Great items to report. The Empty Chair project went well. I was pleased to see that the room was not empty as usually and I had a less amount of chairs available for placement of caregivers/family pictures and of CFS individuals. The feedback we received from Dr.Anand was really encouraging. He is looking at all venues of communication with the patient population by using available technology that we advocacy orgs can post on our web sites and in the case of P.A.N.D.O.R.A., on our non profit page of YouTube.com.
In the meantime, we patients need to click on their web site at http://www.hhs.gov/advcomcfs/pastmeetings.html to read the Nov 28, 2007 meeting minutes to get a feel and an update for what the CFSAC is doing. I want to acknowledge here everyone who sent us an e-mail and ask for your understanding if we did not get back to you in time for this meeting. We received 100s e-mails and letters and our volunteer office staff was overwhelmed with the response. But we will keep your letters, pictures and will contact you to finalize it as we are considering making the Empty Chair project a "travelling exhibition". We will let you know if it will be possible.
The CFSAC is up for renewal this September and although the renewal of this committee is not in jeopardy as I was told by DHHS staff, the CFIDS Association does not want us to take any chances and it has issued an action alert asking CFS patients to write to Secretary Leavitt to ensure the committee remains fully funded. I actually would like to see its budget increased considerably. So make sure to say it if you write to Secretary Leavitt on the issue to raise its future funding.
Today as I was told, (and as I witnessed yesterday) was a heart wrenching public testimony period, as the CFS patients made their presentations in person. Every personal story makes your heart cringe and your eyes watery. As much as I am a veteran,seasoned patient advocate, the emotion I hear, see and feel emanating from these patients are difficult to handle. And I today did not get to witness them in person due to a morning visit to Capitol Hill to visit House Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen whom I had the opportunity to meet again in person, and with Rep. Robert Wexler'staff as well with Rep. Ron Klein. These morning meetings were quite productive as our appropriations requests are in place and moving along the long tedious process. They will require a bit of tweaking regarding the language we used, and P.A.N.D.O.R.A. will work it out in the coming months, but before we tackle the next step of this project I will have to rest aggressively and recoup from this trip.
It is gratifying to see that Rep. Ros-Lehtinen understands that without a Center of Excellence and without statutory language with specific funding for the CFS/Neuroendocrineimmune Centers of Excellence, their establishment will not be realized. I say she gets it! And so do Reps Wexler and Klein (my own congressman who represents the district where I live in Florida!)
I am extremely grateful that two of their staff members: Eva Dominguez (Wexler) and Virgina Neale (Klein) came to the CFSAC meeting in the afternoon and were educated and appreciated for their interest in coming to such an important meeting for our community. I have been coming to Capitol Hill for the past 4 and half-years if not longer and this is the first time congressional staffers attended a CFSAC meeting. I am excited, grateful and elated to say the least!
A long list of recommendations are being sent to Secretary Leavitt by the CFSAC and it is incumbent on us to advise Secretary Leavitt of the importance of these recommendations to our Quality of Life. There is a huge momentum here and we need to grab it!
And to finish my report on the last day of this two-day meeting, with some exciting notes: The presentation by Dr. Kenneth Friedman, our Secretary & Chairman of Public Policy for P.A.N.D.O.R.A. provided a great insight on the New Jersey CFS Association and on their medical student scholarship, which is creating the much needed awareness of the plight of CFS patients to physicians-in-training, and affording our community a greater potential that the next wave of physicians will be well trained in neuroendocrineimmune disorders and in particular CFS. He proudly announced our own scholarships and we are elated that one of them we are naming it after him for his accomplishments, hard work and collaborative efforts in uniting our community. It has been a pleasure for me to personally collaborate and see the results of our joint efforts. It is extremely gratifying!
We are hoping that other organizations follow and apply these initiatives in their own regional areas. Our community grants are made to work as seed money/change to encourage this type of collaboration and additional initiatives.
I am also amazed at one of the most professional patient representations I have seen in the CFSAC since I have attended these meetings by Rebecca Artman,our Public Policy and Community Advisor, who valiantly, smartly and persistently is fighting for patient's issues. Her work has been diligent, to the point, and on target! I take great pride to say that she is a true representative of what P.A.N.D.O.R.A. means to our community.
I also want to invite you all to join P.A.N.D.O.R.A.'s efforts on May 12 2008-Awareness Day. During the month of MAY, series of proclamation day letters for May 12as P.A.N.D.O.R.A.'s Neuroendocrineimmune Disorders Day in the cities of Pompano Beach,Pembroke Pines, Lighthouse Point, Deerfield Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, all in the state of Florida and in the city of Murphy, North Carolina are being issued by their respective mayors. If you live in any one this cities, please send your mayor a note of thanks!
I want to thank Cort Johnson, Pat & Bruce Fero, Dr. Sharon Ostalecki, Claudia Wendlandt and Rik Carlson whose organizations signed up on the letter we sent to Congressional Members of the Health Committees (appropriations) as well as their own congressmen inviting their staff to attend at least the public testimony portion of the CFSAC meeting followed by a short list of priorities that only funding will address.
I also want to thank patient advocates Mary Schweitzer, Megan and many of the brave patients, parents and caregivers who presented their testimonies during these two day-meeting. It goes further to show, that ONE VOICE, ONE CAUSE, ONE COMMUNITY, United can make a difference and I ask you who is reading this post today, to Join US and become an Agent for Change too!
ADVOCACY WORKS!
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