Fibromyalgia AWARE Sponsors Contest for Pain Awareness Month

September is Pain Awareness Month and the National Fibromyalgia Association and their Fibromyalgia AWARE Magazine is sponsoring an E-card contest.  The theme is “Pain Hurts Everyone”. 

Put your imagination to work and create a still image E-card to help spread the word about Pain Awareness Month. Winning artists and their E-card will be featured in an upcoming issue of Fibromyalgia AWARE magazine.

For the contest rules and guidelines, please visit the link I’ve included below…

Pain Awareness Month E-Card Contest

‘All Wheels 4 Fibromyalgia’ – 2010 Race Across America

I wanted to make sure I posted the following information I received from the National Fibromyalgia Association on an event that is called “All Wheels 4 Fibromyalgia”.    Four cyclists travel 3,000 miles in 6 days to raise awareness for Fibromyalgia!  What an awesome event! 

WHAT:

All Wheels for Fibromyalgia is a cycling team of four cyclists and 12 crew members who are partnering with the National Fibromyalgia Association to bring awareness of fibromyalgia, and to raise funds to support fibromyalgia research and community-based education programs for individuals affected by this disease. The Team will race nonstop for 3,000 miles across the United States from Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD in the world’s toughest bicycle race called “Race Across America” (RAAM).

WHERE:

Join the National Fibromyalgia Association and “All Wheels forFibromyalgia” on Saturday, June 12, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Oceanside Pier Amphitheatre as we send off the Team. Race begins at 2:00 pm sharp!  Be sure to stop by the NFA booth.

BE THERE:

This 3,000 mile trek is in your honor. Lend support and encouragement while following the Team online! AW4F will be posting real-time updates and locations on their Twitter and Facebook accounts (You don’t have to sign up for Twitter or Facebook to view the posts).

RAAM travels through 13 states between June 12 and June 18. If you are in the vicinity of the RAAM route, we encourage you to show your support in person. Wear the orange and blue team colors, bring signs and cheer for the racers! After miles of pedaling, your enthusiasm and support will bring much needed encouragement to our champion riders and crew. View time station locations and estimated arrival times here. Be sure to check Twitter and Facebook links above for the most up to date information.

DONATE:

Support the efforts of All Wheels 4 Fibromyalgia by making a donation to support fibromyalgia research and community-based education programs for individuals affected by the disorder. The team’s goal is to raise $100,000 by June 12.   Click HERE to donate.

Remember on Awareness Day: CFS & FM Are Family Diseases

In honor of CFS & Fibromyalgia Awareness Day tomorrow, I wanted to focus on how ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia are family diseases.  I know that as a patient myself, I have often got in the mode of thinking how ME/CFS affects ME, how Fibromyalgia affects ME…but it’s not just me that the disease affects.  These illnesses affect our entire families. 

CFS & Fibromyalgia affect our spouses, children, grandchildren, stepchildren, parents, siblings, in-laws, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, friends, employers…everyone we have contact with regularly is affected somehow by our illness.  I know for myself I often miss family birthday parties, holiday celebrations, family members sporting activities, and many, many more that I can’t even begin to count.  I have missed out on a lot over the past 20 years but so has my family because my illness has had a direct affect on their lives. 

After a while, people just stop asking how we are doing and just assume that we feel like crap and that we won’t make it to events.  We can’t be depended on for helping most of the time so if we do offer, they know that it’s never a definite yes but a “maybe”.  No one can depend on us anymore and we can’t even depend on ourselves. 

The hardest part for me being sick is how it affects the children in my life.  My son has to live on a daily basis with my illness and my step-grandchildren have been affected by it as well.  I can’t really make any advance plans to do anything with any of them and if I do, I usually end up having flares on those days.  So if I am able to attend, I’m not fully there because I am so miserable.  It’s hard for adults to grasp these illnesses and then we have to try and explain to young children how sick we are.  It’s a no-win situation for everyone involved. 

So on May 12th, when we are busy trying to raise awareness, keep in mind all of those people in your lives who are also touched by CFS and/or Fibromyalgia.  They all need to be recognized also.

