Nowhere Land

Nowhere Land explores the silent epidemic of chronic Lyme disease and Tick-borne illnesses in the United States, a condition I personally contracted in 2021. It captures the silent struggles of individuals battling this invisible illness. An overwhelming number of misdiagnoses due to inaccurate testing and misinformation provided by the CDC, apart from the symptoms, chronic Lyme patients endure unbearable isolation, medical neglect, and severe financial strain. The project sheds light on their invisible battles, aiming to raise awareness about the challenges faced by countless chronic Lyme disease patients.

Nowhere Land explores the silent epidemic of chronic Lyme disease and Tick-borne illnesses in the United States. Through intimate narratives, it captures the silent suffering, daily battles, and emotional isolation endured by individuals living with this invisible and debilitating condition.

In 2021, I developed a series of terrifying symptoms. Based on my symptoms, I was diagnosed with Neurological Lyme disease and co-infections. unfortunately, the standard treatment suggested by the CDC did not provide any relief from my symptoms. I started an extensive search for alternative treatments and sought out various doctors as new symptoms continued to emerge. During this process, I discovered a substantial Lyme community online—a community that had long remained invisible to the public eye and had endured mistreatment for decades. Motivated by their silent struggle, I embarked on my ongoing project, Nowhere Land, in 2022.

Each year approximately 476,000 people in the United States are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease. An overwhelming number of Lyme patients were misdiagnosed by doctors in the early stages of the disease, because of inaccurate testing and misleading information provided by the CDC. Besides coping with their symptoms, many chronic Lyme patients face tremendous financial pressure as the CDC and insurance companies do not recognize chronic Lyme disease. Countless Lyme patients are dismissed and blamed, their pain invalidated, their suffering is just in their heads. For decades, they have been waiting for an answer from the medical system. They are angry, they are afraid, they feel betrayed by their own bodies, isolated, unseen and unheard, as though trapped in the middle of nowhere.

*On October 25, 2023, the CDC updated its website page on "Chronic Symptoms Following Infections" to acknowledge that, similar to some other infections such as COVID-19, chronic symptoms can persist after Lyme disease infection and courses of treatment. This change could positively impact CDC guidelines on Lyme Disease, medical research, and treatments for chronic Lyme disease. It may also influence insurance policies regarding chronic Lyme disease treatment in the future.