This weekend has been beautiful outside but I have been happily sitting at my laptop preparing a binder about Gastroparesis for my meeting with my Congressman tomorrow. All in all, I am quite pleased with how the binder has turned out. It includes a lot of great information about Gastroparesis from a variety of sources.
I am now working on my talking points and the order I want to present them in. Practicing some of the statements has made me quite emotional. It is so hard to not have your voice quiver when talking about how people are quite literally starving to death due to a lack of a cure and treatment options.
It’s difficult to talk about finding your Plan B in life and continuing to pay the bills. Talking about how your life has been quite literally turned upside down and all of your priorities have changed. Things that once seemed so important now seem so trivial. Discussing how this shift has cost you your relationship with what were once dear friends and even your own family. Describing what it is like to have people disappear from your life because they don’t know what to do with you.
It’s also emotional talking about all of the new people that have been met due to Gastroparesis. People that are some of the strongest people I know. People that have overcome some that most amazing obstacles. There are also the caregivers who never complain and keep trying to help us in the best ways that they can.
Gastroparesis brings together people from all backgrounds into one unified voice. A voice that needs to be heard & I’m more than thrilled to be speaking to my Congressman tomorrow on behalf of all of us.
Now it’s time for me to get back to it so that I can represent tomorrow!
~Millie
Adventures with Gastroparesis 
Good Luck and thank you!!!
Thanks Pat!
~Millie
I tried contacting ours about H.R. 842 and no response… all his office did was put me on the mailing list (which I wasn’t even asked if I wanted to be on it)!
Good luck and will be anxious to hear how it goes!
You are one to be admired, you go girl! I think it would be a great idea if you could provide others with ideas for putting together an “Advocacy Binder.” I’ve written my congressman along with my friends and family and he is also on board. It’s such a good feeling to know we have those with power backing us up 🙂
Thanks Stephanie!
I’ll have to see what I can do with the advocacy binder. I’ll put my thinking cap on & see what I can come up with.
~Millie