I want to take a second and thank someone who helped me by sharing her own life experience. Anna you know I would have been totally loss without the tricks you have taught me. Patients who suffer from illnesses are willing to help other patients because they do not want them to suffer. The longer you are a patient the more tricks you learn. The best thing you can do is to share that knowledge and that is the first type of awareness.
There are groups that have been formed by patients and supporters to spread the word. Large groups can make a big impact on finding cures and for proper care. For those that suffer from Gastroparesis there are quite a few organizations that you can reach out to. The first group that i was able to find was G-Pact and they have many things that they offer patients. Yet, they are not the only group. I suggest that you look around and find which group is in your area or meets your needs. Connect with them and add to their number it will make a difference.
There are many simple things that you can do to spread awareness to the general public. These small acts keep the information flowing yet are not very time consuming. These simple acts are ways of spreading awareness by encouraging others to ask what you are doing.
- If you have a social media account make sure to place awareness photos on your site. (A lot exist and all you have to do is look around and ask people are willing to share their photos to further spread awareness)
- Determine if there are colors for the cause you want to support and make sure to wear them. Just think back to red ribbons and pink ribbons and what influence they have had.
- If you have the energy you can start some form of blog. Try to keep it regularly updated but if something happens and you miss a day or two don't be upset with yourself.
- The majority of illnesses have some form of fundraiser that you can be involved with. Amazingly you can spread a lot of awareness through trying to raise money. I know for me I have been involved with several different fundraisers. I am known by my friends for my yearly shaves. I have participated in St. Baldricks for 5 years raising money for childhood cancer.
- If there are walks or other awareness campaigns participate to the best of your ability. If you can't do it yourself get your supporters involved.
- If you can find a t-shirt with your cause on it wear it as often as you can.
- Lastly, if you participate in any art form there are a few websites where you can post your work and bios of the artist. rareartists.org is a group that allows individuals with rare chronic illness a venue to post their art.
Awareness is more about spreading the word and letting people learn about things they would never have known about. You need to make sure that you get the right word out and share realistic facts. If you have information that can help other sufferers share. Sometimes the best information you can share is the name of physicians that are helping you. Even simple acts of sharing ways that you handle day to day task can be very beneficial. There are a lot of support groups on the web and in your local area that you can connect with. You might have information that will help someone.
Well sorry I missed a couple of days. Took me a few to recover from my test on Monday. have a good night while I work on resting.
For my fellow fighters keep on fighting and remember one day they will figure this out and we will have won. Until then don't give up hope. It is okay to rest on bad days, but on the good days enjoy life to your fullest because you deserve it.
There is so much more and remember this is something that I live with and am writing from my perspective. Talk to a doctor if you feel you may have this or any other disease because without proper diagnosis you will never get the treatment you deserve.
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