I offer both in-person and online Discovery Sessions that focus on wellness – not just illness, but the overall concept of health as “…a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.” (Straub, 2012)  If someone wants to look at their relationships, their work, their feelings about their health challenges, or simply wanting to open up to learning more about what is going on “inside”, the Discovery Sessions are a quick, easy and non-therapeutic (meaning they aren’t therapy) activity to tap into your intuition.

For PFAM, I did a session myself on addressing the theme on using images to ‘scrapbook’ my illness.  Below, you will see what you would do on an online Discovery Session with me.  The sessions only allow five minutes to put together the collage – that is important.  We want to tap into our intuition and choose images before we have a chance to block them out or think too much about them by bringing in our feelings, perceptions, concerns and so forth.  Every session begins with a prompt we come up with when talking before hand and, for mine today, I chose “How do I see my illness?”

Here’s what I came up with:

My notes that I took during the session:

“This image set offers me more image-reference rather than explicit photos, which made this session more reflective. Lots of blues, surprisingly more serene while doing it and images chosen imply it.

• Action refers to work, which is constant with C.I.
• Middle image is ripe tomatoes, I choose to represent setting seed.
• Smallest image of hospital bed acts as a constant reminder that floats above everything.
• Image showing invisible illness among visible social ties.
• Are those ruins or indications that over time I’ve been worn, but still here to be marveled at in terms of achievements?
• The colorful salad represents both nutrition, that I am what I eat, but also the ingredients I need to constantly choose to make my life the healthiest it can be.
• The images of the swirling circles, of course, represents my immune system that is involved with the work I must do. It interacts with the level of visibility I choose to have and the seeds I plant every day for myself and those around me.
• Notice the unintentional direction that seems to swirl towards the hospital bed, but is distracted from reaching it due to the other images it overlaps. Tells me I still can make a difference in my overall health direction.”

 (C.I.= chronic illness)

Again, these sessions aren’t therapy, even though they have therapeutic properties.  I am a wellness facilitator, which simply means I organize the setting and coordinate the process, but the participant – you – choose the image meanings, define the connections, and take from it what you want to use.  My role is in simply asking the questions without any expectations or judgment.  I supply the momentum to assist you in exploring what you want to learn from you yourself. Who better to answer your own questions?

I am offering these one to one-half hour online sessions for only $15 throughout December and January,  because I want anyone to have a chance to take part.  It is a wonderful, self-care opportunity to play and learn, without concerns of lacking ‘creativity’.  We didn’t worry about that when we made our first collage in grade school, so why stress out about it now that we are all grown up?  That need to explore is still within us, but we’ve had many years to build up our barriers and walls of fear.  If you have ever spent time with grandchildren or your own children and loved how carefree they are when creating, that is what these sessions can offer you, too.

This is the season for joy~ and online Discovery Sessions are just one more opportunity to create some for yourself (or a friend) who could use a little lightness in their day.

I love proverbs~ especially the cut-to-the-chase Irish variety.

I sat and read several on the  Irish Abroad  website, which is where I always seem to end up for anything Irish, while planning out our celebration meal today.  I recognized many of them, having never known where they originated. 

I’ve been told I have a little Irish in my family blood line – and usually in reference to my stubbornness and fierce independence.  If that is Irish, then I be proud.  People with lupus have also been tagged as Type-A or, as a friend of mine refers to herself as “Type-P” for proud.  Well, I found a proverb that fits that perfectly~

It is a hard task to comfort the proud.

 

In fact, there were many of them on the list that could easily apply to me and my relationship with lupus, such as: 

For what cannot be cured, patience is best.

No matter how tall your grandfather was, you have to do your own growing. 

Patience can conquer destiny. 

The full stomach does not understand the empty one.

 Time is a good story-teller. 

Trouble hates nothing as much as a smile.

You’ll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind. 

There, that one fits me to a tee, today.  There are days when I think… and think… and re-think to figure out a problem, not realizing that there are some challenges best brought out into the light of day to make any progress.

 What is your favorite Irish proverb or blessing…and how does it apply to your lupus?

