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Fibromyalgia Awareness Day
May 12th. 

The Yellow & Black Ball & Auction for Fibromyalgia Awareness

Fundraising Ball & Auction for UK Fibromyalgia Awareness
The Yellow & Black Ball & Charity Auction, a major fundraising event for UK Fibromyalgia Awareness, is being organised to tie-in with International Fibromyalgia Awareness Day on May 12th.  

The venue for the Yellow & Black Ball on Saturday May 10th 2008 is the beautifully appointed Royal Thames Yacht Club in the up-market London (UK) area of Knightsbridge. The Yellow & Black Ball is a fabulous opportunity for over 150 guests to enjoy a glamorous evening as well as make a real difference to Fibromyalgia Awareness in the UK. Dinner overlooking Hyde Park will be followed by a charity auction of items such as celebrity memorabilia and once-in-a-lifetime experiences and all money raised by the event will go to help Fibromyalgia Awareness in the UK, hopefully paying for one or more specific projects.  

The ball name, and alternative dress code, of Yellow & Black coming from the awareness ribbon for Fibromyalgia in the UK of yellow with black polkadots.

Fibromyalgia Awareness Posters

May 12th, Fibromyalgia Awareness Day, is just around the corner and you can help by designing your own Fibromyalgia Awareness Poster or by printing these out and posting them at Doctors Offices, Hospitals, Clinics, etc.

The medical profession's governing principle IS "non-discrimination on the basis of sex, race, or medical condition."  Meaning doctors are not supposed to choose which patients they serve based on sex, race or medical condition.

Patients with FM and/or ME/CFS have a hard time finding doctors willing to take them on, and many doctors don't want to treat the conditions.  Many of these doctors are violating their profession's guiding principle.

  If our community is silent at this time, our voice will not be heard. The CPSO's deadline for input is February 15, 2008.

  May we suggest to you that:
  a) Local patient groups send an email to the CPSO.
  b) Patients communicate directly with the CPSO.
  c) Everyone copy their messages to the Provincial Health Minister
  d) Copy your emails to the Editors of your local newspaper (see link below
  for a list)

  May we also suggest that emails sent to the CPSO be kept very short, very polite and on issue.

  Perhaps you can send the following message:

  Addressed to:

  svanin@cpso.on.ca
  Sharon Vanin, The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario

  For a long time the more than 400,000 Fibromyalgia and/or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis patients in Ontario have found it difficult to find doctors willing to treat them.

   The doctors complain that it takes too much time to assess and treat them. No treatment leaves the patients with no access to medicine or treatment, which makes their conditions worse.  Worsened conditions mean more hardship and sometimes more symptoms.  This increases the burden on the families and care-givers.

  The impact on the medical system and the impact on the economy are not well served by ignoring these very real physiological changes to human health. Every year healthy people in the prime of their life become sick with FM andor CFS.

  We call upon The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario give more attention to these illnesses.  Denying care is not only against the
principles of the health care system but is not good for the families of the patients and the economy of Ontario.  Help these patients get better.  Help them become active members of the community, paying taxes, and raising families. Give them hope.

  As the bestselling author of Seabiscuit, Laura Hillenbrand, who is battling CFS, said: "This illness is to fatigue what a nuclear bomb is to a match."

  Your Name

  You can also send a copy to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care,
  George Smitherman:
  CCU@moh.gov.on.ca
  gsmitherman.mpp@liberal.ola.org

  You can find more MPP email addresses at:
  http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/members_current.do?locale=en

  And the media:

  Here is the email address for the Letters section of the Globe and Mail:
  letters@globeandmail.ca

  Here is the email address for the Letters section of the Toronto Star:
  lettertoed@thestar.ca

  Here is the email address for the Letters section of the National Post:
  prussell@nationalpost.com

  And:

  You can visit FM-CFS Canada for more newspaper Editor email addresses at:
  http://fm-cfs.ca/editors.html

Contact the White House. The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461
Email: comments@whitehouse.gov or Vice President Richard Cheney: vice_president@whitehouse.gov

Need more places to send your well crafted letter? Simply type in your zip code to find the contact information for your local and national representatives.

