possible about the symptoms of Lyme Disease and the ways in which it can go undetected or misdiagnosed.
Valerio’s latest outreach to the public will take place on Monday, March 13 at 7 p.m. when Pat Smith, president of the New Jersey Lyme Disease Association, will present at Larchmont School at an event sponsored by the school’s PTO.
Smith has testified before Congress, appeared on television programs across the country and has been quoted in several national publications.
Valerio said she hopes parents, residents and perhaps even other medical professionals will attend to learn more about what they can do to combat Lyme Disease.
“This area here is very Lyme endemic. We’ve got the Pinelands, and everybody is backed up to the woods,” Valerio said. “The more people I can get to the presentation, the more I can educate, and they can educate others.”
According to Valerio, symptoms of Lyme Disease can include learning disorders, sensory sensitivities, stomach pain, neurological issues such as seizures and dizziness, psychological issues such as anxiety and depression, fatigue, rashes, swollen glands and heart problems.
Due to difficulties in testing for Lyme Disease, Valerio said doctors often attribute such symptoms to other diseases and disorders, as was the case with her late brother, who exhibited symptoms for several years before finally being diagnosed with Lyme Disease while confined to a wheelchair.
“They were treating him for neck and shoulder pain, high blood pressure, dizziness … it’s like they were patching him together and nobody could figure it out,” Valerio said.
And when Valerio said she began to exhibit symptoms after finding a tick stuck to her abdomen one day, she too had doctors begin to misdiagnose the cause of her ailments.
“I thought, ‘I am not going down the same path my brother went down,’” Valerio said as she recalls seeking professionals specializing in the treatment of Lyme Disease.
Valerio said although she has the symptoms to look for, many others don’t, especially since the disease can remain dormant in the body long after an initial tick bite.
With that in mind, Valerio encourages as many residents as possible to come to the presentation at Larchmont on March 13.
“My goal is to get this word out and reach as many people as I can,” Valerio said.
To learn more about the event, Lyme Disease and other tick-borne illness, visit www.lymediseaseassociation.org.
