Teamwork as a Solution to 'Virtual Dilution'

Today's the day after Fibromyalgia Awareness Day 2010, which was the second annual.  I'm so very thrilled to have been on facebook for the first one a year ago, or I'd have never known about it.  I'm looking forward to seeing what other people think about this year compared to last, but generally I have a sense that facebook's powers to pull a LOT of people together and make it easy for us to connect also have a down side in that it's also been so very easy for many people to set up 'discussion boards' and fan pages and groups that we're 'virtually diluted'.  I guess that's better than being 'dilusional'! ~~ ???

As soon as I got a message this year about two months ago from the facebook group administrator who was organizing people to get active about fibromyalgia awareness day 2010, I approached the medical experts and others I've been made aware of since the FIRST Awareness Day last year, and suggested we collaborate on awareness day activities in order to bring people together some.  I found myself yesterday having to really pick my mind for who is what group and what group is called what, and who is where -- and my concept overall is that if Lumigrate becomes a hub so to speak where people know they can come to and then find the providers they are looking for following.   The experts you see on Lumigrate today, such as Deidre Rawlings, Marc Spurlock,  and MORE to come, who have agreed but haven't made their way to the Forum yet due to time limitations -- Mitch Sprier as compounding pharmacy expert, Karen Richardson as driving rehabilitation expert, Jan Petersen as upper extremity rehabilitation expert), and April Schulte-Barclay, DOAM, who got started this spring in the general Forum about acupuncture but not in her specific forum. 

To be honest with you, I've found that many medical providers have been so busy seeing patients and documenting on paper with pens as I have for over a decade that we're not as familiar as the public generally is about websites.  So that means I either need to make time to facilitate them OR find someone who can do that.  We have always had Adam Cochran on the team for IT consulting but he also teaches at the college in Grand Junction so his time to give to Lumigrate (which he is so generous to do), fluctuates with the semester.  This month he's having a podcasting studio built so we have podcasting to look forward to with him starting in June, but that means he'll be more into THAT than holding the hands to support our writers who are hindered by their abilities or limited time (or both). 

I also am now more involved in the care of my father who is quite impressively utilizing allopathic/traditional medicines and providers to address Lewey Bodies Dimentia, which is #2 to Alzheimers (and basically like Parkinsons spun together).  We're implementing some of the progressive integrative strategies and information found on Lumigrate, particularly about the immune system as it relates to intestinal maintenance, supplements, and nutrition.  These experiences are providing me with LOTS of things to bring to the Lumigrate table related to the elderly, which was my original specialty as an occupational therapist, and I look forward to developing more and more information for people as a resource along these lines. 

Working with my family on this at the same time as some of the writers of Lumigrate Forums have similar issues in their families as well has reminded me of teamwork examples I've been part of in my years as an OT.  I've been part of wonderful teams and trainwrecks.  I've had good leadership and not so good and downright bullying, harrasing leadership as well.  I've three times been on ropes courses and can say one was good, one bad, and one somewhere in between, which was a combination of the participants and the leadership strength. 

If you look at many cultures currently and historically you'll see similarities in how systems function, and within the fibromyalgia community and chronic illness population who Lumigrate is intended to focus upon, I'm concerned that there are too much dilution going on, and we all can be better served if we can come together and be united in a number of places with a network among us.  But I'm curious as to YOUR thoughts about this, and your experiences about fibromyalgia awareness or what you're seeing as limitations which could be solved to progressing publicity about chronic illness such as fibromyalgia.  Remember, anyone can start a new Topic in the Forums, and it's even easier to simply Comment below this. 

The new security certificate went into effect yesterday (or at least I believe it did) which I've obrtained through HostGator this year, and will be contacting their CEO to let him know about their wonderful customer service with me with Lumigrate.  Many people with fibromyalgia have blogs or are doing websites and some of us have invested more with our businesses and are always looking for who is good and resources as we ALL have a lot to know and do.  Anyway, we've had an impressive 30% increase in registered users recently and I think that had a LOT to do with the collaborative awareness activity I call The Three Doctors Interview about Integrative Approaches to Fibromyalgia, as well as our getting further up in the organic search due to some search engine optimization which has been done (again, on a volunteer basis by someone who wanted to help Lumigrate and the cause of health information overall). 

I hope each NEW PERSON who comes to Lumigrate.com feels at home and as though we are welcoming them, and those of you who have been with Lumigrate for a while have such a part to play in that if you've written in the past and I simply encourage you to continue stopping by as much as possible and writing, if even short little feedback comments, in the future.  Reminding us how to find you (email address, website link) is encouraged.  Cinda Crawford does a good job of always putting that at the bottom area of what she contributes, so thank you for that example as well as your part in our collaborative awareness activities.  This all has given us MUCH to go forward with, and I look forward to next year and seeing how this has grown. 

I sincerely feel that Lumigrate's Grate Group, including the medical provider experts as well as the people who are taking considererable time and using their limited energy to write when they can if they have a medical condition are forming a TEAM at Lumigrate that are going to make a considerable impact on health care every day we interact together and are here on the Internet as a resource.  So THANK YOU ALL.  And remember, it's a GOOD THING if you have chronic wellness and aren't here writing as much as you WANT to, as long as you're taking care of yourself!  That's setting a good example for others, and those with fibromyalgia, that's sometimes the best example we can have.  Remember the tortoise and the hare.   See y'all at the finish line, health as we can be and as many of us as we can have there!

~~ Mardy