Make Fibromyalgia Visible – May 12th

Below is an excerpt from a press release on PR Web regarding Fibromyalgia Awareness Day on May 12th.  Please go the PR Web site and read the entire article…

Make Fibromyalgia Visible May 12

The National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA) is encouraging organizations worldwide to make fibromyalgia visible by increasing awareness and understanding during Fibromyalgia Awareness Day on May 12. Allsup, a nationwide provider of Social Security disability representation and Medicare services is offering free posters to support the observance and provide information on the syndrome that affects an estimated five million Americans.

Fibromyalgia is characterized by chronic widespread pain, multiple tender points, abnormal pain processing (reacting strongly to things that other people would not find painful), sleep disturbances, fatigue and often psychological distress. For those with severe symptoms, fibromyalgia can be extremely debilitating and interfere with basic daily activities.

May Is ME/CFS Awareness & Fibromyalgia Awareness Day

It’s almost that time of year again already!  Wednesday, May 12, 2010, is ME/CFS Awareness Day and May 15th is Fibromyalgia Awareness Day.  Every year, I try to do something to help raise awareness for CFS & Fibromyalgia.  In the past I have done fundraisers, written press releases for the newspapers, contacted government officials, and donated money to organizations to help support CFS & Fibromyalgia research.  This year I am going to once again send out letters to all of the local newspapers and I am planning to contact the local radio station to see if I can be on their morning show to talk about CFS & Fibromyalgia on Awareness Day.  

The CFIDS Association has an annual Lobby Day on Capitol Hill where CFS patients get to talk to officials about CFS research.  The National Fibromyalgia Association has a page on their website full of ways to help raise awareness for Fibromyalgia.  Click HERE to check it out! 

As CFS & FM patients, it is our responsibility to help raise awareness for these devestating illnesses.  Most of us are physically unable to do a lot of things to help, but it takes only a minute to click a link and to send an email to your local government officials.  We need to be heard loud and clear!  We deserve better treatments, better physicians, and better care.  If we want change, then we have to do something about it.

Day of Invisibility – Please Watch Video & Spread the Word!

June 6th is the Day of Visiblity for invisible chronic illnesses. Please watch the video, visit the Invisible Diseases website, make or download cards, and do your part to help! If everyone of us suffering from chronic illness would commit to sending just 5 postcards to people they know, sharing their story, imagine all of the awareness we could raise! 

Here’s what you need to do – it’s simple!

• Go to the Invisible Diseases website
• Click on Advocate (top right of home page)
• Select any of the three postcards to download, print out, and send to people you want to share your story with. 

I will be doing my part.  Please join us in our efforts to raise awareness and visibility for the many invisible chronic illnesses out there!

Musician with Fibromyalgia Donates Album Proceeds to NFA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 9, 2010

WHO: KatZen indie rock band and the National Fibromyalgia Association

WHAT: Tamara Cimmerian, lead singer/songwriter and pianist of new rock band KatZen was medically diagnosed with fibromyalgia after suffering chronic unexplained pain for months following the birth of her child. Tamara struggled to get back to daily activities. A musician since age five, she found working on music helped to relieve pain and provided a creative outlet. On her newest album Overcome, Tamara utilizes her four-octave-range voice to express her battle against hardships. Tamara has teamed up with the National Fibromyalgia Association to raise awareness and will donate one-third of KatZens’ Overcome album proceeds to the nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for the millions of people living with fibromyalgia. Overcome features three of songs, all of which are about overcoming adversity. Tamara is joined on the album by drummer Forrest Robinson, who has played with India.Arie and TLC; and guitarist Jesse Berent.

WHEN: Now through March 31, 2010

WHERE: Overcome is available on iTunes and Amazon, as well as other digital retailers for $2.97 and individual songs for $0.99. For direct links to digital retailers selling Overcome, please visit www.katzenmusic.com/overcome

MORE: KatZen is a rock music project out of Downtown L.A. founded by Tamara Cimmerian. Tamara’s the principal member and her vision exclusively guides the artistic direction. Tamara works with drummer Forrest Robinson and co-producer Drew Schnurr to make music that blends different genres (rock, industrial, piano & metal) yet still creates a distinct sound. www.katzenmusic.com The National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop and execute programs dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with fibromyalgia. Founded in 1997 by Lynne Matallana and Karen Lee Richards, the NFA is the largest non-profit organization working to support people with fibromyalgia and other chronic pain illnesses. http://www.fmaware.org.

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