This is our second year on the Internet -- it turns out that Lumigrate.com launched last March, just six weeks or so before the first organized fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue awareness day. It was a really neat day as I recall, buzzing around facebook and introducing myself and having something like Lumigrate to introduce people to.
This year it was SO wonderful to go to different facebook pages and see that people with fibromyalgia or the professionals we collaborate and have networked with had posted links to Lumigrate already today for this year's fibromyalgia awareness. We're going to hope that people continue to come and write at Lumigrate.com in the Forum areas or read, or both.
The primary 'deal' I pulled together for this years is a collaboration for an interview by Dr. Deirdre Rawlings of Drs Marc Spurlock and Jerry Rand, which I call The Three Doctors Interview about Integrative Approaches. It is currently in the Awareness 2010 Forum, along with ideas for letters you can send to the media or to a clinic or provider's office to explain what fibromyalgia is. The link to that Forum is below for your convenience and you'll see the Interview topic underneath. Cinda Crawford participated with an interview of Deirdre Rawlings and had some other things she was doing, as did Deirdre, so please be certain to check out their sites. I'm also pleased to say that many people have joined DrJerry Rand as friends on facebook as well, and there just is a LOT of GRATE information among our sites.
There are strengths in numbers. The Internet and facebook and Twitter are powerful tools which have allowed us all to expand our networks and information SO MUCH in the past year or few, but we are at risk for everything being 'spread too thin' and so I encourage everyone to know that I continue to make Lumigrate a hub for progressive, valid, streamlined and FUN information about fibromyalgia and other relevant chronic illness and wellness topics within the 'integrative medicine' paradigm. Now I'm going to go back to learning and networking and strengthening what Lumigrate has coming our way.
We've had LOTS of new users registering as users at Lumigrate.com, so I look forward to Your Story About Your Fibromyalgia if you have one, or just seeing what YOU might comment about. Naturally, our biggest goal is to have people Printing and taking pertinent information to providers to help them learn. Patient as teacher! Send links to people, Print out the page in one of the top forum areas at Lumigrate.com about what you can do to help get the word out. We've come a LONG WAY in a year since the first awareness day, and I look forward to where we are at the NEXT one .. hopefully LOTS more people and providers educated and getting healthier! ~~ Mardy
Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! is my motto. I'm Mardy Ross, and I founded Lumigrate in 2008 after a career as an occupational therapist with a background in health education and environmental research program administration. Today I function as the desk clerk for short questions people have, as well as 'concierge' services offered for those who want a thorough exploration of their health history and direction to resources likely to progress their health according to their goals. Contact Us comes to me, so please do if you have questions or comments. Lumigrate is "Lighting the Path to Health and Well-Being" for increasing numbers of people. Follow us on social networking sites such as: Twitter: http://twitter.com/lumigrate [2] and Facebook. (There is my personal page and several Lumigrate pages. For those interested in "groovy" local education and networking for those uniquely talented LumiGRATE experts located in my own back yard, "LumiGRATE Groove of the Grand Valley" is a Facebook page to join. (Many who have joined are beyond our area but like to see the Groovy information! We not only have FUN, we are learning about other providers we can be referring patients to and 'wearing a groove' to each other's doors -- or websites/home offices!) By covering some of the things we do, including case examples, it reinforces the concepts at Lumigrate.com as well as making YOU feel that you're part of a community. Which you ARE at Lumigrate!
Links:
[1] http://www.lumigrate.com/forums/health-issuesdis-eases/fibromyalgia-chronic-pain-and-chronic-fatigueexhaustion/awareness-2010
[2] http://twitter.com/lumigrate