CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. — As the weather gets nicer and you're spending more time outside, you will want to make sure you check yourself for ticks.
"When we didn't know what was wrong with him, we really were struggling. We were alone. We knew something was wrong with him, and we couldn't get a diagnosis," said Rebecca Roll, Lyme WNY, Chair and Founder.
Rebecca Roll started the non-profit Lyme WNY after her husband Chuk found out he had Lyme disease almost eleven years ago. They have support meetings every month for people who want to talk with someone who's been through it before.
"Anybody who thinks they have Lyme disease, anybody who is married, or a spouse of somebody with Lyme disease, or a family member, or a friend, or if they just want to learn about it are welcome to come to our meetings, and we kind of provide them the avenues to go down so they're not feeling as alone as we once did," said Rebecca Roll.
Colleen Jantzi joined in June of 2022. That's when she started experiencing symptoms.
Lyme WNY works to provide grants to people when insurance won't cover their treatment. Jantzi received one of those grants and is paying it forward by organizing a 5K.
"To be able to connect to other people that are experiencing the same as what you are experiencing gives you a peace of mind that you're not going crazy and that this is really happening, and also to give hope. I mean, I'm here as a runner, but also as a Lyme patient to show everybody that there is hope," said Colleen Jantzi.
"It's a year-round problem. We've also had a very mild winter. I think typically, too, we hear, well, I wasn't in the woods or I didn't go for a hike. And it's not. We always say it's a suburban problem. It's a backyard problem. It's a sports field problem. It's an everywhere problem," said Rebecca Roll.
Roll says her husband is still managing his symptoms.