charitable giving pointer
As many of you know, I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a genetic disorder involving a defect in the connective tissue leading to joint pain, frequent joint dislocations, and a whole host of other associated side effects that make life a bit of a challenge.
I've had this condition my entire life; it was the cause behind most of the struggles I've had with the medical profession over the years, which I describe as "more in the nature of unarmed combat". It was not diagnosed until several years ago, at which point I had a stunning, incredible reversal of fortune in terms of my relationship with the medical profession: I discovered that, purely by chance, I had moved into reach of the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, at which Dr. Clair Francomano practices.
Dr. Francomano is one of the country's top experts in Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. More than that, though, she is a good doctor. She left her pure-research position because she missed having actual patient contact; today, she practices genetic medicine and research in the mornings, and serves as a general practitioner in the afternoons. She is warm, caring, thoughtful, willing to listen, willing to integrate what I'm saying with her ideas, completely current on not just cutting-edge but bleeding-edge research, able to recognize when an experimental protocol might be indicated and when it's best to stick with the tried-and-true, an incredible patient advocate, and pretty much all-around the only reason I haven't yet given up in utter despair. She has restored my faith in the medical profession, and every day where I hurt less than I could hurt or can do more than I could do, it is because of her.
I mention this because last week, when I went for my quarterly visit, I found out about GBMC's Doctor's Day Recognition Campaign, in which GBMC and its doctors are fundraising for their research and operations. The actual Doctor's Day had already passed when I found out about it, but the hospital's always in need of funds. A donation in Dr. Francomano's name, to her division of the hospital, will help fund research that may someday help me personally, and will certainly help the incredible work Dr. Francomano is doing.
Donations are tax-deductible. If you're looking for a place to steer your charitable contributions, I'd like to request you consider making GBMC, and Dr. Francomano's division, one of your recipients. The form for giving is here. The area to select for your contribution is "The Harvey Institute for Human Genetics", and the gift should be "In Honor Of: Dr. Clair Francomano".
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I've had this condition my entire life; it was the cause behind most of the struggles I've had with the medical profession over the years, which I describe as "more in the nature of unarmed combat". It was not diagnosed until several years ago, at which point I had a stunning, incredible reversal of fortune in terms of my relationship with the medical profession: I discovered that, purely by chance, I had moved into reach of the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, at which Dr. Clair Francomano practices.
Dr. Francomano is one of the country's top experts in Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. More than that, though, she is a good doctor. She left her pure-research position because she missed having actual patient contact; today, she practices genetic medicine and research in the mornings, and serves as a general practitioner in the afternoons. She is warm, caring, thoughtful, willing to listen, willing to integrate what I'm saying with her ideas, completely current on not just cutting-edge but bleeding-edge research, able to recognize when an experimental protocol might be indicated and when it's best to stick with the tried-and-true, an incredible patient advocate, and pretty much all-around the only reason I haven't yet given up in utter despair. She has restored my faith in the medical profession, and every day where I hurt less than I could hurt or can do more than I could do, it is because of her.
I mention this because last week, when I went for my quarterly visit, I found out about GBMC's Doctor's Day Recognition Campaign, in which GBMC and its doctors are fundraising for their research and operations. The actual Doctor's Day had already passed when I found out about it, but the hospital's always in need of funds. A donation in Dr. Francomano's name, to her division of the hospital, will help fund research that may someday help me personally, and will certainly help the incredible work Dr. Francomano is doing.
Donations are tax-deductible. If you're looking for a place to steer your charitable contributions, I'd like to request you consider making GBMC, and Dr. Francomano's division, one of your recipients. The form for giving is here. The area to select for your contribution is "The Harvey Institute for Human Genetics", and the gift should be "In Honor Of: Dr. Clair Francomano".
[Comment to this entry on Dreamwidth. You can log in with your LiveJournal URL, and then set and validate an email address. (If you don't set and validate an email address, your comment will be treated as anonymous. We're going to be fixing that.)]