Gigi Hadid honored her mother, Yolanda Hadid, at the inaugural Global Lyme Alliance gala in October 2015, and her emotional speech is finally available online in full.

"Tonight, we are honoring the person that, more than anyone I know, is hope for Lyme disease awareness: my mom," said a teary-eyed Gigi. "For your fight, for your passion, and for making your journey one that will help so many, I'm so proud to honor you with this award."

While Gigi herself is Lyme-free, Yolanda took the opportunity to announce that her other two children, Bella and Anwar, have also battled the disease.

“Watching my babies struggle in silence in order to support me and my journey struck the deepest chord of hopelessness inside of me, and it’s because of them that I’m motivated to stand here in front of you today,” Yolanda told the crowd during her own speech. "This award is for Anwar and Bella. This is my token and my promise to you that I will not allow you to live a life of pain and suffering. I will walk to the end of the Earth to find a cure, so that you can live a healthy life that you deserve. No child should suffer in the way that you do."

Lyme disease can be confusing. Most people know it as a treatable infection you get from a tick, but recently, celebs with "chronic," or post-treatment, Lyme disease, like Yolanda, have brought the long-term suffering and complications it can cause to light. To prevent further confusion, we answered five basic questions about the disease.

What is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is caused by a spirochete, a corkscrew-shaped bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi, and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 300,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease in the U.S. every year. It can affect people of all ages, though the CDC notes it’s most common in children, older adults, and others such as firefighters and park rangers who spend time in outdoor activities and have higher exposure to ticks.

What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?

One reason Lyme is so hard to pin down how similar the symptoms can be to other diseases. In fact, Lyme is often called “The Great Imitator.” Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans, which looks like a red circle around a patch of skin and begins at the site of the tick bite. Estimates of patients who develop a Lyme rash vary, ranging from about 30% to 80%.