Saturday, September 18, 2010

What would I do with a Cricut Imagine? Advocate for over 5 Million Americans who suffer from Gastroparesis. Gastro..what?

I deserve to win a Cricut Imagine for several reasons.  The main reason I would really LOVE to have this machine is to be able to spread awareness about a horrible invisible illness called Gastroparesis.  You might be saying what?  That is the response I get the majority of the time I even say the name.  Gastroparesis or Paralysis of the stomach is a debilitating condition that leaves men, woman, children, teenagers, moms, daughters, sons, dads and anyone in between left to starve and deal with horrible pain.  This condition has affected more than 5 million people in the US and is generally misdiagnosed as an eating disorder.  Many of us who suffer with this spend the majority of our year either in the hospital, in outpatient situations, hooked up to IV's for hydration and food, and even with permanent feeding tubes due to malnutrition.  There are even some with this horrible condition who have gone through a multi system transplants just to be able to live.  So, how does this play into my life you ask?  Well, 6 years ago I was a young mom loving life and working full time until things took a dramatic turn.  I became very ill and went through doctor after doctor before I had a Nasal feeding tube placed.  I was finally diagnosed with Gastroparesis, but not before my family lost everything.  We became homeless and were struggling just to survive.  I was finally approved for disability and now rely solely on my feedings through my feeding tube that bypasses my stomach and goes directly to my intestines.  How will this machine help me?  With this machine I will be able to create a wide array of literature to spread the news about this condition.  I will be able to continue to be an advocate for not only myself, but for the millions and millions of people who are misdiagnosed with this on a daily basis.  This will make the time that I do have the energy to work on the information so much more productive since I won't have to spend so much time piecing together so many scraps of paper.  By winning this machine, it will not only help me with capturing the memories I have with my family, but will also allow me to make so many more informational things for legislation physicians patients and caregivers.  I thank you very much for the amazing opportunity that this may give to so many people.