Tick Boot Camp

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What happens when an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker turns his camera toward one of the fastest-changing tick problems in the Northeast?

In this episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, Matt Sabatello, Tick Boot Camp Co-Founder, sits down in person with Emmy-winning filmmaker Reece Robinson, director of the upcoming documentary Ticking Point, to explore the rise of lone star ticks, Alpha-Gal Syndrome, Lyme disease, and what communities can do to fight back.

For Reece, the story is personal. His older brother experienced severe chronic Lyme disease, including Bell’s palsy, cognitive problems, si...

Could Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections be overlooked contributors to arterial inflammation, heart disease, and stroke risk?

In this LIVE from ILADS interview, Tick Boot Camp co-host Rich reconnects with Dr. H. Thomas “Tom” Hight, MD, a board-certified internal medicine physician and clinical lipidologist specializing in cardiovascular disease prevention and arterial health.

Recorded at the 2025 International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) Conference in San Antonio, Texas, the conversation explores a provocative question: Could certain infections contribute to cardiovascular inflammation in ways that conventional heart disease evaluations don't routinely investigate?

Dr. Hight shar...

For seven years, Anne Desjardins struggled with unexplained symptoms, medical dismissal, depression, and thoughts of suicide before finally receiving a Lyme disease diagnosis. Today, she's helping others find the hope she once desperately needed.

In this LIVE from ILADS interview, Tick Boot Camp co-host Rich sits down with Anne Desjardins, a Pennsylvania Lyme disease advocate, Ayurvedic practitioner, support group leader, and host of The Silver Lyming podcast.

Recorded at the 2025 International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) Conference in San Antonio, Texas, their conversation explores delayed Lyme disease diagnosis, neurological symptoms, medical gaslighting, mental health...

What happens when Lyme disease patients develop seizures, neurological symptoms, or serious complications—and the treatments they're receiving aren't working?

In this LIVE from ILADS interview, Tick Boot Camp co-host Rich reconnects with Dr. Pamela Cipriano, DNP, APRN, a Connecticut nurse practitioner specializing in Lyme disease, tick-borne infections, and complex chronic illness.

Recorded at the 2025 International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) Conference in San Antonio, Texas, their conversation explores neurological Lyme disease, persistent seizures, suspected autoimmune encephalitis, Bartonella, Babesia, chronic urinary tract infections, and the challenges of caring for patients with complicated medical histories.

Could overlooked environmental bacteria, immune dysfunction, and mitochondrial health help explain why some Lyme disease patients remain sick despite years of treatment?

In this LIVE from ILADS interview, Tick Boot Camp co-host Rich welcomes back Jacquelyn “Jacki” Meinhardt, DNP, FNP-BC, a nurse practitioner at Amen Clinics in Northern Virginia, to explore the complex relationship between Lyme disease, tick-borne co-infections, environmental exposures, inflammation, and persistent symptoms.

Recorded at the 2025 International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) Conference in San Antonio, Texas, the conversation explores why some patients struggle to improve after seeing numerous healthcare professionals—and why li...

What if treating Lyme disease is only part of the recovery process—and the next frontier is helping the body repair the damage left behind?

In this LIVE from ILADS interview, Tick Boot Camp co-host Rich sits down with Dr. Todd Maderis, ND, founder of Marin Natural Medicine Clinic in Northern California, to explore what he calls “Lyme 3.0”—an evolving approach to complex chronic illness that looks beyond infections to consider immune function, environmental exposures, cellular repair, and long-term recovery.

Recorded at the 2025 International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) Conference in San Antonio, Texas, the conv...

What happens when a Lyme disease doctor realizes she can only help so many patients in her office—but millions of people need better information, more treatment options, and access to knowledgeable healthcare professionals?

For Dr. Myriah Hinchey, ND, the answer has been to build something bigger than her medical practice.

In this LIVE from ILADS interview, Tick Boot Camp co-host Rich reconnects with Dr. Hinchey to discuss how she is expanding Lyme disease education and patient support through her Connecticut naturopathic practice, LymeCore Botanicals, the LymeBytes Symposium, and a new educational course.

Re...

What happens when a child spends 10 years searching for a diagnosis, sees 21 doctors, and continues getting sicker while medical tests come back negative?

For author and Lyme disease advocate Terri McCormick, this isn't a hypothetical question. It's part of her family's story—and the experience that inspired her to help others navigate the devastating consequences of delayed and missed diagnoses.

