By Colonel Nicole Malachowski, USAF (Ret.)

I think I may have finally made a difference.

All I’ve ever wanted since my medical discharge from military service for tick-borne illness (29 December 2017) was to do something to ensure it didn’t happen to anyone else in uniform or their family members.

After nearly a decade of effort, it has finally paid off.

For context, I went through a Medical Evaluation Board (MEB), which found me “100% unfit for duty due to chronic systemic tick-borne illness.”

I was bitten in the summer of 2012, while serving at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. Upon listening to my flu-like symptoms AND looking at my rash, my military medical provider told me (and I quote), “we don’t have Lyme disease in North Carolina.” That was the day I became chronically ill forever.

1,525 days of misdiagnosis

In fact, it took military medicine 1,525 days, over 24 doctors across 8 specialties, and 3 misdiagnoses, to finally figure out what was wrong with me. Lack of medical provider education & awareness, both military and civilian, continues to lead to misdiagnosis, lack of diagnosis, and inevitably to unnecessary suffering through chronic illness.

Last year, I found myself speaking to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), where they opened their hearts and minds to hearing my tick-borne illness patient story. Afterwards, a very curious and compassionate man, Dr. Russell Kohl, approached me with many thoughtful questions.

It just so happens that he’s a Colonel in the Missouri Air National Guard AND the State Air Surgeon (lead doctor). He was deeply concerned that what happened to me happened while I was in service to my country, and even more concerned that it may still be happening to others.

After a few minutes of conversation and fully “clicking” as a duo, I asked him if he’d join me in educating military medical providers and service members. Keep in mind, I’d been literally begging the Department of Defense, Defense Health Agency, for a decade to do an awareness campaign in May, which is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, to no avail.

To my surprise, Dr. Kohl said, “Absolutely!” If I’m being honest here, I never expected to hear back from him.

Boy, was I wrong…

Within a few days, he connected with me and mentioned how he had broached the subject already with the Director of the Air National Guard Medical Service, and had received approval for a Lyme Disease and Tick-Borne Illness Awareness campaign in May of 2025.

To say I was overwhelmed with gratitude is an understatement. Now we had to garner the educational materials needed to support their effort. And this is where community comes in. The Lyme disease community heard my request and charged the hill!

Two major global non-profits stepped up to help: LymeDisease.org and the Bay Area Lyme Foundation. They did what they do best: share their knowledge and materials, because they know the power of educating medical providers. They also understand the importance of keeping our service members and military families healthy for duty.

Educating 100,000 members of Air National Guard

The end result? Well, you can read the details in the very gracious attached Memorandum of Appreciation. Big picture: over 100,000 citizen airmen, including over 100 physicians, and 1,000 medical technicians, received the educational training. The sooner our service members are diagnosed, the better the treatment outcomes. This is, indeed, a military readiness issue.

My deepest gratitude to Dr. Russell Kohl for his curiosity and courage, and to my wingmen at LymeDisease.org and The Bay Area Lyme Foundation. Together, we have made a difference.

Oh, and now that we have ‘proof of concept’ of this Lyme Disease and Tick-borne Illness Awareness education campaign, it’s long overdue for the Department of Defense, Defense Health Agency, to do the right thing. We stand by ready to support. What say you?

You can follow Nicole Malachowski on Instagram: @realmalachowski

See also:   Citizen airmen, Lyme advocacy, and a mission to save lives