Tuesday, May 12, 2015

May 12th International ME/CFS, FM, MCS Awareness Day

National Buildings Turn Blue, Green & Purple on May 12th to Honour Three Invisible Disabilities

PRLog - May 9, 2015 - OTTAWA, Ontario -- National Buildings and Landmarks Will Turn Blue, Green & Purple on May 12 to Honour Three Invisible Disabilities: Local Residents are Invited to Join in this Unique International Competition.

The 2nd annual good-natured, world wide competition is going to colour the nightscape on May 12th, 2015.  Charitable organizations from each country are competing to see how many public buildings, monuments, and even private homes can be lit up and recorded by photos.  Anyone with a camera or a blue, purple, or green lightbulb can participate.

Ottawa, Ontario, May 9, 2015 —  The National ME/FM Action Network  http://www.mefmaction.com/ (http://www.mefmaction.com/) is proud to be spearheading Canada’s entry in the 2nd Annual International May 12th Light Up the Night Challenge event. This is designed to bring awareness to three disabilities which have devastated the lives of 1.4 million Canadians, yet remain invisible.

Niagara Falls, the CN Tower, Charlottetown City Hall, Ottawa’s City Hall Heritage Building, Calgary’s Langevin Bridge, Montreal Olympic Stadium, BC Place, Hamilton’s Farmer’s Market and Toronto City Hall are a few of Canada’s public contributions to this event, but anyone with a porch light or a window is encouraged to participate.

Light Up the Night is dedicated to three illnesses which go under the blanket category of Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases (CIND):

●    Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)

●    Fibromyalgia (FM)

●    Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)

The numbers are staggering. A 2010 survey by Statistics Canada estimated that 411,000 Canadians have been diagnosed with ME/CFS, 439,000 with FM and 800,000 with MCS. The number of Canadians with one or more of the three conditions is equivalent to the number of Canadians with heart disease, and is greater than the number of Canadians with breast cancer, MS and AIDS combined! Put another way, the number of Canadians with one or more of ME/CFS, FM or MCS is greater than the entire population of Manitoba. And yet these conditions are out of sight and out of mind.

The illnesses have a profound impact on a person's ability to function. Many people end up housebound and some end up bedbound. The effects of people's lives and the lives of those around them are enormous. The effects on the economy are enormous as well. Imagine if every person in Manitoba was struck down by an illness that reduced their functional capacity. The province's GDP ($56 Billion in 2011) would plummet by billions of dollars.

ME/CFS/FM/MCS have a long history of misunderstanding and bureaucratic sleight of hand, but the scientific evidence is mounting. The latest research findings were presented at the 11th biennial IASCF/ME conference (http://www.mefmaction.com/index.php?option=com_content&am...), held in San Francisco in March 2014 and co-hosted by Stanford University.

You can contact the National ME/FM Action Network’s national office for more information.

Light Up the Night on May 12th, 2015, is a fun way to lend support and boost the morale of those with these diseases.  It is also a way to remind those in authority, that the invisibly disabled are there and still need the support which they have been promised.

Here is how everyone can participate:

The challenge is to get as many buildings as possible in your country to light up with one of the 3 colours used on May 12th - blue, purple or green *. There are public buildings/places like City Halls and Niagara Falls.  But individual homes are needed as well.

Bragging rights will be awarded to the country with the most photos in each of these categories:

1. Number of Public Buildings/Places

2. Number of Private Residences

All pictures must be emailed by May 31st to be included. When sending the photo, include information about where the photo was taken (i.e. town, region, country) The May 12th team will count and post the photos as they come in and post the final results as soon as possible after the 31st.

To enter, photos should be taken and sent to info@may12th.org.

This challenge is in honour of the 23rd anniversary of May 12th International Awareness Day. May 12th has been designated as International Awareness Day for Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases (CIND) since 1992. The diseases included in CIND include Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Fibromyalgia (FM), and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).

May 12th was chosen as it is the birthday of Florence Nightingale. She was believed to have suffered from ME.

There are numerous events planned for May 12th.  For a full list, please see www.bit.ly/May12th2015  .

*Blue is the official colour of ME & CFS; Purple for FM; Green for MCS

About ME/FM Action Network:

The NATIONAL ME/FM ACTION NETWORK became a Canadian charitable organization on June 18, 1993 dedicated to Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Fibromyalgia (FM) through support, education and research.


Contact
National ME/FM Action Network
***@mefmaction.com

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