May Joy and Peace Surround you today~

As I begin to close my 2010 and prepare for a new one, I look back over the tumultuous last three months with a heavy heart.

In fact, I went through pictures from holiday seasons past this year as I began my decorating.  I came across this little note from my oldest daughter when she was little and balled my brains out.  Even at a young age, I had someone supporting me in little acts of kindness that I haven’t held close enough to my heart, because I get too easily distracted with the ugliness life can throw my way. 

Many of my friends have lost loved ones, have experienced pain and frustration within their relationships, have struggled with some major health crises and are continuing to battle the uncertainty that our current economic situation in this country—  both in unemployment and in keeping their businesses alive.  It is no wonder that I received emails from a number of them stating that they were just not in the holiday spirit this year to spend money on stamps to send cards with empty hopes.

I, too, have been through some muck of my own and that partially explains the sluggish blogging and stalls in getting this website re-organized.  How easy it is for me and my immune system to accept the stuff that affects me negatively and attack or repel the stuff that is good for me, as I simply try to get through my days doing my ‘job’ or duty.  Spending too much time being uncertain doesn’t bode well for any of us physically or emotionally and, eventually, someone (or something like medication) has to take a decisive role in order for us to thrive. 

When life happens, as we all know it does, we can get carried away in the shift from living it  towards automatically reacting to it.  Hmmm.  For those of you living with an auto-immune disease, that sounds vaguely familiar, doesn’t it? 

I am putting together my 2011 wish lists as I type this post, with the intent to regain my place as conductor, pilot, captain, you-name-it.  I know that I cannot control all that happens in my life, but I want to at least be the person who gets consulted first to address the crisis rather than a mere bystander relegated to swabbing the deck. 

One list is for mailing (and emailing) out 2011 greetings.  I didn’t send out Christmas cards this year, because they felt more like knee-jerk reactions rather than sincere greetings.  I couldn’t bring myself to spill out all that happened this year and mute the true holiday spirit. 

Another list is for personal and MLWT program wishes to draw inspiration from for goals in the new year.  Although the line is blurred between the two and many of the goals are shared, the important thing is to recognize some direction and reflect on whether those goals are matching my missions.  Those missions are designed to be a compass to guide me and it’s vital to my wellbeing, or any organization, to stay the course.

I have a list identifying health targets that I have put aside for too long, including specific nutrition, more exercise, and some medical forms to complete.  I’ve already chosen a goal from this one: to finally put together my Advanced Directive.  Fortunately, I’ve made it through so far without one, but it is irresponsible and cruel to those in my family to not offer them some guidance and peace in difficult times. 

I have a list that has the names of those people who have been influential in my life – my 2010, in particular – who I plan on thanking them all throughout the year with cards, personal phone calls, little trinkets through the mail and special prayers.  Snail mail is NOT dead and it thrills me when I receive it, too.  It may be the computer age, but nothing touches the heart more than a little extra effort. 

A requirement this year will be to create a list of books for the MLWT book group.  I am fully committing to it this year, because reading is the first thing I give up when I’m stressed out, but the only thing that will put me to sleep when I can’t.  It may be habits from my college days, but no amount of tea, pills, exercise or meditation puts me into a restful slumber than an open book I feel forced to have to read.  Out in minutes, I tell you. 

This year, a new list will be for my homemade gift list to begin working on in January, not December 23^rd, 2011.  I have the worst habit of having last minute gift chaos and deciding to go homemade.  The real problem is that I always choose gifts that I’ve never attempted before and forget that there needs to be a learning and quality-control curve included in the preparation time.  As it was this year, nothing got done.  Next year, I’ll be ready. 

I know I won’t be able to do every goal I derive from these lists and that is the big lesson I re-learned this holiday season for the umpteenth time.  Why I cram an entire year into three months is beyond me.  The Fall season brings with it too much stress, too much chaos, too much grief and guilt, too much uncertainty…just too much of the stuff I really don’t want to carry with me into a new year.  I suppose I take the term “Fall” a bit too literally and that will change.  To begin with, I need to see myself as the go-to gal, but recognize throughout my year all of the wonderful people around me and cheering me forward.  I struggle with the guilt of not doing so every holiday season and that is NOT what my holidays are going to mean anymore. 