In this LIVE from ILADS interview, Tick Boot Camp co-host Rich sits down with Terri to discuss her book, Being Misdiagnosed: Stories That Reveal the Hidden Epidemic of Lyme Disease, which shares 12 real-life stories of pe...

For more than four decades, Dr. Richard Horowitz has challenged conventional thinking about chronic illness. His work treating more than 13,000 chronically ill patients has led to one of the most influential clinical frameworks in Lyme disease medicine: MSIDS® (Multiple Systemic Infectious Disease Syndrome).

Now, in his groundbreaking new book, Ending Chronic Illness: A Revolutionary New Program to Reverse Inflammation and Heal Persistent Disease, Dr. Horowitz expands that framework far beyond Lyme disease. He presents a bold new model suggesting that many of today's most common chronic illnesses—including Alzheimer's disease, Long COVID, autoimmune disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, car...

Can a multidisciplinary approach to Lyme disease treatment help patients better understand their illness, develop individualized treatment plans, and build a foundation for long-term recovery?

In this LIVE from ILADS interview, Tick Boot Camp co-host Rich sits down with Dr. Francisco Ulloa, MD of Sanoviv Medical Institute in Mexico to explore the clinic's approach to integrative Lyme disease treatment, functional medicine, precision-oriented care, and patient education.

Recorded at the 2025 International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) Conference in San Antonio, Texas, the conversation offers an inside look at how Sanoviv brings together physicians, nutritionists, psychologists...

What happens when a healthcare professional suddenly loses the ability to walk, struggles to get answers from major medical institutions, and is told Lyme disease doesn't exist where she lives?

In this LIVE from ILADS interview, Tick Boot Camp welcomes Dr. Kristi Hellenbrand, DC, a Georgia chiropractor, Lyme disease survivor, author of Let Me Tell You a Secret…She Makes It: A Lyme Survival Story, and Global Lyme Alliance ambassador.

In the fall of 2020, Kristi experienced a devastating neurological decline. Within approximately 60 days, she could no longer walk. Migraines, tremors, memory problems, and episodes of di...

Could supporting the lymphatic system help people living with Lyme disease feel better, sleep more comfortably, and improve their overall well-being?

In this LIVE from ILADS interview, Tick Boot Camp welcomes back Freddie Kimmel, Lyme disease and metastatic cancer survivor, wellness technology educator, host of the Beautifully Broken Podcast, and representative of Flowpresso, for a fascinating conversation about lymphatic drainage, nervous system regulation, infrared heat, compression therapy, and emerging technologies being explored for recovery and wellness.

Rich reconnects with Freddie at the 2025 ILADS Conference nearly five years after their original Tick Boot Camp interview.

What happens when seven years of undiagnosed Lyme disease, debilitating symptoms, and medical dismissal push someone to the point of losing hope—and that person eventually becomes a voice of hope for others?

In this LIVE from ILADS interview, Tick Boot Camp welcomes Tanya, host of Lyme and Beyond with Tanya, for an emotional and inspiring conversation about Lyme disease recovery, medical gaslighting, mental health, suicidal thoughts, patient advocacy, and the power of sharing stories of healing.

After spending years searching for answers, Tanya experienced severe physical and cognitive symptoms that disrupted her independence and qu...

Can a Lyme disease patient who spent three years bedridden help change federal health policy for millions of people?

In this LIVE from ILADS interview, Tick Boot Camp reunites with Meghan Bradshaw, MPH, Lyme disease survivor, public health advocate, and leader at Center for Lyme Action, for an inspiring conversation about Lyme disease advocacy, federal research funding, proposed legislation, and the power of turning personal suffering into lasting change.

After years of misdiagnosis and debilitating tick-borne illness, Meghan spent approximately three years bedridden, underwent numerous orthopedic surgeries, and experienced profound losses of independence and mobility.<...

What if some of the depression, anxiety, brain fog, cognitive dysfunction, OCD, speech changes, and other neuropsychiatric symptoms experienced by people with Lyme and other vector-borne diseases involve more than the infection itself?

In this episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, Matt Sabatello sits down with Dr. Lindsey Wells, ND, a Connecticut naturopathic physician whose work focuses heavily on children with Lyme Disease, PANS/PANDAS, autism spectrum disorder, neurodevelopmental conditions, and other vector-borne diseases.

The centerpiece of the conversation is Dr. Wells' newly published research, “Folate Receptor Alpha Autoantibodies in Vector-Borne Disease Populations.”

He...

LIVE from ILADS: What happens when a Lyme disease patient needs a medication—but the standard dose, ingredients, or delivery method simply don't work for them?

