06/13/2026
"Hey, y’all! My name is Sarah Hesterlee. I’m Texas born and raised, and I’m here today to testify: Lyme is in every state.
To put my story simply, I married my high school sweetheart. We became high school teachers. We built a house down the street from the school and raised a couple of kids who are now high schoolers. Through the years, I got Lyme disease, lost my ability to walk well and sometimes to speak, lost my job when I retired due to disability, and we lost our home. But we’ve also been blessed, as we recently rebuilt and my husband won a war against stage four cancer since there’s a protocol in place.
We need that for cases of chronic Lyme, too. Please push for the advancement of its research and treatment by continuing to share your stories. Thanks for your time and for all of your advocacy." – Sarah