I received so many wonderful gifts this year – wrapped in paper, served on pretty plates and ones written straight from the heart – that I plan on using to fuel my new year.  A webcam, to make that more personal connection with any of you,  no matter where you live.  Outdoor gear to wear on more excursions with the Portland Women’s Outdoor Meet Up Club I’ve been unable to attend for too long.  Cash, to get my touring bike finally repairedto begin making the transition from car to bicycle for local commutes.  New partnerships with local businesses to begin building a stronger support program here at MLWT.  These are only a few and give me great places to begin my New Year goals. 

Where are you in your steps toward 2011?  If you don’t make resolutions, then I encourage you to make some wish lists.  Ask your heart how it feels today?  Relax your mind and rest your inner-boss for a few minutes to reflect on all that you accomplished, endured, and were surprised or touched by as you went through the last twelve months.  What have you learned?  What questions remain?  What hopes still linger?  What memories will you be carrying with you into 2011 to remind you of the love surrounding you? 

The date itself – 1/1/11 – suggests to us that each of us are one-of-a-kind.  Yet, if you’ll notice, each one isn’t alone, but a collection of every “1” and that is what makes the day so special.  This  New Year can mean that we are “all for one” and how can you not be inspired to explore your potential adventures knowing that you are not alone?

Every now and then, I will come across something that is so simple yet so powerful that it astounds me. 

It is easy to get carried away and overwhelmed with the holiday season.  It seems like every celebration has an element of chaos within it, which is what makes them so exciting.  All events that signify or reflect something about who we are carry with them a dimension ranging from the positive to the negative.  The key in a great celebration, therefore, focuses on maintaining some balance so we can make it through it all in one piece. 

For those of us with varying degrees of energy and strength, that can be pretty tricky.  There is a product that I use to help me get in the spirit of things as well as sum up my experience at the end, as a means of making sure I keep my focus more on the positive after all is said and done.  Not an easy thing to do during the holiday season.  I know that the “support” theme is being put off for future PFAM carnivals, but I can’t help it.  This product is something that I give myself (and use with others during our work together) that can be applied to any setting and the holiday season is an absolutely perfect time to explore what it can do for you.  Today’s PFAM, hosted by the Queen of Optimism herself, is about Must-Have Lists, and this idea tops mine.

My friend Julia Lambie offers Flying Wish Paper  and has been featured on Jay Leno, Martha Stewart and other shows.  I was honored to meet up with her in March this year and we had a wonderful chat about how her idea fits in well with the work I do with others living with illness.  I learned about her inspiration, the responses that come in from people who have used it to bring special meaning to their events and how simple ideas can sometimes surprise us all with the power behind them.  I use her papers with the crisis, family and one-on-one work that I offer here in Oregon. The best way to describe the power I’m referring to would be to tell you a story about someone who recently learned the relief of how forgiving herself brought out more hope than she believed possible.

“Sarah” was recently ‘undiagnosed’ with Fibromyalgia, simply because her rheumatologist couldn’t identify enough pressure points in order to keep her original diagnosis.  He began mentioning Lupus, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and MTCD…rattling off other illnesses that soon made her realize that she was about to embark on another long, drawn-out journey to seek out a new reason why her life was filled with so much pain.  She had just settled with her family on recognizing that her pain was real “because a doctor said so.”  Now, without her doctor behind her, she felt alone and embarrassed, as if she had been playing a game of ‘Crying Wolf.’  A friend of hers mentioned my website and we were able to chat online to get acquainted with what she needed right now, buried underneath all of her feelings.  What she needed, she told me, was to have more power in her life.  To not respond as much to what others thought, but to pay more attention to what she thought and “be heard’ by others.

Once she began to focus on her needs, she noticed that her feelings of frustration, depression, fear and anxiety were lessening.  She realized how much more pressure she was placing on herself by responding to what she thought she heard from others rather than focusing on what she thought her needs were and doing something about them.  She was feeling out of control because she didn’t know where to begin with herself. 