Tick Boot Camp welcomes back Ray Solano, RPh, MBA, CCN, founder and owner of PD Labs, a specialty compounding pharmacy that works with practitioners to create personalized medications for patients with Lyme disease, CIRS, mold-related illness, pain, and other complex conditions.

This is Ray's second consecutive LIVE from ILADS conversation with Tick Boot Camp.

The first interview introduced Rich to the world of compounding pharmacy. This time, th...

LIVE from ILADS: What happens when nearly 20,000 Lyme disease patients pool their experiences to help researchers understand what patients are actually living through?

Tick Boot Camp sits down in person with Dorothy Kupcha Leland, President of LymeDisease.org to explore the power of MyLymeData, patient-driven Lyme disease research, sex-based differences in persistent Lyme disease, evidence-based patient education, and the importance of giving people reliable information without telling them which treatment they should choose.

This conversation was also personally meaningful for Tick Boot Camp.

After years of interacting with Dorothy through Zoom and other...

LIVE from ILADS: Can treating Lyme disease be both a science and an art?

Tick Boot Camp sits down with Dr. Frank Song Jr., ND, a naturopathic doctor specializing in Lyme disease, tick-borne infections, and complex chronic illness at Placeres Integrative Medicine in New Milford, Connecticut.

But medicine is only one part of Dr. Song’s story.

He is also a professional musician and performer whose music brings together influences from his Chinese heritage, Appalachian and Americana folk traditions, R\&B, soul, and his more recent experiences working with Brazilian musicians.

Fo...

LIVE from ILADS: What happens when a board-certified medical doctor develops debilitating symptoms — but doesn't recognize that she may have Lyme disease?

Tick Boot Camp sits down with Dr. Robin Ann Ridinger, MD, a physician board-certified in both Family Medicine and Integrative Holistic Medicine who treats Lyme disease and other complex chronic illnesses at Premier Health and Holistic Medicine in Leesburg, Virginia.

Before Dr. Ridinger became a Lyme-treating integrative physician, she became the patient.

While going through a difficult period in her life, she began experiencing cognitive problems severe enough that she feared sh...

LIVE from ILADS: Tick Boot Camp welcomes back Dr. Cory Tichauer, ND, owner and lead physician of Bear Creek Naturopathic Clinic in Medford, Oregon, and a member of the ILADS Board of Directors.

After years of treating Lyme disease and other complex chronic illnesses, Dr. Tichauer has become increasingly interested in a particularly difficult group of patients:

The people who do many of the "right" things but still don't fully recover.

Dr. Tichauer describes them as his "20%."

While he says the majority of his chronic Lyme patients can achieve substantial improvement...

LIVE from ILADS: Tick Boot Camp sits down with Dr. Vy Simeles, ND, LAc of Restorative Health Clinic to explore one of the most difficult situations in chronic Lyme disease care:

What do you do when a patient becomes so sensitive that nearly everything intended to help seems to make them feel worse?

Dr. Simeles works with complex chronic illness patients, including people experiencing Lyme disease, mold illness, MCAS, nervous-system dysregulation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and significant environmental or treatment sensitivities.

In this short-form conference interview, she explains why her practice has been increasingly focused...

When Julia Bruzzese became seriously ill and lost the ability to walk, her brother James was beginning his medical education. Rather than allowing his family’s experience to drive him away from medicine, it gave him a new purpose: to become the kind of doctor his sister and other complex Lyme disease patients desperately needed.

In this deeply personal Tick Boot Camp Podcast episode, special guest co-host Nicole O'Donnell, co-hosts Rich Johannesen and Matt Sabatello welcome Dr. James Bruzzese, MD, founder of Bruzzese Medical. They are joined by returning guest and Lyme advocate Nicole O’Donnell, who brin...

LIVE from ILADS: Tick Boot Camp welcomes back Dr. Melanie Stein, ND for an update on her approach to chronic Lyme disease and complex illness — and the release of her book, Breaking Through Chronic Illness: The Science of Cellular Repair and the Path to Lasting Recovery.

Why do some people continue struggling after months or even years of Lyme disease treatment?

Dr. Stein believes part of the answer may be found at the cellular level. In this short-form conference conversation, she explains her clinical model of repairing cell membranes, supporting mitochondrial function, reducing inflammation, calming an...

