YORK, Pa. — Today on FOX43, Carrie Perry of Chick2Chick joined Amy Lutz to discuss Sam's Spoons, the foundation she started in the wake of her daughter's Lyme disease diagnosis.
Sam Perry, Carrie's daughter, was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2014 after being bitten by a tick, according to her mother. After several failed doctors' visits, she saw a functional medicine doctor who ran some blood work and determined she had two strains of Lyme disease.
Over the next three years, Sam's health was up and down, but she has been in remission since 2017. Her mother Carrie was inspired by her daughter's story and founded the Sam's Spoons Foundation for Lyme Support and Education in order to "defray the out of pocket expenses incurred by families affected by chronic medical conditions, from Lyme disease, and co-infections," according to the Sam's Spoons website.
The nonprofit organization also aims to raise awareness and provide educational outreach efforts for youth and their families, also according to the website. The organization tries to push important policies about tick bites and Lyme disease in Pennsylvania.
Sam's Spoons offers "Tick Talks" that anyone can attend to learn more about Lyme disease. The fifth annual Tick Talk is coming up on May 22, according to Carrie. The organization also has a "Sockit2Lyme" spring campaign "whereby they receive funding from businesses and other organizations to provide permethrin treated socks and important tick/Lyme information to children," Carrie said in an email. Schools that participate in the event donate the socks to their fifth grade classes and other organizations provide them to young campers dealing with the disease.
The organization has provided financial assistance grants to a number of young people struggling with the disease, in the amount of almost $25,000 total.
To learn more about Sam's Spoons, visit the website, linked above, and check out the interview above.