I recommended that we meet in person to celebrate her new perspective and sense of control she had reclaimed.  I brought with me Julia’s papers and, after talking a little more about some of the problem solving and planning Sarah wanted to pursue, we closed our time together with a wish for forgiveness she wanted to offer herself.  On a sheet of this special Flying Wish paper, Sarah wrote down all of those feelings that she had been beating herself up with for the past month.  She loaded that paper up pretty heavily with as many feelings as she could fit and then I rolled it up for her and placed it on the platform.  I handed her the match and she lit it, watched it burn and, as it reached the bottom of the paper, all of those negative feelings she had felt that were very ‘human’ floated up and away.  She was left with a sense of peace and assurance that in the days ahead, what mattered most is that she forgive herself to feel the fear and encourage herself to seek more personal options to identify the problems she was facing so that she could begin on a plan to move forward.

I can’t tell you how many times I would have the right tool to use, but would still lack the clarity or motivation to use it, mainly because my heart just wasn’t into it.  For the holidays this year, focus on what your need is behind the gadget or object you’re asking for from others (or yourself.)  Be sure to recognize that those feelings we all share with others can sometimes mask what we truly need and lead those who care about us astray in their gift searching.  And, above all else, give yourself the gift to wish for what your heart requests openly and honestly with those you love.

Julia’s Flying Wish Paper is only one tool I use, but it is a powerful one.  I encourage you to visit her on her website and check out all of the wonderful designs including the Holiday Trees  (they’re running out quickly, though!)  She has a video that shows the process that Sarah and I shared, which will give you some perspective on how many ways Flying Wish paper can fit into your daily life.

Happy Wishing!

All last month, I was deeply embedded into learning about the process of storytelling. Reading and sharing thoughts about a book with others in my book group. Leading a class on living well with chronic conditions at a local hospital. Finishing a final draft on a curriculum for a local business that specializes in facilitating communication and team building. Working part-time at a community non-profit that coordinates financial emergency heating assistance to those in need. Researching and interviewing for three different articles about various perspectives on living with illness. Attending trainings, meetings and conferences, not to mention taking some time to check in on Twitter and Facebook. These are just some of the opportunities I had available to learn this craft. I also learned more about my own communication style, skills and what value I give to stories about others. 

One opportunity, which prompted this piece, occurred when I watched the movie The Grapes Of Wrath (1940) with my youngest daughter for her school project. At one point, the mother is speaking to her son (Henry Fonda) about life and making one’s way through the difficult times. Her voice was calm, her words were plain and her pace in her telling was slow and deliberate. Nothing in her sharing included anything I hadn’t heard elsewhere. Before she even finished, though, my 15-year-old turned to me and said, “Mom, if that was you talking to me, I would’ve got up and left you babbling by yourself a long time ago.” She wasn’t kidding and, as I sat their stunned, it got me to thinking more about stories…as well as considering getting another cat, as a back-up plan for my golden years. 

The best stories seem to offer details that stick in the minds and hearts of the listeners.

Stories come in many forms. Some are grandiose and some are so subtle that we sometimes don’t even realize we are experiencing one. Stories can teach, amuse, or caution us, and challenge our ways of thinking or believing in the world we live in.  Have you noticed just how many stories we come across every day?  When you think of a ‘story’, what comes to your mind?  Do you envision a campfire and scary tales?  Do you remember yourself as a child listening to the “old people” talking about their youth?  Are you amused when you think back to your teenage years, when your best friend told you about their experience on their first date? Or, do you reflect on the stories about someone who has passed, as told to you by their loved ones at their funeral?

Take a moment or two and ask yourself about those stories of yours that have stood out so far.  What have been your favorites so far?  What are the stories that still make your heart ache?  Are there stories you feel like sharing? Are these stories ones that you want to leave behind for others?  If not, why?  Now, ask yourself about the storytellers you admire.  What is it about them that draws you in to listen and experience their tale right along side them?

