Business Spotlight: Treatmytickbite.com

A Maine physician has started the second season of a new online medical service in Maine designed
to help prevent new cases of Lyme disease by increasing patient access to early evaluation and treatment of tick bites. Dr. Catherine Lockwood has founded treatmytickbite.com, a first of its kind online service where anyone in Maine can use a secure online connection and have a video consult with a physician to have their tick bite assessed for the risk of Lyme disease and be treated with preventative antibiotics when needed.

Online medical services make getting care easier by avoiding waiting rooms and doctor’s offices,
avoiding waiting for return calls or delays in appointments and avoiding costly emergency room visits when people have nowhere else to receive care.

Some cases of Lyme disease can be prevented when early medical care identifies which tick bites are worrisome so preventative treatment can be started as soon as possible - but timing is key. The goal of treatmytickbite.com is to decrease the barriers between people getting bites and getting care. The site's online services are available seven days a week during tick season which typically is mid-March through November. Appointment times vary each day but are offered as early as 6 a.m. and as late as 9 p.m.

After having been a primary care provider and an urgent care physician locally, Dr. Lockwood now works to help people identify whether they should be concerned or not from a tick bite.  Lockwood said the idea for her online business grew out of her experience as an urgent care doctor in the lakes region. “During peak tick season, sometimes 20% or more of our visits would be related to tick bites,” she said. “People would often wait several hours and they or their insurance companies would be charged hundreds of dollars for the visit.  I was most concerned by the many people I imagined who didn't have hours to wait or hundreds to spend who rolled the dice, didn't have their bites checked and instead waited to see if they became sick. I just thought there really should be another option to help manage this need. So, treatmytickbite.com was born.”

Dr. Lockwood grew up in Connecticut and was trained in medical school at the University of Connecticut with a residency at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. “I married a native Mainer and we have settled here in Freeport for the past 13 years,” she stated. “As a teenager, I was drawn to science, writing and caring for people without thinking about where that would lead. It was simply what I enjoyed. After high school and college, studying science and writing, being a hospital volunteer and nurse's aide, I reached a point where I needed to make a career choice. Stumped, my father trying to help asked if I wanted to be a doctor. I said, ‘Doesn't everyone?’. ‘No,’ he said. ‘So, if you want to be one, it means something.’  Now, nearly 30 years later I still agree with him.”

Lockwood hadn’t been on the road to becoming a doctor very long when she first encountered Lyme disease. “I have been seeing cases of Lyme from early in my medical training as a medical student in Connecticut where Lyme disease was first identified,” Dr. Lockwood began. “I can remember as a medical student working with the Pediatric Rheumatology department and seeing dozens of kids sent there with swollen, painful joints, their doctors concerned they had Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Instead, they had Lyme disease and most parents would then ask what that was. This was 25 years ago. I don't think you could live in Connecticut or Maine now and not have some personal experience with Lyme disease. My mother and son and husband have all had early Lyme disease, were treated and fully recovered. Watching for ticks and signs of Lyme are a part of our daily lives at this point.”

Maine is the number one state in the country for Lyme disease with cases here being 10 times the national average for this potentially disabling illness including some of our more isolated island communities that experience cases at a rate 100 times greater than the national average.  Now, using this new service from home or work or even from a remote island accessible only by ferry, Maine residents and visitors can use a secure online connection to show a Maine physician the tick that bit them, the bite site, any rash that has developed and get direct medical advice and treatment tailored to their specific situation including medications if needed.

The site seeks to keep costs for patients affordable with a new patient video visit priced
at $29.

For further inquiries you can contact Catherine Lockwood MD at drlockwood@treatmytickbite.com

Business Spotlight: Windham Youth Soccer Association

Entering its 39^th year with a mission to develop, promote and administer the game of soccer to youth between the ages of two and fourteen, Windham Youth Soccer Association is one of the only soccer clubs in the state of Maine that runs both an In-House soccer program and a travel soccer program. The Association, which owns, manages and maintains their own soccer complex at Gambo Field, is run exclusively through a team of dedicated volunteers of coaches and board members with no direct town resources or affiliation.  

“Our long history of success is due to the devoted enthusiasm of our volunteers,” explained volunteer Board Member, Amy Bilodeau. “There is no way we could do this without the collaboration between parents, coaches, board of directors and other community members.”

Volunteers of the Windham Youth Soccer Association provide instructional, recreational and competitive soccer programs and leagues for all genders and playing ability levels for approximately 1,100 youth per year.

There are three specific soccer team options available for any child or teenager living in Windham as well as the surrounding communities who do not have their own recreational or travel soccer programs. The three programs include: Little Eagles, In-House (also referred to as recreation soccer) and Travel.

The Little Eagles soccer program is for children ages two to three years old. Lead by junior coaches, the 45-minute Saturday morning lessons during the spring and fall seasons include games and skill building activities. “It is a fun introduction to the game of soccer,” stated Bilodeau. “Often, most children discover after participating in the Little Eagles program that soccer is a game they want to continue to play and go on to participate in one of our other two programs.”

The In House soccer program is for those who enjoy playing the sport recreationally, offering a less competitive way to appreciate all of what soccer has to offer. “Our season includes two practices per week with six league games, additional friendly games, two tournaments and festivals or playoffs at the end of the season,” Bilodeau said. “It is open for boys and girls with age divisions from U9 to U14.”

The Windham Youth Soccer Association also offers the travel soccer program. It is for players who are interested in participating in a more competitive environment and the team participates in the Soccer Maine’s Fall Classic League playing teams from all over Southern Maine. 