It shall be proclaimed: 

WHEREAS  8 to 10 percent of the population of our country—and millions worldwide have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a disease for which there is no known cause or cure; and 

WHEREAS fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder that causes fatigue and life altering pain that does not discriminate against race, age or ethnicity; and 

WHEREAS people with this illness live with chronic pain throughout their bodies; extreme fatigue; I.B.S.; memory impairment; concentration problems; sleep disorders; muscle weakness; migraine headaches; and 

WHEREAS people with Fibromyalgia often go ten or more years without a diagnosis; or have their symptoms mishandled due to the current mentality of many health care providers; and 

WHEREAS increased awareness and knowledge of fibromyalgia will not only allow individual communities to better understand the condition, it will save countless dollars in cities, businesses and the health insurance industry when people can procure needed help instead of filing for disability benefits due to the lack of educated health care providers and research.  

WHEREAS the FMS Community’s focus if for a better future and quality healthcare for people with fibromyalgia; 

NOW, THEREFORE, I,_______________________, do hereby recognize the needs of these chronically ill people and proclaim May 12, 2008 as “Fibromyalgia Awareness Day” in _______________________, and urge all of our citizens to support the search for a cure and assist those individuals and families who deal with this devastating disorder on a daily basis. 

If you choose not to print off our sample letter designed to send to those in power, here are a few tips on how to compose your own letter.

~ Open with your name and any other facts you feel may help people understand your life, such as age, marital status, age, career, education etc. Only put as much information as you are comfortable with, the goal is to depict the status of your health and how this disease has impact the life of you and your family. If you wish to reinforce your claims print off a copy of What is Fibromyalgia? and attach it to your letter.

~ Describe how Fibromyalgia has impact your life and the life of your family.

• How many years you have suffered with the symptoms and how long it took to get a diagnosis.
• How long it took you to find a knowledgeable doctor to give you a diagnosis and how much money was wasted on a wrong diagnosis, tests, therapies, surgeries, medication and other expenses while searching for answers.
• Briefly list the number of different treatments and therapies you endured before you had a diagnosis.
• Relate any humiliating encounters with health officials who told you it was all in your head, or that you were over-weight or lazy. Worse yet is if you were called a slacker who didn't want to work.
• Relate any problems with insurance companies that refused to pay for tests or medication related to your symptoms.
• List your education level, your career and hobbies. Things that you loved and worked toward and relate how Fibromyalgia has taken this away from you.
• If your doctor has deemed you unable to hold gainful employement relate your negative experiences with the disability benefits organization where you live. Let them know if you have been turned down after a doctor has declared you unable to work. Tell them how you live without funds, the impact on you and your family.  
• If fibromyalgia has ruined your marriage or relationships with your children, relatives or friends include this in the letter. Did FM ruin your marriage, your relationship with our kids? Did it cost you your job and social status?
• Let them know how you feel. Do you feel isolated, lost in the system? Let them know. Does your lack of positive health care impact your spouse, children and others?
• Do other members of your family exhibit signs of FM? Report this as well.
• Always show respect to those you write. Thank them for the time they spent viewing your letter and and relate that you would be grateful for any help they can offer. Address them with their proper title at the beginning of the letter and sign your letter Sincerely, or Kindest regards with your name.
• If you send a printed copy of your letter always remember to sign the letter by hand before you mail it.
• Remember to provide your full name and mailing address after your signature as all officals must respond to correspondence if an address is provided.
• Try to keep your letter to one printed page for the best chance of being read. Our officials are busy and will often over look extremely long documents.

• Call or E-Mail your local paper, television station or radio station and let them know that awareness day is coming up and suggest that they interview a local health care provider or contact an expert online for an interview.
• Contact your local library and let them know about awareness day. Ask that they put up a display of FM related books and facts.
• Call local hospitals and clinics to see if they are doing anything for the day. Suggest to them that they do some education based activities on May 12th.
• Go to a trusted online resource and purchase a button or pin that you can wear to get people to ask questions. You can then educate them about our condition.
  

If you have an awareness day activity you would like to see listed here send it to us. Email

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