Going green Hotel shines a light on disease as part of campaign
ACHELTENHAM hotel will be lit up green in the run-up to Christmas as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the debilitating, but little discussed, Lyme disease.
The Queens Hotel, on the Promenade, will be floodlit from Saturday, December 17 in the colour that symbolises global awareness of Lyme disease – a bacterial infection spread to humans by infected ticks.
It is estimated that more than 14 per cent of the world’s population have, or have had, the disease. Celebrity suffer- ers include Shania Twain, Avril Lavi- gne, Martine Mccutcheon, Justin Bie- ber and Alec Baldwin.
The big switch-on – named Lighting Up For Lyme by organiser Alice Reeve – will be attended by Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk and other local VIPS, along with Lyme disease sufferers and awareness campaigners.
Alice, of Evesham Road in Cheltenham, has suffered from Lyme disease since 1999.
The 47-year-old is a long-time campaigner for raising awareness of Lyme disease, ME and fibromyalgia. In 2019, she received a lifetime achievement award in The Breeze Local Heroes, which recognised her efforts fighting for the Lyme, ME and fibromyalgia community in Gloucestershire and nationally.
Her battle with Lyme disease has been covered by the Echo, as well as the national media, for more than a decade.
She said: “Lyme is a very cruel and debilitating disease, and it’s hard to get treatment unless you have money in the bank. Symptoms can include arthritis, brain fog, fatigue and reduced sex drive. Lyme also causes problems with the heart and eyes. Even reading and writing can be hard.
“The disease is very misunderstood because many medics aren’t trained to deal with it. Sometimes you find that patients have to educate the medics or are misdiagnosed, as I was for around 20 years.
“That’s why it’s so important to raise awareness, and I’m very grateful to The Queens Hotel for agreeing to help and showing such excellent support.
“I’m also very grateful to Alex Chalk for giving up his time on a Saturday close to Christmas to give his backing. Over the years, Alex has been a fantastic champion for raising awareness of Lyme disease and helped me campaign at the Houses of Parliament in London several times.
“I’ve researched Lyme for many years and I’m now looking to educate people about how to avoid contracting it.”
Lighting Up For Lyme at The Queens Hotel has the backing of charity Lyme Disease UK. You can find out more about the disease on the charity’s website lymediseaseuk.com/