Who is Annie?

My name is Annie Giddings and I have been organizing and running the Lyme Out Retreats since they began in November 2004. I live in Massachusetts (hence all the information about the hearings in Boston and other Massachusetts Lyme news). I am currently a 23 year old Lyme disease survivor (see Learning From Chronic Illness to understand why I use that terminology instead of "victim"), college student slowly working my way towards a Bachelor's degree in Human Development with much of my interest lying in Psychology. Once I have my degree, I hope to go on to graduate school, possibly pursuing a Master's degree in Child Life, but I am unsure about that right now. A Bit More About Annie

How the Lyme Out Retreats Began I am a dreamer. I think big and often come up with ideas for things I would just love to make come true...someday. The Lyme Out Retreats are one of those dreams. The idea come about one afternoon or evening while I was chatting online with a good friend around my age who also has Lyme disease. A family I'm good friends with at my church had just come back from a weekend at Camp Sunshine in Maine. Camp Sunshine is a camp for children and teenagers with various types of cancer, cystic fibrosis, fanconi anemia, and various other chronic and life threatening diseases. I was telling my friend how amazing Camp Sunshine sounded and how I would love it if there was something like that for kids, teenagers, and even adults with Lyme disease and other tick borne diseases (TBDs). We talked about it and the more we talked, the more my thoughts came into order about it. Over the next few weeks and months I began to do research on the internet to find a place to hold the first retreat and soon after that decided on the dates of the first ever retreat held in November 2004, about six months after my friend and I threw around the idea. Just goes to show you that if you set your mind to something and you're determined enough (and can manage to pace yourself and do a lot of the work on a laptop in bed), it's possible to make big dreams come true. After the first retreat was a success, I began planning the second and then the third. Unfortunately, ill health has required me to put a fourth retreat on hold for now, but I am certain it will happen and for now it is tentatively planned for the early fall of 2006. I strive to make these retreats relaxing, rejuvinating, affordable, and healthy for everyone involved. Scholarships are available and rely on donations and fundraisers. Lyme Out is not yet a non-profit organization, but that is my next goal for this project. I am currently looking for help from people in the New England area (preferably close to Massachusetts) interested in helping this happen and willing to work on one or more area.