Caroling for Cures 2014-Thanks to All Who Participated!

autoinflammatory caroling for curesWe greatly enjoyed seeing all the carolers in 2014 bringing holiday cheer to family, friends, and neighbors, while at the same time raising awareness for autoinflammatory diseases and donations for the Autoinflammatory Alliance.

Thank you everyone who joined Caroling for Cures! Here are some of the videos of Caroling for Cures:

Autoinflammatory Alliance board member Colleen Paduani’s kids and their family and friends caroled door to door for over 2.5 hours on a chilly December night. Their neighborhood community Facebook paged announced the coming carolers a few days ahead of time. Colleen said, “Folks were so touched and happy to see an old tradition brought back that some were moved to tears.” In addition, these sweet carolers raised over $200 for the Autoinflammatory Alliance. Thank you!

 

For some with periodic fever syndromes, the cold can be a trigger for symptoms. However, this didn’t stop the Quintos and Vasquez families. They took a creative approach and performed their Caroling for Cures carols inside and online. Through their Facebook pages and Youtube, they raised awareness for the diseases they live with and donations for the Autoinflammatory Alliance. Thank you!


Thanks so much to all that have created such fun and unique ways to support the Autoinflammatory Alliance! We really appreciate it, and it has helped to raise awareness for autoinflammatory diseases,  in addition to much needed funds for our non-profit organization.

He Has What?

your child has an autoinflammatory illnessYour child has just been diagnosed with an autoinflammatory illness. What next?

For now, I’m not going to address physical symptoms, treatment options or new precautions you must take. There are plenty of places to get help with these, and vary from one illness to another, or from child to child. I’m going to address something much deeper– the mental adjustment that comes along with the diagnosis.

Your head is probably spinning with medical terminology. Suddenly your days are filled with doctor appointments and medication. You are in a fog wondering how you got here. People are telling you things like, “At least it’s not cancer,” as if that makes it easier. Others don’t realize how serious it is, or they think that you’re exaggerating. Some may even think you are making it up. Your child may have been seriously ill before you finally found out what was wrong. And you wonder how on earth you will be able to give your child a painful injection on a regular basis.

You may be wondering how long it will be until things get back to normal and your life can resume. Many feel alone and scared, and don’t know where to turn. Nobody understands how you feel. There have been many sleepless or tearful nights when you cannot sleep, or you finally get the time to yourself to do research online about the disease.  You need a break, but your child needs you.  Often, you try to keep it positive, but inside you are aching and broken.

Yes, it’s overwhelming. Yes, it’s unbelievably frightening. Yes, it stinks. But it is what it is. You’ve been dealt this hand, and now you have to learn how to play it. For yourself, your child, and the rest of your family. But play it you will, because you have no other choice.

I’m here to tell you, it gets better. Cry if you need to, but not too long. Dry your tears and get moving. You will get through it and you will find strength you didn’t know you have.

It’s heartbreaking to learn that a child you thought would be perfectly healthy actually has a serious lifelong condition. You will grieve the loss of your dreams for him similar to how you would when you lose someone close to you. Your world will be turned upside down, then will eventually right itself. The whole family will go through an adjustment period, then you will find a new normal.

Reach out to people in your situation and remind yourself often that you aren’t alone. There are people who have walked in your shoes and can help you navigate this new path.

autoinflammatory illnessYou will meet some wonderful new people that you would have never otherwise met, and your family will find strength and compassion you could never imagine. Your other friends will try to be sympathetic, but they won’t truly understand your struggles. Not because they don’t care, but because this is such foreign territory that you don’t even know where you are, much less try to explain it to an outsider.

Finally, just take one day or even one hour at a time. (Yes, I know it’s such a cliché!)  Don’t focus on what you have lost. Remember this affects each person in the family differently. Be aware that your other children still need you, and are worried about their sibling. Don’t neglect your marriage by focusing only on your sick child. It’s a lot to juggle, but you will learn. And don’t forget to take care of yourself.

Ask for help. People love to be needed, and often just need a little direction. If you need help with cooking or laundry, ask. Nobody is going to judge you because your house is dirty when your child is this sick. If they do, shame on them! Plus, having them in your home may help them better understand your challenges. Don’t be afraid to seek professional help with this adjustment, or for your child or other family members.  No one should suffer in silence.

Stay close to those you love, take a deep breath, and figure out what you have to do get through today. And search for the story Welcome to Holland. I’ve discovered that Holland is indeed a beautiful place, filled with warm, loving people.

