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Diane posted this to me last week. You can go to the site and arrange to send your shoes (if you can) and send a note. They called me twice last week and said they wanted to do a piece on me, but I don't know where or how to access it. Ray ----- Original Message ----- From: "Linda J Herman" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 5:33 PM Subject: "Walk a Mile in my Shoes" > for Immediate Release Contact: Contact: Tara McNally > 212.645.6900 x 117 > [log in to unmask] > > As the Stem Cell Debate Heats Up in the Senate . . . > One Man Urges President Bush To "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" > > Caretaker of Wife with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Asks > Fellow Caretakers and Patients To Send Their Heartfelt Notes (and an Old > Pair of Shoes) as a Message to the White House! > > (New York, NY) June 2, 2005 - In the past seven years, Eric Yaverbaum's > life has changed in ways that he never thought possible. As his wife's > Multiple Sclerosis progressed, he has started to consider things he never > "saw" before, such as, why are some Doctors' offices not > handicapped-accessible? He has started to question everything he always > took for granted, from his relationship with his children (What do I tell > them?), to finances (How can anyone afford to provide for a chronically > ill loved one?), to security (Why me? Why her? If I do my best - is it > enough?), and politics (What are stem cells? And why should I care?). > > As Yaverbaum and millions of other Americans, caretakers and patients > alike, ask these questions - for the first time in his two terms, > President Bush is threatening to exercise his veto on the bill that would > expand public funding for stem cell research, a resource which suggests a > potential cure for everything from Parkinson's to Alzheimer's and spinal > cord injuries. If, like Nancy Reagan, Dana Reeves, or many lesser-known > people, the President had to live with an illness in his home for a year > or two, would he feel differently about this decision? > > He won't tell you about vacations. He won't tell you about long walks on > the beach with the love of his life. He won't tell you about tomorrow. > Twenty years after her diagnosis, Yaverbaum will tell you that the world > is a strikingly different place -- and yet -- he will tell you how much > more he likes the guy he sees in the mirror. He will tell you about the > long, long list of people who help him at home so he can continue to earn > a living. He will tell you how much he has grown from the experience of > caring for his childhood sweetheart, best friend and mother of his > children. And he will go on to tell you about his wife -- the only modern > day heroine he has ever met. > > Despite his mental and physical exhaustion, to Yaverbaum, his wife's > chronic illness was a blessing; he hopes to be exhausted for a very long > time to come. "For years, so many wonderful well intentioned and > supportive friends and visitors have come to our home to share in our > experience and lives. But then they leave. My family spends seven days a > week, 24 hours a day doing the very best we can to maintain a > functioning, loving family unit. We've been doing it long enough now to > know - until you "Walk a Mile" in our shoes - you cannot understand what > it's like." > > Therefore, Yaverbaum is asking his fellow caretakers, patients, and > friends to send the White House a message. As Yaverbaum states, "We can't > have a 'Million-Caretaker-Walk in Washington! We have to be home when > we're not working. But we can send the President a million pairs of our > old shoes with an emotional and realistic note of what we do every single > day. Maybe the volume of shoes or one of those notes might just sway his > opinion? Could just one note make a difference?" > > Please send all shoes and notes for President Bush to: > > "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" > c/o Jericho Communications > 304 Hudson Street, Suite 700 > New York, New York 10013 > > Yaverbaum will deliver the notes to the White House and donate all the > shoes to charity -- but not before making sure the White House sees them! > > http://www.jerichopr.com/releases/jericho8.htm > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: > mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn