CALL TO ACTION #5
December, 2006
from Pat Smith, President, Lyme Disease Association, Inc. (LDA)
"Crime against Lyme"

Keep up the actions please. We are making a huge difference being united and following a plan! Holiday notes going out? Ask your address list to sign onto the LDA petition (details below). Thanks!

NEW! URGENT ACTION NEEDED, TIME SENSITIVE
Update: An electronic Member Letter has been sent to all Members of the US House of Representatives by Congressman Christopher Smith. The letter ultimately will be sent to Dr Julie Gerberding, CDC Director, on behalf of all of the Congressmen who have signed onto it. It addresses the IDSA guidelines, their impact, their development process, and concerns about why the CDC has these guidelines on its website, and why other guidelines are not recognized. We need high numbers of congressmen signed on-- not a bill, so easy to sign on.

Action: All need to contact your own (1) US House Rep, DC office only (if you already called, call again).
* Tell him/her to sign NOW onto the Member Letter on the Lyme disease guidelines circulated by Congressman Christopher Smith (NJ). Tell them the guidelines hurt you, their constituents.
* Your Rep can contact Tim Lynagh, Legislative Director for Representative Chris Smith (NJ), at (202) 225-3765 with questions or for a copy of the Member Letter on Lyme disease if they cannot find theirs.
* Lyme Groups should contact all congressmen within their range (area they cover).
* Find your Congressman on http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/

POST RALLY UPDATE & IMMEDIATE ACTION
Update: Reports from Lyme Rights Group indicate the rally was very successful. Attendance was 300 range, everyone was respectful;a small group was even permitted to hold signs in front of the hospital. Rally highlights were reported by a number of media. It was shown on RNN & News 12 in NY. Media outreach is ongoing.

Action: A special short piece about the guidelines (produced by DWJ television for LDA, affiliates, ILADS) which includes rally clips, patient interviews, Dr. Ray Stricker, and Pat Smith, is now available for all TV stations. You need to call your station and tell them how these guidelines impacted you and that there is a special TV news story available for free on the guidelines that they can broadcast. All call but groups especially.
- Call your TV stations today. If they have access to new TV technology, Pathfire Digital Feed, tell them they can go to the site and plug in Lyme and they will be able to digitally access the story
- If the station does not have access to Pathfire, ONLY your TV station can call DWJ Television at 800 766 1711 ext. 239 (Maureen) or ext. 227 (Brian) to get a copy shipped to the TV station or to have any technical questions answered about Pathfire.

IMPORTANT UPDATE & ACTION from Lyme Rights Rally Group
2nd Call In to Westchester/NY Medical College-Lyme Rights Group would like you to make calls again on Wednesday, December 6.This is a follow up to calls made rally day. See http://www.lymenews.org/ for details.

ONGOING ACTIONS!
1. Continue to get signers onto the LDA petition. We have over 19,000, keep it up! All signatures must be entered online to be accepted. If you are entering someone.s signature, they must have first physically signed a hard copy which you then send to LDA for its files with a note that you have entered it online already. We will not enter any un entered names that are mailed to us, we do not have the staff to do that unfortunately. Holiday letters going out? Ask your address list to sign onto the petition.

2. Individuals can send the LDA statement about the new guidelines _Historic Move by CT Attorney General to Investigate IDSA Guidelines Process_ (http://lymediseaseassociation.org/NewsReleases/20061116.html) to your local media with a note saying how the guidelines have impacted you and your family, group, if they have done so (See gray box, homepage http://www.lymediseaseassociation.org/)

3. Those patients already impacted by new guidelines, a form was sent out online for you to fill out. Thanks to those who have already responded, and if you still want to respond, please email Lymeliter@aol.com for the form. You must have been denied services after Oct 2, 2006 with the Guidelines used as basis.

Pat Smith, President
Lyme Disease Association, Inc.
PO Box 1438
Jackson, NJ 08527
888-366-6611 information line
732 938-7215 fax
www.LymeDiseaseAssociation.org