The StoryCorps National Day of Listening is November 26th and I invite all of you to join me in putting aside your voice for the day in order to listen to someone else. Whether it is in-person or through social media online, interview someone you don’t know much about. Ask them to share one of their favorite stories and truly listen. Offer them the chance to unload a story that still moves them to tears, as a way to help them begin to heal. The art of storytelling isn’t just about telling a story—it’s about recording it in the true form and intent of the person who is sharing it. 

The Fetzer Institute  offers some guidance in recording your interviews and celebrating the value of being a good listener. This would be a wonderful gift to give for the upcoming holiday season, if even to yourself as a way to remember someone dear to you. You can also honor the person you interview by posting their tale on the website’s Wall of Listening. Of course, to truly honor them, you need to seek their permission to share their story with others. After all, stories are bits of ourselves that we hand over to someone else to carry. 

I know my daughter walks away while I babble on pretty frequently. She’s 15 years old and that is to be expected. Yet, every now and then, she slips up and will say or do something where I see myself reflected through her. We all share biology, but we are also sharing experiences that we will carry through our entire lives. Those experiences are linking threads and are vital to our well-being as humans.  The discovery of who we are ourselves, unearthed through the lives of others and found within the details of these stories, keep us all going…together. 

The minute I saw him incubating in the garden, I knew I had to bring him to life.  What I didn’t know is that this little guy was harboring his own secret…just like me.

What began as a regular zucchini start grew into this monster and produced massive fruit.  A similar start was elsewhere in the garden and produced regular-sized fruit.  In a way, we are kindred spirits – this zucchini and I.  My secret is living with an immune system that works way overboard, much to my dismay and overall health.  I know generally what is going on with me, but what in the world was happening here?

I don’t use chemicals or pesticides (and have plenty of slugs to prove it). It had more sun and probably less water than my other plants.  I grew and planted all of these starts at the same time from the same seed packet.  What caused this plant to become so over zealous…and, well, beautiful?  (The one on the far right is the one harboring the secret – have you guessed what it is yet?)

I found myself drawn to this plant not only for the amount of zucchini I could cook up all at once, but because of my mounting curiosity trying to figure out what happened. 

I was a little happy to discover at a local farmer’s market that I wasn’t dealing with a freak – I had no idea zucchini could ever get that big without rotting.  I found a huge bin full of them and, although I already knew that they tasted just the same as the little ones, I was happy to learn that a zucchini isn’t a zucchini by any other name.  Just as health, illness, individuality, wealth, intelligence, happiness or any other measurement in this world is more of a spectrum that a true state, how wonderful it is to stumble upon something so unique and offering a little insight into how much more there is to know about things.  (Vegetarian Stuffed Zucchini with Cheddar…I gotta have my cheese)

If you thought you were going to escape yet another metaphor about health, then you were mistaken.  These surprises and lessons are everywhere, if we pay attention.  They don’t always have to include a moral, but when things feel so out-of-control for us and we dig our heels in to wonder “Why” we have to be going through or living with something when so many others aren’t, finding the beauty or specialness in our circumstances help us.  The  key words are how these surprises help us.  We need to give ourselves some slack and recognize that we are being who we are and are the little giants who are tough enough to take it.  And, on those days we aren’t up to snuff, that doesn’t mean we fail.  We are simply back to being ‘normal’ human beings.

So, for those of you familiar with Larry the Cucumber, of Veggie Tales fame , I dedicate my contribution for this scary Halloween.  Although you may be “shocked and slightly embarrassed at the sight of Larry in a towel,” the true scary part is that we can be ghouls to ourselves for no good reason. (How quickly time has gone by for my little ones who loved these characters.  The picture will link to a song they sung day in and day out, which still brings a smile to their faces  -a very silly song, so beware.)

What, you may be wondering, was the secret hidden within this guy?  Well, there was more to him than anyone could’ve imagined.  He was only part zucchini.  I bet there’s a little bit of something great within you, too.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Halloween and Harvest Season

Ah, Fall.  My favorite time of year. 

