Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Awareness via A&E's "Intervention"

PLEASE READ THE NOTE AT THE BOTTOM BOX FROM JANUARY 2012; much has changed in the almost 2 years since this blog post. 

Last night I got an email from Dr. Jerry Rand of Bay Recovery in San Diego, which is one of the treatment facilities featured on the popular A&E show 'Intervention', asking for people to vote for episodes he and his facility have been featured in on a facebook application contest by A&E to determine what YOU, the viewers, think is the best episode for them to promote for a special feature they are doing.  (Information below on voting and the link on facebook for that as well if you're interested.)

I suggest we support Dr. Rand and his clinic's efforts by learning through the shows when they are on, following him and the clinic on facebook, reading the resources he's posting there and on his website.  He understands chronic pain due to his own experiences with it, which led to his specializing in it for the past two decades.  I find him to be a wealth of information and incredibly sincere, with a staff that is dedicated to the mission of working with chronic pain patients and expanding their services to help more people as the needs keep shifting in these changing medical times. 

I personally don't use applications on facebook, but I know I'm different that way, so please go vote if it's your thing so that we're represented well in the tally! And what I'll do instead is spend some time today promoting this cause and ask YOU to comment below if there are other ideas you have about how the Lumigrate community can do something for 'awareness' throughout the year by supporting Dr. Rand and Bay Recovery.  Some of my suggestions:

• drop a message through A&E's website to the producers of the Intervention show related to chronic pain and fibromyalgia awareness.  (See hint below about information set up for you at Lumigrate.com which can make it easier for you to do and more accurate as our Aimee Shannon has set it up for us!)
• drop a message through Dr. Oz's website or through Oprah's website .... and any other shows YOU think would be good platforms for an expert such as Dr. Rand.  His website will show you what TV programs he's been on, and it's impressive -- Fox News and local news in the San Diego area.  Just last night my former employer in driving rehabilitation was on the Denver news related to texting and driving (I worked in driving rehabilitation for two years a decade ago), and that exposure is what can make a big difference in a business' success in these trying economic times. 
• Send something to your local newspaper and to magazines and other publications, websites and blog writers.  I plan to email The Denver Post health reporter today to remind her of the Colorado fibro group's activity tomorrow, which I saw promoted on facebook.  Sometimes if the reporters hear about something from more than one person or direction it rises to the surface, and my experience with the press is they are operating at the last day/moment much of the time due to it's not making sense for them to plan further in advance because if a big story comes up that's what they have to go and cover.  Hopefully the world will be a peace and no big weather phenomenon to cover in Denver and she will make it to the activity and our cause will get covered and represented in the Denver Post because I took 20 minutes of time today her/their way.

Lumigrate's paraprofessional Aimee Shannon, LSW (whose Forum is in the Fibromyalgia Section at Lumigrate.com) has provided us with letters to copy and paste and print and 'cheat off your smart neighbor' related to writing to businesses, the media, medical providers and businesses. 

This is still being Fibro and Fatigue Awareness Week, basically, since many places are having events this weekend, so I thought about how much Dr. Rand's involvement in a popular cable TV show such as 'Intervention' has done for awareness about chronic pain.  For some reason, the show has not specified that some of the people that have gone for treatment at  Bay Recovery had fibromaylgia, but Dr. Rand has told me this personally and apparently it's on their follow up information they have available (please consult their website, which you can get to by either Searching on Bay Recovery Centers (not to be confused with one by a similar name in San Francisco, be sure you have one from San Diego), or following the link below to my previous blog about Dr. Rand which links you out to resources, including their website.

1. Here's what I posted on facebook yesterday about the facebook voting application by A&E:  Consider posting something on your status if you want your friends to vote. 

2. Here's the link to previous blog about Bay Recovery and Dr. Rand, which has links to follow his work: 

www.lumigrate.com/blog/pain-recovery-bay-recovery-aes-intervention-monday-118

3. Cheat off of Aimee at Lumigrate.com!  To find what Aimee Shannon posted as letters to use for getting the word out about fibromaylgia awareness, that was originally in our NEW Forum on 2010 Awareness Day for Fibromyalgia/CFS, but she and I will be transferring this valuable resource to something for year-round use, and likely will be in HER forum as well.  But for now, you can find it at: www.lumigrate.com/forum/copy-and-paste-what-you-wrote-media-or-politicians-so-others-can-use-your-words.    I suggest everyone take the 15 minutes to watch her interview she did on her local TV program and tell others about it -- send the link to YOUR local TV stations through their websites and suggest they do a story (and Lumigrate can help them with that, I'm happy to talk with the media to give them ideas and information).  Her interview is a  WONDERFUL 15 minute summary of the latest allopathically based information I've seen and should inspire us ALL to do what we can to get the word out (aka 'traditional/western medicine').  The link is in the introduction I provided when setting up her Forum, and we'll be transferring that to other places as well for long-term accessing on Lumigrate.com.  For NOW, here it is for YOU!  www.lumigrate.com/forum/aimee-what-ya-want-do-hear-pure-prarie-league-your-forum.  We have quite a strong and talented team here at Lumigrate that's come together since the first awareness day, and if we all keep grabbing an oar when we can and rowing when we can, and resting when we need, we're getting somewhere!  

Have great weekends, everyone!  ~~ Mardy

 

Note from January 2012: I have been contacted by more than one former patient of Dr Rand's at Bay Recovery asking me to remove all information about him due to their concerns for others based upon their experiences. I appreciate that they are taking the time to research where he might be doing outreach to get his name heard, so thank YOU.  That is true 'generosity of time and energy' which might be translated into 'spirit'.  

I have opted to keep this and one other piece and adding this suggestion for researching if selecting as a physician to consult with because it is "baby with bathwater" phenomenon. This interview is an excellent resource for people to learn from and over almost two years was read/heard by many.  

To help in your researching this provider (and I suggest you do this for all your providers) here's a link to the portion of the California Medical Board related to Dr Rand:  www2.mbc.ca.gov/LicenseLookupSystem/PhysicianSurgeon/Lookup.aspx