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Forest ranger Eddie will walk 3000 kilometers for children with Lyme

Eddie Wolfswinkel (27) has been sick for years with Lyme disease. But his big dream? travel, without burdening the planet ? stayed upright. Unlike his health. But now that he has (almost) completely recovered, he is going on a foot trip from Sicily…



Eddie Wolfswinkel (27) has been sick for years with Lyme disease. But his big dream – to travel, without burdening the planet – remained intact. Unlike his health. But now that he has (almost) completely recovered, he is going on a foot journey from Sicily to the Netherlands: about 3,000 kilometers in six months.

forester

Eddie has always been an “outdoor boy”, so the choice for the MBO training at the Helicon in Velp (forest and nature management) was an obvious choice. After his training, he became a forest ranger at Staatsbosbeheer and worked on Terschelling from 2014 onwards. A beautiful Wadden island, but unfortunately with a lot of ticks. In 2017 Eddie continued his career at Schouwen-Duiveland in Zeeland. In mid-2017, Lyme disease began to manifest itself in chronic fatigue, cardiac arrhythmias and later also impaired vision. Probably already contracted on Terschelling. Little by little Eddie is getting better. He feels a lot fitter than a few years ago. And because life is simply too short and sometimes it turns out to be shorter than you think, he has been actively pursuing his dream: “’It’s time to take a journey.”

Travel without burdening the planet

That was the main goal. So no planes and as little other planet-damaging transport as possible. A good friend is going to Sicily by car in October and then the idea arose to drive with him and walk back from there. After a little research, it turns out that there are a lot of long-distance walking routes through Europe. Another continent is not possible, because then you will have to take the plane, which is again taxing. And let Europe now also have enough beautiful places. After Sicily, the plan is to continue to Rome, Venice, Austria, the black forest in Germany towards Hanover and then cross the border at Arnhem to Amersfoort. A great challenge that will take around 3000 kilometers and half a year.

Helping children with Lyme

Eddie also wants to help other people with his walking tour. He does not only want to achieve a performance with his walk, but above all with the money he wants to raise with it. An achievement that really puts things right and is close to his heart. And that is how he ended up at the Tick Bite Disease Foundation. A volunteer foundation that is committed to providing the best and broadest possible information about tick-bite diseases (including Lyme disease) and research into these diseases. For which there is still no good diagnosis method and certainly no adequate and affordable treatment. Children have the highest priority at the Tick Bite Disease Foundation: that is where most victims fall. Not only do they (logically) get the most tick bites, but if they do not develop a red ring / spot (a so-called EM = Erythema Migrans) – THE proof of Lyme disease – the disease is often not recognized in time and becomes chronic. The foundation would like to train one or more paediatricians to become Lyme specialists, so that these children can be helped in time and better.

To donate

Eddie has his own donation page Geef.nl: Geef.nl/nl/actie/lopentegenlyme. There is already good donation. The counter is already at € 2,400. But of course Eddie also has to pay for his equipment and live on this money for six months. That is why the target amount is € 100,000.-. Because retraining a pediatrician is not cheap, but very important!

Source: tick bite diseases.nl

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