117: Alex Moresco, Lyme Advocate & Co-Founder of Advocacy Express

Uninvisible Pod with Lauren Freedman

Whether it’s hiding the likes of Pamela Anderson from paparazzi or helping NeNe Leakes pretend to sell furniture…Alex Moresco has a story about it. A PR executive from Chicago, four years ago her life was turned upside-down by undiagnosed illness. It took her two years and eight specialists (a shorter time than most, she admits) to find a doctor that would eventually crack the case: tick-borne illness. She quickly realized what mattered in life: philanthropy, advocacy, and lobbying for more accessible and evidence-based healthcare. Moresco has gone on to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for tick-borne illness research, and makes frequent trips to DC as part of that work. In 2020, she co-founded Advocacy Express, an automated advocacy platform that makes it attainable and efficient for constituents to lobby their Representatives for tick-borne disease-related and healthcare change. Featured on People, Fox, Michigan Avenue Magazine, Swaay, and various other outlets, she joined us to share her story and remind why advocacy matters. Especially for those living through Lyme.

Tune in as Ali shares:

• how her symptoms were written off by practitioners: as a cold, flu, stomach flu, food poisoning, ear infections, depression, and more
• that while she was being brushed aside by practitioners, her symptoms progressed so much that she became bedridden
• a recognition of her privilege in accessing varied treatments — Eastern, Western, antibiotics, ozone, IV therapy, peptide therapy, IVIG, and more
• that she has multiple confections, dysautonomia, and Specific Antibody Deficiency as a result of her Lyme infection
• that one of her doctors had the wherewithal to send her to an LLMD for confirmation and treatment
• that so many Lyme patients are abandoned by friends, family, and practitioners
• how her illness has impacted her relationships
• the importance of mental health support through chronic illness — and that she finally sought professional support after losing a close friend to Lyme
• the disproportionate disbelief of chronic Lyme patients, and the need for systemic change in order to validate their experiences and create practical solutions
• why she is committed to helping raise voices in more marginalized communities
• why it’s more critical to DO THE WORK of erasing stigma and addressing systemic oppression behind the scenes, rather than solely taking part in performative action
• what drove she and her husband to establish Advocacy Express — and how they are leveraging the platform to create legislative change in healthcare
• what we need to change about medical education in the US — and why more doctors need to be educated in chronic disease (outside of what’s easily treated with pharmaceuticals)
• why it’s a crime that insurance companies require patients to be “sicker” in order to address their needs — and thus create long-term dependence on treatments, rather than covering preventive treatments in the short-term
• that there is hope

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