OK, now I have your attention. For sure, my MP is very literate. All can read. But have they read anything truly useful about Lyme Disease and its impact on Canadians? Or about the policy implications of a growing problem that looks like it is only getting worse?

My federal MP is Craig Scott. He is still fairly new to the job, since he was elected only a few months ago in a by-election, to replace our late, beloved Jack Layton. I have been corresponding with Craig’s assistant, who was open to the idea of a “Lyme Disease Primer” to quickly bring Craig up to speed on the complexities of the illness.

At first I came up with about a dozen articles. Too many. So I pared the list down. The first may offend other lymies, but he might as well see it now in context, in direct comparison to other more robust sources written by people who actually have or who actually “treat” lyme disease. For Craig will ultimately be given the PHAC “Lyme Disease Fact Sheet” when the Bill is being considered. He is a federal MP, and PHAC is the “Public Health Agency of Canada.”

Here is my list of Lyme Disease “reading material.” They can be skimmed in half an hour. A careful read might take an hour. I am not advocating this as the holy grail of lists, just my hurried thoughts about what might help my representative in Parliament to understand my plight, ask intelligent questions, watch out for the twisted arguments of some of the “vested interests,” and come to humane, reasonable and responsible conclusions.

1. Lyme Disease Fact Sheet by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
2. Basic Information about Lyme Disease by the International Lyme And Associated Diseases Society (ILADS)
3. Symptoms of Lyme Disease – see link to Word document compiled by Dr. Murakami, Canada
4. “Our Mad Medical Wonderland: Infectious Lyme Disease is virtually ignored in Canada” – by Helke Ferrie, medical science writer and publisher. Published by CCPA Monitor, June 1, 2010.
5. “Lyme Disease Goes Under The Microscope” – by Helke Ferrie, medical science writer and publisher.
6. Letter from Ontario Lyme victims to Provincial Ministry of Health and Long term Care, 2011

There were some pretty major constraints: time, length, availability, complexity. And most of all, if I gave this list to anyone who was willing to invest an hour on focussed reading, would they have a clear glimpse of my world? I hope so. Craig is visiting me soon. It is imperative that our MP’s are educated about the real, tangible effects of Lyme Disease and their co-hosts, the other nasty tick-borne infections. I know many many people who are making solid efforts to do just that. When Elizabeth May’s Private Member’s “Lyme” Bill is introduced and eventually debated, I trust that they will be prepared, and willing to act in unison to avert a growing Canadian health crisis.