2010 Eyewitness New 4 Health Fair

Would anyone like to donate the $600 booth fee so our chapter can attend this event as an Exhibitor? See below.

Or, if 20 people donated $30, we could do an event like this and reach out to thousands of health conscious New Mexicans.

Would any of you patients, caregivers or friends be willing to volunteer your time to man the booth?

If not this year, then please consider this for next year.

Plan B:
You all should go to this event to learn about health resources in New Mexico. So....

If we cannot attend as Exhibitors this year, then I encourage all of you to go as attendees and wear your Vasculitis Foundation T-Shirts. If you know you are going, then come to the January meeting and I can give you one of the few older T-Shirts I have left, or you can purchase Awareness gear from the VF online store. Those proceeds benefit you indirectly, so don't be shy.

Try to engage some of these other organizations in a dialogue about vasculitis. Tell them about the local chapter and direct them to our local chapter website. Perhaps we can form more active partnerships with local organizations for the future, so our chapter gets invited to more events like this one. Or maybe we can start getting more press, when the media wants to write about health related issues.

BE PREPARED TO TALK ABOUT VASCULITIS EVERYWHERE YOU GO.

Joseph Carpenter
joseph@nmvasculitis.org
Parent, daughter with CSS (DX March '08)

Central NM Vasculitis Foundation Chapter
See us on the web: http://www.nmvasculitis.org - http://www.vasculitisfoundation.org
Or, call Joseph Carpenter at (505) 255-1366 for more information.


http://www.kob.com/article/10500/

Your Ticket to a Healthier Life!

You can be a part of the largest and most comprehensive Health Fair in New Mexico. We saw some 10,000 health-conscience New Mexicans attend the 2009 Eyewitness New 4 Health Fair and we are already expanding for 2010.

Our show hours are:
Saturday, January 23, 2010   9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
  Sunday, January 24, 2010   9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Lujan Exhibit Hall at Expo New Mexico (State Fairgrounds)

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As an Exhibitor you will receive:
 Choice of available 10' x 10' booth (100 square feet of exhibit space)
 Listing in the Eyewitness News 4 Health Fair Program
 One (1) 6' table, draped and skirted, and two (2) chairs
 Five (5) Exhibitor Badges for your staff working the event
 Five (5) Parking Passes for each of the two days of the event
 8' high draped back drop and 3' high draped side booth dividers

Total Investment: $550.00  + Sales Tax (6.875%)  = $587.81

$250 deposit per booth with application due by December 1, 2009.

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How to apply:
1. - View the Booth Layout Map and choose your preferred booth location.

2. - Fill out the Application below and click "Send."

3. - A representative will contact you regarding payment.

For questions, you may contact Joan Lucas, Public Affairs Director, at (505) 764-2490 or jlucas@kob.com.

Help for Caregivers

National Family Caregivers Association
"Rosalyn Carter said it best: “There are only four kinds of people in the world – those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers”. Caregivers are needed for family members of all ages. With appropriate information and support, family caregivers can help their loved ones across the lifespan."
http://www.thefamilycaregiver.org/who_are_family_caregivers/

See an introduction to what this is all about by Suzanne Mintz, president of NFCA:

The Gifts of Vasculitis by Lynn Corwin

This is a remarkable example of the power of perspective. I reprint it here in case you have not yet seen it. - JWC

Cleveland Ohio Vasculitis Foundation Chapter - The Gifts of Vasculitis by Lynn Corwin
Original article can be found here

The Gifts of Vasculitis
by Lynn Corwin

Vasculitis has given me so much more than it has taken from me. Let me explain.

I have a new appreciation for life that I didn’t have before. Every day is more meaningful because I realize how important every single day really is. We all have a finite amount of days to live; we are all going to die someday. Being diagnosed with vasculitis forced me to think about the fact that I might not live forever, which is sort of what I offhandedly thought. I see now that each new day that I wake up on the correct side of the grass is a good day. No matter how difficult things have been, or how concerned I am with the many negative things going on in my life…each new day holds promise. And I try to concentrate on what is going right in my life. I love each and every morning. What a gift!

I have a new kind of empathy and compassion that I didn’t have before. I never stopped to realize that sometimes people that look perfectly healthy are not. There are things wrong with many of us that do not show. If someone had a broken leg or a skin disease, I could certainly sympathize because I could see what was wrong. But now I know that some of the people that look the best have the most problems. I now care about all the difficulties people are having, not just the troubles I can “see”. I feel that I have a deeper understanding, and that “everyone is fighting some kind of battle”. So I try to be kind to everyone I meet. Having vasculitis has given me this beautiful gift of compassion which has made me a better person than I ever was. What a gift!

I have made some wonderful friends that I never would have known had I not had vasculitis. When I think of how empty my life would be without Shannon, Jane, Heather, Robert, Mark, and so many others, I realize that these “vasculitis friends” are such a blessing. If I had been healthy, I wouldn’t have met (online or in person) some of the loveliest, kindest, caring people all over the world. These people have supported me and enriched my life beyond measure, and they are my true blessings. What a gift!

And some of these wonderful new friends are people who have lost a loved one to vasculitis. Somehow I find the words to comfort them and guide them towards working for the cause to honor their loved one. These people live in agony, yet I have helped them to live with their pain. Before vasculitis, I couldn’t and wouldn’t have known what to say. I would have just turned a blind eye to their suffering. Now I can help them walk the walk. What a gift!

I have learned to accept myself and other people in a non-judgmental way. I have accepted my own unattractive physical changes due to vasculitis, which has raised my self-esteem considerably. It’s what’s inside of me that defines who I am. Before vasculitis, I put a great value on “looks”. I know we are in a world filled with all kinds of people, and I respect them all. I no longer have to be right all the time, nor does everyone have to do things my way in order to get them done properly. I am so much more laid back and likeable than I was before vasculitis came knocking at my door. I accept my own and other peoples’ faults and philosophies with a kindness I never knew I had. (probably because I didn’t have it before) What a gift!

I now know that people are dying and crippled because they didn’t get their vasculitis diagnosed in a timely manner…reason being, most medical people don’t know anything about vasculitis, although I have encountered some unbelievable doctors and allied medical personnel specializing in vasculitis who have helped me tremendously on my journey. So I have made it my mission to raise awareness of this disease in the medical and lay arenas. It has become a full-time job for me; a labor of love. I’ve never done anything particularly memorable in my life until now, and I feel I am really helping and making a difference in the lives of those who are affected by vasculitis. It is a warm and wonderful feeling. What a gift!

So the bottom line is – I have an incurable disease that has presented me with both challenges and opportunities. Vasculitis has given me so much more than it has taken from me…what a gift!

ABOUT THE NOVEMBER MEETING - UPDATED

Well, I learned immediately that Bennigans is closed. Closed, as in out of business, boards on the doors, for lease sign in the street. Wiping egg off face now...

So, here is updated information. Pssst... I called Shoney's to make sure they are still in business! :o) Thurday night they will have barbecue in the buffet! Come one come all... to the Jellicle Ball that night.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEXT MEETING:

NOVEMBER 2009

The November 2009 meeting of the NM chapter of the Vasculitis Foundation will be on November 19th.

This month, we are going to Shoney's, on Lousiana, on the SE corner of Lousiana and Menaul. As always, it starts at 6PM and lasts at least one hour, but often goes longer if we are having a good time.



Shoney's
6810 Menaul Blvd NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110-3624
(505) 883-0040
shoneys.com

Click here for: My Google Maps of Restaurants for Meetings
(This link should zoom to the next location, and the map will also include pins for other locations, past and present. Click on a blue pin to see details about that location.)