We Are Advocates

FighterMom™ Program Relaunches

A “fighter mom” is a mother with a purpose.  She is a mother (or even another family member or loved one) who has become an advocate, working to defeat a serious or even incurable disease affecting her child.  Not only is she caring for a child with a demanding medical challenge but she is also raising money for research, raising awareness, and making sure everyone knows there’s a horrible disease that needs our attention. 

The FighterMom™ program provides these special mothers a place where they can easily find one another.  The program, developed by the international nonprofit organization Fight SMA, was relaunched Mother’s Day weekend, expanding from an informational resource to an interactive community.

FighterMom is the brainchild of Joe and Martha Slay, who founded Fight SMA in 1991 after their son, Andrew, was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).  While theirs is a specific fight against the leading genetic killer of children under two, they believe that the lessons they’ve learned are lessons that can be taught to people fighting other diseases.

As part of the relaunch, the FighterMom website has been redesigned, not only to better present information but also to include the FighterMom Community.  The new community includes message boards, the FighterMom Blog, the ability for visitors to easily create their own blogs, and the Fighting Back Podcast, which features inspirational stories about people and families fighting serious or incurable diseases.

“Isolation is one of the biggest problems facing FighterMoms, partly because, in many cases, you really are one of very few people dealing with your disease,” said Mrs. Slay, who is president of Fight SMA.  “With this relaunch, we want to create a place with so many like-minded people that visitors can’t help but realize there are others out there just like them.”

Visit FighterMom to learn more about this important program and to find out how you can get a copy of the FighterMom Manual.

Bogus online "pharmacies" prey on patients

What is it about people who are ill or in pain that makes unscrupulous people think we're fair game for their scams and schemes? Medication prices are out of control. Many of us, even with insurance, are spending a disproportionate amount of our income on meds, and many are looking for sources of less expensive meds.

Scammers know that, and they don't give a damn about our health, only making $$ from our misery. Not a day goes by that I don't have at least a dozen emails from such scammers offering me lower prices on everything from pain medications to Viagra. BUT, there's a catch. We have no way of knowing if these medications are real or counterfeit or if they're contaminated with toxins. A friend of mine nearly died as the result of trying to save a few $$ on pain meds and getting contaminated meds.

There's been a recent and dangerous upswing in counterfeit medications being sold over the Internet. Please, before you consider buying meds online, take a look at FDA Warns of Counterfeit Medications from Online Pharmacies.

Be well; be safe!