Autoinflammatory diseases include SoJIA, FMF, HIDS, TRAPS, CAPS, CANDLE, DIRA, PFAPA, and others. Click here to learn more.

Do you need support for yours or your child’s autoinflammatory disease? Find a patient group online. There is a growing list on Autoinflammatory.org. You can suggest a support group to add here.

 


The Autoinflammatory Alliance is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping those with autoinflammatory diseases.

Donate now to help with awareness, education, and research for these rare diseases.





*Tulip drawing by Nataliia/Bigstockphoto.com

*Child origami tulip photo by i9370/Bigstockphoto.com

You Can Make a Difference for Autoinflammatory Diseases

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As we reach the end of the year, and are looking forward to 2015, we would like to thank all of you that have donated, and shown your support for the Autoinflammatory Alliance. So many have helped us this year as volunteers, donors, given in-kind donations and other support. If you have not yet made a donation to our organization, please consider supporting us today.

Here are a few highlights from our 2014 efforts for autoinflammatory diseases:

Your funds and volunteer efforts supported patient picnics across the United States that helped many with autoinflammatory diseases to connect with others with these conditions in person (for the first time for many patients).

We were able to do outreach and education to thousands of doctors at medical conferences, and in presentations for rare diseases on a local, state and national level for Rare Disease Day. A few of our board members have been very involved in advocacy for our patient community, and have worked with national efforts for rare diseases.

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Mailing educational materials, such as our Comparative Chart of Autoinflammatory Diseases, disease info cards, and our “Healthier Ever After” injection tips book and program has helped hundreds of patients and doctors to know more about these diseases. We appreciate every donation that is made to help offset these expenses.

This saidsupport.org blog launched for Rare Disease day,and has helped us to reach more people looking online for help for their condition, in addition to the thousands that find our website and other online materials. Many doctors are the Comparative Chart to study these diseases, and train other doctors. Getting doctors to consider autoinflammatory diseases has led to more diagnosed and treated patients.

We have been able to help thousands of patients in our online communities, and by email or phone to educate, empower and encourage them with their efforts to get a diagnosis and care for their autoinflammatory disease. Many have gotten diagnosed and onto treatment thanks to our help.

At this time, it seems that every charity is asking for your support for their annual giving programs. Our organization could use this support too. There are many ways to get involved, or make your donation go even farther.


6 Easy Ways to Help Autoinflammatory Diseases Awareness, and the Autoinflammatory Alliance Throughout the Year

1. Help increase awareness for autoinflammatory diseases by sharing a blog post on facebook, twitter or in an email with information from this blog, or from our website. Make sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter too! Many of our events, advocacy efforts and new findings in autoinflammatory disease research are posted on our Facebook page weekly.

2. Make a plan to raise awareness in your community, or school for Rare Disease Day on February 28th to help others know more about these rare diseases. We have a number of resources that you can request to use to inform others about these diseases. You can use Rare Disease Day as an opportunity to also do a fundraiser to support our organization, or other rare disease charities.

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3. Buy a t-shirt or other items (like this cute teddy bear in our logo t shirt) from our Cafepress shop to use for Rare Disease Day, or to raise awareness throughout the year. We only receive a few dollars per item sold, to make access to having these awareness items less costly.

4. Shopping online or locally can bring in more funds for our organization with every purchase, with no added cost to you! Shop Amazon Smile or escrip shopping mall and all your purchases will benefit the Autoinflammatory Alliance.

Autoinflammatory Alliance

Escrip Group ID: 500043177 (still under the name NOMID Alliance). Escrip allows you to choose a few charities or schools to support, so adding our org to your list will help greatly wherever you shop with escrip online or in your community.
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5. Make a donation to the Autoinflammatory Alliance through a matching gift program at your work, and every dollar that you donate will go even farther! We are a tax-exempt non-profit public charity in the US, so all donations are tax-deductible. Our IRS EIN is 20-4915307 and you can download our Autoinflammatory Alliance IRS determination letter here.

We have worked with a number of matching gift programs, including JP Morgan Chase Community Giving, Novartis Cybergrants, United Way, and many others.  Please contact us. We would be happy to apply for any matching gift program

6.  If you are a seller on ebay, you can choose to donate a portion (or even all) of your ebay sales to the Autoinflammatory Alliance through ebay Giving Works.

Thank you!

 


The Autoinflammatory Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping those with autoinflammatory diseases.

Donate now to help with awareness, education, and research for these rare diseases.