Hello everyone!! Sorry its taken a little while to get back here and post something its been a
bit hectic on our return home.
Steve and I are back into everyday life
and have recovered well from our big event. I am still going slow but doing
well.
We have a few final bits to finish up with regarding walk aware
so we would like to do a couple of posts over the next week or so.... So please
stay tuned and watch out for those!
Well its straight into the next project for me (Michelle) as I am now involved with
the World Wide Lyme Protest coming up next weekend I have found myself involved
in the planning group for the awareness event being held in Melbourne.
So its all a bit busy again. - I will post more about that soon.
BUT FOR NOW....PLEASE JOIN US AS WE TAKE A LOOK BACK OVER
WALKAWARE.......
Steve and I felt like the walk went really well and
that we reached a lot of people. Through both the preparations and the actual
walk, we had the opportunity to speak about Michelle's story and the issues we
had faced and continue to face regarding Lyme Disease in Australia. We found
that many people were able to relate to our situation, some with similar stories
and others expressing their concerns and suspicions about Lyme Disease. People
were quite concerned to hear that it had taken almost 3 years of deteriorating
health before Michelle was tested for Lyme Disease, that the testing was a
product of our own investigations and that the test results differed between
Australia and America. People were horrified to hear about the costs of the
medications we are trialling.
Speaking to people from this one on one approach and about our specific situation
did seem to resonate with most. Everyone we came across was very supportive of
our walk and keen to listen and support us. We had many people take photos,
flyers and posters and were eager to pass them on, post them up on shop windows,
their businesses and so on. We had several people stop on the road (some even turned
around and came back) to talk to us and take information from us too.
it truly was a positive experience.
This walk restored my hope in that people ARE becoming aware of this illness
here in Australia. I hope I can portray that hope to the many people who are
suffering from this condition. The reason I say that is because there is vey
little or no general discussion, sharing of information or stories etc. in
everyday Aussie life about Lyme disease. This has a very isolating effect
because recognition, awareness, understanding and information are all key
components that allow any patient with any condition to understand, come to
terms with, manage, share, express and hear about experiences of their illness.
Most people we talked to during the walk told us they had heard about
Lyme Disease or referred to stories they had seen in recent media coverage.
while it was fantastic that most people knew of Lyme Disease, they often then
admitted they knew little about it. However we are delighted to report that this
was followed with genuine interest and enquiries! This really did show there is
a need (and some public interest) for education and information here in
Australia!
Well our face book page reached 2600+ people in the week that
we walked. we gained 60+ likes in that week too. Our website received between
60-80 hits per day. The Karl McManus Foundation said that hits to their website
escalated during that time also. The awareness campaign however, went for the
entire time we were preparing and I can't tell you how many people we spoke to
from mid January to the walk in April! Letters, flyers. emails and phone calls
went out to 1000's of people. Emails were often shared and circulated too. I
spoke to a few community groups around Portalington and surrounds. We managed to
get an article in The Geelong Independent, The Mornington Peninsula Leader and
the Port Report (local newsletter).
With all this in mind, we feel happy that we achieved a good deal of our aim
to raise awareness!
The KMMF reported that they had indeed received donations during our walk.
They pass on a very big thank you to all those who donated and also expressed
gratitude to us for the work we had done. We are confident and happy knowing
that any money donated to the KMMF will go towards a better future for Lyme
Disease in Australia.
So we finish todays post with a very special thank you to everyone who
donated, shared and supported our cause.
(will be back to cover some more bits tomorrow)
bit hectic on our return home.
Steve and I are back into everyday life
and have recovered well from our big event. I am still going slow but doing
well.
We have a few final bits to finish up with regarding walk aware
so we would like to do a couple of posts over the next week or so.... So please
stay tuned and watch out for those!
Well its straight into the next project for me (Michelle) as I am now involved with
the World Wide Lyme Protest coming up next weekend I have found myself involved
in the planning group for the awareness event being held in Melbourne.
So its all a bit busy again. - I will post more about that soon.
BUT FOR NOW....PLEASE JOIN US AS WE TAKE A LOOK BACK OVER
WALKAWARE.......
Steve and I felt like the walk went really well and
that we reached a lot of people. Through both the preparations and the actual
walk, we had the opportunity to speak about Michelle's story and the issues we
had faced and continue to face regarding Lyme Disease in Australia. We found
that many people were able to relate to our situation, some with similar stories
and others expressing their concerns and suspicions about Lyme Disease. People
were quite concerned to hear that it had taken almost 3 years of deteriorating
health before Michelle was tested for Lyme Disease, that the testing was a
product of our own investigations and that the test results differed between
Australia and America. People were horrified to hear about the costs of the
medications we are trialling.
Speaking to people from this one on one approach and about our specific situation
did seem to resonate with most. Everyone we came across was very supportive of
our walk and keen to listen and support us. We had many people take photos,
flyers and posters and were eager to pass them on, post them up on shop windows,
their businesses and so on. We had several people stop on the road (some even turned
around and came back) to talk to us and take information from us too.
it truly was a positive experience.
This walk restored my hope in that people ARE becoming aware of this illness
here in Australia. I hope I can portray that hope to the many people who are
suffering from this condition. The reason I say that is because there is vey
little or no general discussion, sharing of information or stories etc. in
everyday Aussie life about Lyme disease. This has a very isolating effect
because recognition, awareness, understanding and information are all key
components that allow any patient with any condition to understand, come to
terms with, manage, share, express and hear about experiences of their illness.
Most people we talked to during the walk told us they had heard about
Lyme Disease or referred to stories they had seen in recent media coverage.
while it was fantastic that most people knew of Lyme Disease, they often then
admitted they knew little about it. However we are delighted to report that this
was followed with genuine interest and enquiries! This really did show there is
a need (and some public interest) for education and information here in
Australia!
Well our face book page reached 2600+ people in the week that
we walked. we gained 60+ likes in that week too. Our website received between
60-80 hits per day. The Karl McManus Foundation said that hits to their website
escalated during that time also. The awareness campaign however, went for the
entire time we were preparing and I can't tell you how many people we spoke to
from mid January to the walk in April! Letters, flyers. emails and phone calls
went out to 1000's of people. Emails were often shared and circulated too. I
spoke to a few community groups around Portalington and surrounds. We managed to
get an article in The Geelong Independent, The Mornington Peninsula Leader and
the Port Report (local newsletter).
With all this in mind, we feel happy that we achieved a good deal of our aim
to raise awareness!
The KMMF reported that they had indeed received donations during our walk.
They pass on a very big thank you to all those who donated and also expressed
gratitude to us for the work we had done. We are confident and happy knowing
that any money donated to the KMMF will go towards a better future for Lyme
Disease in Australia.
So we finish todays post with a very special thank you to everyone who
donated, shared and supported our cause.
(will be back to cover some more bits tomorrow)
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