The Gardiner Library Association will sponsor a tick disease prevention workshop at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29, in the Hazzard Reading Room of the Gardiner Public Library at 152 Water St.

This free workshop will feature Paula Jackson Jones from Midcoast Lyme Disease Support & Education, according to a news release from the library.

President and co-founder of organization, Jones, a native of Nobleboro, is a survivor of Late Stage Neurological Lyme Disease complicated by four co-infections — Babesia, Bartonella, Erlichiosis and Rocky Mountain Spotted fever, who went into remission in April 2014 after a lengthy battle of misdiagnosis by 23 doctors, according to the release.

It was during her own battle that she noticed a need for information and connection to resources in the Midcoast area among those suffering from Lyme and tick-borne disease. In May 2014, she co-founded Midcoast Lyme Disease Support & Education. It was through her own personal journey that she gathered resources to share with those around them.

Her education and experience in counseling and crisis management training combined with firsthand experience with tickborne diseases and what a Lyme patient goes through has made MLDSE the perfect go-to resource for this community, according to the release.

Jones has been traveling all around the state for the past five years, on a volunteer basis, raising awareness and educating about Lyme and Tick-borne disease prevention as well as connecting patients to medical providers and financial assistance programs. She is an active of Maine’s CDC Vector-borne Workgroup and active in Maine’s Lyme legislation. In 2018, she was co-chairwoman of the Access to Care Services and Patient Supports subcommittee of the Federal DHHS Tick-borne Disease Working Group and has been working closely with Sen Susan Collins on the $100 million TICK Act bill, a federal bi-partisan bill that would grant much needed funding to alleviate the deficiencies surrounding tick-borne disease education, diagnosis and treatment for providers and patients.

Midcoast Lyme Disease Support & Education is a nonprofit organization that serves the needs of Maine’s Lyme community. The Maine partner of the national Lyme Disease Association, their statewide efforts are focused on raising awareness, fostering education, advocating for state and local change while providing resources and support to those affected by Lyme and tick-borne diseases.

Active year round, holding monthly support meetings, awareness events and prevention talks, quarterly educational workshops for medical providers, and yearly Lyme Disease conferences bringing in local and nationwide expert speakers and vendors, they are the recipients of national and local educational grants for their steadfast commitment to public awareness and community education and support.

For more information, visit mldse.org or email Jones at paula@mldse.org.

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