Hello, and thank you for being here. My name is Sylvia DiRosa-Taylor and I’m a high school student, Eagle Scout candidate, and Lyme warrior. For my Eagle Scout project, Mapping the Unseen, I have been leading creative workshops for people living with Lyme disease, co-infections, and other invisible illnesses. Together, we’ve been creating body maps—artworks that express how illness lives in the body, shapes our emotions, and influences our daily lives.

The Next Phase: A Supportive Card Deck for Healing & Understanding

Now, I’m moving into the final and most impactful phase of my project: creating a healing card deck that combines body-centered reflections, gentle affirmations, and creative prompts to support self-compassion, energy management, and accessible creative expression. Participant’s body maps will serve as the artwork for the cards.

These cards are designed to support people living with chronic Lyme disease, their co-infections, and other invisible illnesses, but they are also for their loved ones, caregivers, and allies. From well-known decks such as the I Am Everything Affimation Deck, to nature-based wellness decks like Wild & Well‑Being Card Deck, many people are turning to card decks as a practical, portable tool for self-compassion, reflection, and healing.

All funds raised through this GoFundMe will go directly toward printing these decks, so they can be shared free of charge with individuals and families through my beneficiary, the North Carolina Lyme Disease Foundation.

By distributing these decks at no cost, I hope to provide a practical tool for comfort, validation, and connection, something I wish I had earlier in my own journey.

Why This Project Matters

My own journey with invisible illness began in 4th grade during a school field trip, when I was bitten by a tick. The bite was mishandled by teachers and camp staff, and although I was treated with doxycycline, we believed everything had been resolved.

It wasn’t until years later—after a mild case of COVID-19 triggered dizziness, fatigue, heart-rate instability, and eventually diagnoses of POTS, Long COVID, and ME/CFS—that we finally uncovered the fuller picture. More testing and persistence led to a confirmed diagnosis of Lyme disease, revealing that what I had been experiencing for years was connected.

Living with chronic, misunderstood illness can be confusing, isolating, and exhausting. But it has also taught me about resilience, creativity, and the power of community. This Eagle Scout project grew from those lessons. It is my way of helping others feel seen, supported, and understood.

Your Support Makes This Possible

Your donation will help me print and distribute the card decks, making them freely available to people living with Lyme and other invisible illnesses across North Carolina.

Every contribution—big or small—brings this project closer to life and helps make invisible experiences visible.

Thank you for supporting this work, for standing with the invisible illness community, and for helping me complete my Eagle Scout project in a way that uplifts and empowers others.

Note: anything donated over the requested amount will be donated directly to the North Carolina Lyme Foundations.

With gratitude,

Sylvia