One would think that, living in Oregon,  having a respite from gray, rainy weather would be something I would want to hold onto as long as possible.  The thing is, the sun is beginning to cause me more trouble with my lupus the older I get and it just doesn’t feel like the same ol’ summer fun I remember.  It is hotter, more direct and unforgiving.  That could be my age talking, but all I have to do is look at my wilted garden and see that it seems to agree with me –heat isn’t our cup of tea. 

Fall sun, on the other hand, is glorious.  It isn’t as high up in the sky and there seems to be a little more moisture in the air to muffle the rays before they burn into me.  There is a more frequent, cool, intermittent breeze and the clouds…where I do begin with those?  Huge cumulus ships passing through the beautiful blue lake above, giving me pause to return to my youth and lie there, watching them.  Yeah, I make the time to do that.  

With the changing of seasons comes obvious time for reflection.  Grade school children get to report on their summer adventures to their classmates.  The harvesting of the garden (finally) rewards the amount of work it took to get it started and keep it going.  The air is easier to breathe and sitting on the deck is enjoyable again.  This transition from exploring outside my nest to returning to it for the cooler months is signaled by the autumn flags waving at me from on our maple trees.  I respond to their signal every year with little hesitation, no matter how dreary will be the days ahead.  Summer was fun, but I’m always ready to move on. 

Nesting is a primal urge, whether it is via Goodwill or The Pottery Barn.  If you think that only women have this urge, you’re mistaken.  The bachelor pad or man cave is just as much of a nest and offers the same need for comfort.  We all have those needs and we all tend to them in our own way.

As the summer closes for you, what are your reflections?  Does the change in the season prompt any particular feelings, plans or shifts in the way your carry out your days?  Do you use nature as a prompt to get going on your nesting or are you perhaps influenced more by changes such as the comfort foods of winter? How do changes in symptoms from secondary diseases including Raynaud’s and Fibromyalgia influence your nesting?  How do you feel about living within closed quarters, having limited sunlight and the cooler, damper temperatures?  Is your nest ready for the months to come? 

This season is when people begin to re-group.  Back to 40-hour work weeks with no vacation time left (I think there are still people out there experiencing that!)  Now that our kids are back in school, or we are returning ourselves, we may have more time to reconnect with our own friends.  Local support groups are starting up again. The holidays and all the chaos involved, are just around the corner.  Social events or volunteer work beckon.  When we think going inside means isolation, the last months of the year demand our attention instead.

Surrounding ourselves with others is just as much a nesting pattern as decorating our homes.  We need to lovingly tend our sense of ‘home’ physically and emotionally, by choosing what and who helps us celebrate all that we ourselves represent.  Who will you surround yourselves with?  Does a support group fit your sense of comfort or, when it comes to looking for a support team, are you someone who stays closer to ‘home’?  Are you online through Twitter, Facebook and other networks?  Are you choosing solitude by bucking up and flying solo?  A little bit of all these strategies may be just what we all need from time to time. 

Fall may sound like a lot of touchy-feely work, and to some degree it is, but it is a necessary way we take care of ourselves.  Too many of us just don’t take the time and, I believe, we are joyous for that first day of school not because our kids are learning. Schedules return and getting in some ‘me’ time is possible, so let’s start getting the prep work on how that nest needs to be done now.   Join me in taking in this time for reflection and exploring the things (and people) we will need in our nests for the long winter ahead. 

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 I encourage you to attend two upcoming events next weekend that I’ll be hanging out at:

Oregon Chapter of the Scleroderma Foundation Support Group Meeting

Saturday, September 11^th at 10am

Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital (Wistar Morris Room on 1st floor)

1015 NW 22nd Avenue, Portland

Their website for more support group information

This group is open to all patients living with any autoimmune illness and their family/friends. This is an amazing group offering great speakers, lots of information and wonderful, adventurous people to get to know.

Oregon’s Lupus Now  Lupus Foundation of America event benefiting our PNW Chapter

Mad Hatter Walk, Run and Roll (The Run is new!)Sunday, September 12^th    Check-in starts at 8:30 am

Cook Park, 17005 SW 92^nd  Tigard

Their website for more information and a link to directions

 This is their annual fundraising event to help support the Pacific Northwest Chapter covering  three states – Oregon, Washington and Idaho.  A new location that is very family-friendly and pretty to boot, they have also added a run to the fun.  More information about what this tiny, but mighty chapter offers can be found here and stop by to meet some wonderful locals living with lupus, too.

