Teenager fights for progress in Lyme disease research

Olivia Goodreau was diagnosed with Lyme disease when she was 8. Today at 13, she created a nonprofit called LivLyme Foundation, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund Lyme disease research.

She has been honored by Stanford University, presented before federal health officials at the CDC, NIH, and DoD, and just launched a smartphone app called TickTracker. It uses geolocation from users

The junior high school student is a force to be reckoned with. Though, her path has been anything but easy.

Olivia first remembers getting sick at age 6. She was bitten by a tick during a family vacation in Missouri. When 2nd grade started, Olivia says she had body aches, brain fog, and a tremor in her right hand. She even started blacking out.

Her mother, Holiday Goodreau, said Olivia looked gray and washed out. They wondered if a virus was going around school.

Olivia was in and out of the hospital and had tests she said she didn't need. Finally, 18 months and 51 doctors later, Olivia was diagnosed with Lyme disease. She still battles the effects of the disease and uses LivLyme to power forward and help others.

Her mom said this is just the beginning.

The TickTracker launched in February. The app uses social media to detect where and when ticks are based on your location. Think Waze but for ticks. In the meantime, LivLyme is raising money for research and to help children with Lyme disease.

RESOURCES

LivLyme Foundation

TickTracker iOS app

CDC: Lyme disease

Lyme & Reason (Fox 5 special program)

Lyme & Reason 2.0 (Fox 5 special program)