About a year ago, the president came down with an unconfirmed case of Lyme disease, the White House has said. Spokesman Scott Stanzel said the ailment wasn’t disclosed to the public because Bush had already had his physical and “It’s not uncommon for the president to have tick bites when he’s out biking.” That’s just gross.
Truthdig contributor Steven Kotler describes in The New York Times Magazine how the mere act of going surfing pulled him out of a near-suicidal battle with Lyme disease and kick-started a quest to explore the nexus of surf, science and spirituality.