 Hope to meet up with some of you at either of these events~

There will be a free Public Education Seminar offered next Thursday, April 29th and the guest speaker is a well-known rheumatologist in our area, Dr. Elizabeth Tindall.  I will be attending, even though I do not have rheumatoid arthritis (RA).  I know that they are different diseases, but I also know that both lupus and RA share some similar treatments and it will give me a chance to hear some of those updates.  Please note that the date for the R.S.V.P was April 23rd.  If you are interested in attending, contact Janet Lamb at 503-245-5695 Ext. 101, 1-888-845-5695 or  jlamb@arthritis.org as early as possible. 

“Advances and Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis” with Guest Speaker Elizabeth Tindall, M.D.

Rheumatologist,  Orenco Station Medical Group

 Thursday, April 29, 2010    Doubletree Hotel Portland – Lloyd Center Broadway Room

 1000 NE Multnomah Street Portland, OR 97232 (Complimentary Parking Available)

 6:30 PM – 7:00 PM    Registration & Dessert Buffet

 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM   Presentation, Questions and Answers

This seminar will provide you with valuable information on rheumatoid arthritis.  Common signs, symptoms and scientific basis of new treatments for arthritis. At the conclusion of the program an Arthritis Foundation Exercise Instructor will discuss self management tips and the importance of exercise. 

The mission of the Arthritis Foundation is to improve lives through leadership in the prevention, control and cure of arthritis and related diseases.

The Arthritis Foundation would like to thank their sponsor Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. for their grant for this education program. 

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A Camp JAM (Juvenile Arthritis Matters) benefit concert is will held on May 1st in Portland.

This is a wonderful summer camp for children of all ages and it’s important for those of us who live with illness as adults to recognize how difficult it is for all these kids.  Help the Arthritis Foundation to continue this opportunity that so many kids (and their families) look forward to:

 An Evening of Music with Susannah Mars and Friends

 A concert to benefit the Arthritis Foundation’s Camp JAM (Juvenile Arthritis Matters!)

Please join us on Saturday, May 1, 2010 at Wilf’s Restaurant & Bar at Union Station 800 NW 6th Ave., Portland, OR 97209

 Show: 8:00 PM        Advanced Reserve Seats $35.00 donation      General Seating $20.00 donation

For more information or to reserve your seats 503-245-5695, 1- 888-845-5695 or jlamb@arthritis.org

Camp JAM (Juvenile Arthritis Matters)

August 13-15, 2010 ~ Canby, Oregon

Camp JAM is a free weekend camp for children of all ages with juvenile arthritis and their families.  Children with juvenile arthritis face the daily challenges of their disease where one day they feel good and then achy the next day. This can be an isolating experience for children at school when they have to sit out of physical activities because of their arthritis. 

Our camp allows kids and teens the unique opportunity to learn about arthritis and how to manage their disease and have fun in a supportive setting where arthritis is not a limiting factor. Kids and teens with arthritis will be able to interact with others who have arthritis and form friendships that will last a life time. At camp they will be given the gift of spending a weekend in a place where they can just be kids, not “the kid with arthritis”.

I’m sneaking in a greeting to all of you this Spring celebration of faith and renewal~ 

I want to share this precious card I received from my friend, Linda. of her sweet companion, Dagny.  If you are worried about this poor little pup being put through this photo, don’t be.  Dagny is pretty certain that she is human—to the point of spending little time on all fours and most of the time standing next to you at eye level.  She owns anyone she comes into contact with and that is apparently true for most Golden Retrievers.  Thank you for the smile, Linda!

The card, if you’re wondering, was created through Shutterfly.com ~ a great website and company that gives you so many options to personalize some fun projects.

We hope you are enjoying your day free or with minimal discomfort and surrounded by loved ones.  If you are spending some time alone, know that we are sending our love from here, as always.

Maria

Peace~

Keep it in your heart always.