Financial assistance for 2 Canadian candidates

LymeSAVERS is a non-profit charitable organization started by Kevin Sherriff, a Canadian Lyme survivor.  Like many people who have been afflicted with this illness and have recovered, Kevin wanted to give back to the Lyme community.....or you could say, "pay it forward". 

LymeSAVERS has been fundraising for quite some time, and is now in a position to award a bursary to 2 Canadians who are afflicted with Lyme and who are in need of some financial assistance for their treatment.

If you are interested in applying for a bursary, visit the LymeSAVERS bursary application page.  Applications will be accepted until the end of November 2013.

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month

Are you doing anything special this month to highlight Lyme disease?  Are you looking for an event to attend?  Here are a few ideas:

For a list of events in your area, check out this link on the CanLyme website.

In other news, Jim Wilson, president of the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation (CanLyme) had some great news posted on Facebook today.  Here is the post:

A message from Jim Wilson, President of CanLyme:

Good news is that CanLyme is now fully confident our full research program will be underway by 2015 (and certain projects will commence quite soon) thanks to the wonderful donors who have designated their substantial donations for this project and hard work and many volunteer hours by the CanLyme Board of Directors. We will be also working with professionals, at considerable cost, to make this happen within the Canadian medical system, despite some resistance.

As you can understand this is a first of it's kind in Canada and much work is involved in setting this up. It may have appeared to some that little was happening, but that was and is not the case. Many meetings have taken place in various provinces with those people we need to make things happen and many more are planned. Research protocol have been almost completed, and medical ethics approval will be the next major undertaking.

Designated funds are held for the distinct purpose the various donor's requested their funds be allotted for, meaning we cannot allocate the monies to our general operating fund, which is always in need of more money.

Many other volunteers are making things happen Canada wide, and for a full listing of what is happening for May Lyme Awareness events in your province please go to http://canlyme.com/2013/05/03/events/ and you will see that a lot of events are underway. Please attend these events if possible and bring friends!!

 

Thank you to Jim Wilson and the board members of CanLyme who work hard to assist those in Canada with Lyme disease.  We are truly grateful for all you do, in the face of such opposition.  Change is happening and will continue to happen as we persevere in educating the public AND the medical community about this illness.

lymeSAVERS

I'd like to introduce you to Kevin Sherriff, a Canadian teacher who is battling Lyme disease.  He lives in Whitby, Ontario.  He has written about his struggle with Lyme on his fantastic blog, The Lyme Chronicles.  I feel a bit of a connection to Kevin because I, too, am a teacher in Ontario, and I was diagnosed with Lyme disease by the same Lyme doctor that Kevin goes to.  I know, understand, and have lived his struggles.  Small world. 

Now that Kevin's health has improved somewhat, he has decided to give back to others by creating a non-profit charitable foundation called lymeSAVERS whose mission it is to alleviate the financial burden of Lyme disease for Canadians needing treatment.  Individuals would be helped by means of a bursary, which would allow them to seek treatment that is not offered in Canada.

If you are considering which organizations you might like to support by way of a financial donation, I thought I'd let you know about lymeSAVERS.

The first fundraising event organized by lymeSAVERS is a 5k Run/Walk/Stroll in Whitby on May 11, 2013.  Read the details here.  The evening before the walk, lymeSAVERS will host Dr. Ernie Murakami for an information session on Lyme disease.  Click here for time and location.

Dr. Murakami is a very knowledgeable Lyme-literate medical doctor who has helped many Canadians.  I had the pleasure of attending a seminar by Dr. Murakami last year.  Check out his website, Dr. E. Murakami Centre for Lyme. 

Thanks, Kevin, for doing such a great job helping other Lyme sufferers!  This is precisely the kind of thing that we need to do to bring some sort of meaning and positive outcome out of our suffering. 

I hope and pray that this horrendous Lyme situation in Canada will change one day, that the medical system will be properly informed and trained, that diagnosis will be quick, and treatment paid for by our public health insurance plan.

Until then, we need to continue to lobby, educate, and help.  That is my intention in creating this blog, and Kevin's intention in creating lymeSAVERS.