LIVE from ILADS: Tick Boot Camp sits down with Dr. Somer DelSignore, DNP, BC-PNP, founder of Hudson Valley Integrative Health in Beacon, New York, for a wide-ranging conversation about pediatric Lyme disease, congenital tick-borne infections, autism spectrum symptoms, PANS/PANDAS, autoimmune encephalopathy, developmental delays, behavioral changes, and the importance of investigating potential biological contributors to neuroimmune dysfunction.

Dr. DelSignore practices integrative pediatrics with a focus on children experiencing complex chronic illness and neuroimmune symptoms. Rather than stopping at a behavioral or developmental diagnosis, she describes a root-cause approach that asks a deeper question:

What biological...

LIVE from ILADS: Tick Boot Camp sits down with Mindy Tobin Daigle, MSN, APRN-BC, a nurse practitioner whose approach to Lyme disease and complex chronic illness was profoundly shaped by her own experience as a patient.

Before treating people with Lyme disease, Mindy lived it. After years of misdiagnosis, she was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2010 following earlier tick exposures. Her illness became multisystemic and severe, affecting her heart, brain, joints, gastrointestinal system, bladder, skin, muscles, and more. At her sickest, she describes being bed-bound, wheelchair-bound, experiencing seizures and aphasia, and dependent on others for basic care.<...

LIVE from ILADS: Tick Boot Camp reconnects with Nicole Bell, CEO of Galaxy Diagnostics, for a focused conversation about one of the biggest challenges in Lyme disease and tick-borne illness: getting an accurate diagnosis.

Bell breaks down the differences between antibody testing, antigen testing, and PCR-based direct detection while explaining why stealth pathogens such as Borrelia, Bartonella, and Babesia can be so difficult to find. She also introduces Galaxy's BBB Direct Detect digital PCR testing, discusses emerging findings involving Babesia species, and explains why a negative antibody test doesn't always tell the entire story.

For...

LIVE from ILADS: Tick Boot Camp reconnects with Dr. Alexis Chesney, MS, ND, LAc for a focused conversation about babesiosis, Lyme disease, coinfections, diagnostic challenges, herbal medicine, recovery, rehabilitation, and what it means to treat the whole person rather than a single infection.

Dr. Chesney is a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist specializing in Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. In this short-form conference interview, she explains why Babesia deserves more attention, how the clinical picture of tick-borne disease has become increasingly complex, and why successful treatment often requires much more than simply targeting microbes.

This...

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LIVE from ILADS: Tick Boot Camp sits down with David W. Kazarian, RPh, pharmacist and founder of Infuserve America, for a focused conversation recorded in person at the ILADS Annual Scientific Conference.

In this short-form conference interview, Kazarian explores how compounding pharmacy can give practitioners additional options for Lyme disease and tick-borne illness patients dealing with medication sensitivities, reactions to fillers and excipients, alpha-gal syndrome, absorption challenges, and other complexities. With decades of experience working with the Lyme community, he explains why changing the formulation of a medication — not just the active ingredient — can...

What happens when a conventionally trained physician watches someone he loves struggle with years of unexplained, multisystem illness—and eventually discovers that Lyme disease and Bartonella may have been part of the picture all along?

In this episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, hosts Matt Sabatello and Rich Johannesen sit down with Raphael “Tito” Balbino, MD, a physician trained in Family Medicine and Geriatrics who now leads Mandarin Wellness Center, a functional and integrative medicine practice in Jacksonville, Florida.

Dr. Balbino’s path into Lyme disease and complex chronic illness was not planned.

Born a...

Could Lyme disease and other chronic inflammatory triggers play a role in Alzheimer’s disease—and could addressing those underlying factors change measurable Alzheimer’s biomarkers?

In this episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, Dr. Richard Horowitz returns to discuss a provocative new case report he published exploring the relationship between Lyme disease, neuroinflammation, Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers, and dapsone combination therapy.

The conversation centers on a patient with a long history of Lyme disease who had an elevated phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) level, an increasingly important blood biomarker associated with Alzheimer’s disease. After completing...

What if some of the most powerful tools for controlling chronic bacterial infections are already living inside the human body?

In this episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, hosts Matt Sabatello and Rich Johannesen sit down with Dr. David A. Jernigan, DNM, DC, founder of the Biologix Center for Optimum Health, for a deep exploration of Lyme disease, bacteriophages, chronic infection, biological medicine, and his development of Induced Native Phage Therapy (INPT).

Dr. Jernigan has worked with people experiencing Lyme disease and complex chronic illness since the 1990s. His journey into the Lyme world...

What happens when a young woman who grew up surrounded by horses and the outdoors develops a mysterious red ring after spending a summer working at a horse camp in West Virginia—but no one recognizes the possibility of Lyme disease?

