Welcome!
It is important to believe in our own abilities when managing our lives with chronic conditions. It is possible to create a great life and not just view it as a sentence to be served. Facing illness is something we do and illness itself is only a portion of who we are. It is vital that we are offered resources to help us work with our health challenges in order to tap into our wellness strengths and potential.
MLWT Mission Statement:
To inspire individuals living with ‘invisible’ chronic illnesses by being a strong resource for supportive opportunities that reflect the wellness potential of each person and strengthens their well-being, within Oregon, SW Washington and beyond, focusing less on disease and more on designing for themselves the lives they seek.
MLWT began in 2008 as a collaborative lupus outreach project comprised of local, state, national and global resources. The information, suggestions, questions and requests MLWT received help educate local foundations, social service and medical service providers, political and educational resources towards working with us as individuals pursuing our unique wellness goals. The focus was on learning and creating new ways to work together in strengthening lupus resources and support opportunities here in Oregon and SW Washington, where few resources existed. MLWT also offered support and networking for other autoimmune and chronic diseases, recognizing that we have much more in common than we do different in our health and wellness support needs. MLWT was successful in putting Oregon on the lupus map and, in the process, brought together health and wellness resources by collaborating (rather than competing) with each other. This approach to health and wellness networking offers more opportunities for individuals to create more supportive individualized wellness plans.
In 2011, MLWT moved from researching and development of support resources focusing on lupus towards applying what has been learned about wellness needs during our community project. I continue to act as an Oregon resource hub for anyone living with SLE (lupus), as services for these patients are still quite scarce here. However, I now practice wellness support that puts the whole person first, while specifically honoring the unique challenges that many different illnesses bring into our lives.
Self-reliance is important to individuals facing illness. By strengthening our supportive opportunities and networks, we strengthen our healing capacities. I believe that the best way to educate others about living with any invisible chronic illness is by living with it ~ well.
To learn more about the project, visit our MLWT Project page, MLWT Partners and MLWT Guest Contributors here or check out the MLWT Wellness Tools and Resources page.
About Me
I acted as the MLWT network coordinator beginning in 2008, bringing together connections on individual and collective levels. Drawing from many years working within the non-profits sector, as well as Oregon and Washington State social services, my role as coordinator was to ‘sew up’ the support gaps between state agencies, non-profit programs and foundations, healthcare providers and social networks. By emphasizing the strengths of each resource and designing collaborative efforts among them, those gaps fill and the support individuals need are strengthened. Keeping the initial purpose of the MLWT project alive, I continue to seek out and develop collaborations nationwide that will help reinforce wellness for our Pacific NW communities, particularly for patients living with lupus.
Currently, I am a wellness facilitator and wellness doula offering supportive services that bridge momentum into treatment adherence. I regularly co-lead to lead Oregon’s Living Well With Chronic Conditions classes, based on Stanford University’s Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) and their Diabetes Self-Management Program (DSMP), as well as lead Arthritis Foundation’s land-based exercise classes for registered sites. I also offer group facilitation to programs/workshops/classes and retreats that target some of the key issues facing our lives with illness and work to make living well more relevant to our days.
An Oregonian since I was six, I live in the Portland-Metro area with my family (pets and wildlife included) and feel fortunate to have a supportive network of people, who have been instrumental in my health management. I’ve developed a good working relationship with my lupus, having regained and maintained full function of my kidneys. Although I still struggle to admit that I need help sometimes, I do enjoy being around for my daughters, share in social adventures with friends, seek every opportunity to explore our beautiful state , dutifully tend my (sometimes stubborn) garden and make sure I appreciate as many simple pleasures as I can- every single day.
To Contact me
If you have any questions, topic suggestions or looking for some local wellness resources to support you in managing living with lupus and or other chronic health challenges here in Oregon and SW Washington, email me at maria (at) mylifeworkstoday.
In support of your wellness,
Maria
Maria Pfeifer B.A., M.U.S
NOTE: You can also sign up to receive seasonal “MLWT Musings” offering information about local events, classes or workshops, products, or support services and opportunities to hear from others in the MLWT community when you register for the MLWT Mailing List on the website.