The Association website explains that travel teams are selected based on evaluations held in mid to late May with the goal to have a playing opportunity for all interested players and they frequently have more than one team in an age group. May 1^st is the registration deadline for those who are interested in the travel soccer program.

No matter which soccer program a child or teenager joins, Bilodeau points out that a participant learns more than the sport itself. “Players learn about team building and playing respectfully with one another and other clubs. They learn to follow instructions and learn life lessons that they can be applied in adulthood.”

And there’s more. Bilodeau added that being a part of the Windham Youth Soccer Association also benefits adults as well. “Parents gain long lasting friendships. It’s as if we become a networking group of parents. I have had the best time as a volunteer, collaborating with other adults in the community in the five years I’ve been on the board.”

Bilodeau also pointed out that parents and youth alike work well together by helping to maintain Gambo Field. “Students and adults help clean and prepare the soccer fields as the season begins.” She especially noted that parents, Rick and Anne Drapeau who own and operate Wildwood Properties in Windham, have been instrumental in the maintenance of Gambo Field. “We’ve been really lucky to have them on board and volunteer with us,” she said.

The volunteer coaches, board members and referees are offered opportunities to help everyone succeed in the program. Windham Youth Soccer provides education and licensing while maintaining strong and consistent enrollment. “We also adhere to the Soccer Maine guidelines and do background checks and Safe Sport Training for all our volunteers,” Bilodeau said

To learn more about how to participate in the Windham Youth Soccer Association, whether it is as a parent, a coach, a referee or a player, contact Jason Weatherby, President at Jasonweatherby@hotmail.com. Or for travel soccer questions contact Travel Director Amy Bilodeau at Amy.bilodeau@yahoo.com. Be sure to follow Windham Youth Soccer on Facebook and peruse their website at www.windhamyouthsoccer.com.

Business Spotlight: Hands and Soul

To create the best individualized treatment option, Hands and Soul, located at 936 Roosevelt Trail, Suite #2, provides integrative massage, health and wellness combinations with the intent to deliver healing at the maximum level. In order to offer the best restorative health possible, Owner Amanda Thomes along with other licensed Massage Therapists, Kimberly Mentzinger and Patricia Kazcmarek, provide deep tissue, medical and therapeutic Swedish massage as well as pregnancy, oncology, four hands and couples massage.

“We have also recently incorporated therapeutic yoga classes on Tuesday evenings from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.” stated Thomes, who is a Reiki Master and offers energy work as well. “We are very excited to have Anecia Trickey join Hands and Soul to teach the yoga classes. She is amazing and has quite the following as a yoga instructor.”

Thomes stated they have also added fascia blasting to their integrative health options. She explained that fascia, or myofascial tissue, contributes to pain and cellulite when it’s tight. “Fascia blasting, a technique that loosens the fascia through physical manipulation and pressure, allows increased blood flow and circulation which helps to reduce pain and cellulite.”

And there are many more options Hands and Soul provide for their clients. Aestheticism, Samantha Hale, is on staff to provide customized facial services to include, but are not limited to waxing, tinting and eyelash extensions.

If one is looking to add to their massage experiences, CBD cream massage, herbal foot soaks, hot stones as well as Himalayan salt hot stones are other options that can enhance the healing process. CBD cream and pills are also offered and sold separately.

“Our CBD creams and pills are made by Nature’s Resolutions which is a local individual who grows her plants organically and is a member of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association,” Thomes stated. “Her product is amazing. It’s so popular, I simply can’t keep it on the shelf.”

Thomes knows a thing or two about the many healing techniques and results of the various massage therapy and energy healing alternatives. “I knew at the age of nine that I would be doing something like this with my life,” said Thomes, who has approximately 20 years of professional experience.

Staff at Hands and Soul

Thomes explained that her father was always in a lot of physical pain due to an injury he sustained from falling off a 40-foot ladder. “He actually broke his back and he was in a wheelchair for a while. He was able to walk again but he was in constant pain.” As a child, Thomes, would offer to give her father a back massage to help ease some of the discomfort he often felt. “I would actually know where the pain was in his back before he would tell me.”

Her mother, who was a nurse at Mercy Hospital, also played a role in Thomes career choice. “My mom was a massage therapist, training others at the hospital. In fact, she actually introduced infant massage to the staff.”

But perhaps what solidified Thomes’ chosen career path was a movie she saw about a man who could heal with his hands. “I thought to myself, ‘I can do that’.”

Thomes attended what is now known as SpaTech Institute in Westbrook. Upon graduation in 2002, she began her first massage business by traveling from home to home - but it wasn’t long before she was invited to worked for Dr. Roy Moore of Moore Chiropractic and Wellness Center. After five years there, she relocated her business to Innovations Hair Salon where she had her office for twelve years.

“Once the salon closed its doors, I knew I wanted to create my own healing center with a focus being more on healing and less about the spa experience.” So Thomes set out to find where that center would be – and it turns out – Dr. Moore had the space. Officially opening at this location on December 1, 2019, Thomes said she feels as if she has come full circle and has found the perfect home for her healing center.

And perfect it seems to be for the clients of Hand and Soul. “It’s a wonderful welcoming place,” stated one happy customer. While others say: “Hands down, the best therapeutic massage I’ve ever received. Kim is amazing.” And, “No better way to break up the day than visit my favorite massage therapist, Amanda Thomes. I feel amazing.”

As Thomes reiterates, “Hands and Soul is where you come to heal” and it appears her clients could not agree more.

To learn more about healing opportunities offered Hands and Soul or to make an appointment, contact Thomes or other staff members at (207) 572-1072. Office hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Be sure to follow them on their Facebook page. A website will be up and running soon.