In this episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, we sit down with Hannah Green, a Lyme disease survivor, advocate, and author from England whose international Lyme journey stretches across the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia.

Hannah is the author of My Lyme Success Story, a book documenting her personal experience with chronic Ly...

What happens when Lyme disease affects the brain?

Why do so many people with Lyme disease struggle with brain fog, memory problems, difficulty concentrating, and mental fatigue—even after treatment? And how can researchers better understand, measure, and treat these persistent cognitive symptoms?

In this episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Jacqueline Becker, clinical neuropsychologist, researcher, and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Becker specializes in the cognitive effects of infection-associated chronic illnesses, including Lyme disease, Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS), Lo...

What if the experiences of thousands—or eventually millions—of Lyme disease patients could help the next patient find answers faster?

In this episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, we sit down with siblings Carter Bradsky and Payton Bradsky, co-founders of LymeLess Health, to explore their family's extraordinary Lyme disease journey and the technology they're building to help other patients navigate complex chronic illness.

Lyme disease didn't affect just one member of the Bradsky family. Their mother became severely ill and largely bedridden while searching for answers through the conventional medical system. Carter later deve...

In this special Tick Boot Camp Instagram Live, Dr. Casey Kelley returns to discuss the latest developments in Lyme disease diagnosis, treatment, clinician education, and research. Drawing on both her personal recovery journey and years of treating complex chronic illness, Dr. Kelley explains why Lyme disease requires individualized care, why more Lyme-literate clinicians are urgently needed, and how new technologies—including big data, advanced diagnostics, and innovative therapies like SOT—are shaping the future of patient care.

Episode Highlights

Expanding Lyme-Literate Medical Education

Dr. Kelley announces an exciting partnership between the Illinois Lyme Asso...

What if the biggest obstacle to healing Lyme disease isn't just the infection—but the body's inability to feel safe enough to recover?

In this inspiring episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, Dr. Meagan Bonnot shares her remarkable journey from being a chronically ill patient with debilitating symptoms to becoming a naturopathic doctor dedicated to helping others recover from complex chronic illnesses. Drawing from both personal experience and years of clinical practice, Dr. Bonnot explains why healing Lyme disease requires far more than simply killing bacteria.

Together, Matt Sabatello and Dr. Bonnot explore the cr...

At Amy Kurtz's But You Look Fine book launch and signing event in New York City, Tick Boot Camp co-founder Matt Sabatello caught up with former guest Ben Ahrens, founder of Re-Origin, for an insightful conversation about neuroplasticity, hypervigilance, chronic Lyme disease recovery, and the emerging science connecting the brain, nervous system, and chronic illness.

Since his first appearance on the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, Ben has continued expanding Re-Origin's reach around the world while deepening his research into how chronic stress, trauma, and nervous system dysregulation can perpetuate illness long after the initial trigger has passed.<...

What if the greatest obstacle you ever faced became the very thing that inspired thousands of others?

In this inspiring episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, Matt Sabatello sits down with Talan Yorn, an 18-year-old American Ninja Warrior competitor, Lyme disease advocate, public speaker, author, and founder of Lyme Ninja. Born with congenital Lyme disease, Talan has never known life without chronic illness. His journey has included years of debilitating symptoms, neurological complications, mold illness, multiple tick-borne co-infections, extensive treatment, and even spending years bedridden.

Today, Talan is proving that healing is possible.

What happens after Lyme disease treatment ends—but you still don't feel like yourself?

In this powerful in-person Tick Boot Camp studio interview, bestselling author, certified health coach, and Lyme disease advocate Amy Kurtz returns to discuss her groundbreaking new book, But You Look Fine: Trapped in the Hell Between Sick and Well and How To Break Free.

Following the overwhelming response to her first Tick Boot Camp interview in Episode 449: Kicking Sick: Your Go-To Guide for Thriving with Chronic Health Conditions, Amy joins Matt Sabatello and Rich Johannesen for an unforgettable conversation about the em...

What happens when an active-duty Air Force officer, elite athlete, and aspiring astronaut suddenly finds his health slipping away—and no one can explain why?

In this episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, we sit down with Major Trent Vonich, a United States Air Force officer whose relentless pursuit of answers led him through years of unexplained symptoms, medical uncertainty, and ultimately a diagnosis of Lyme disease and multiple tick-borne infections.

Trent shares his remarkable journey from military service and elite physical performance to chronic illness, recovery, and a renewed mission focused on research, ed...