valymemom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7076
posted
It would be great if we could get current congressional support like this.
GLASS SUPPORTS JEMSEK, LYME DISEASE RESEARCH FUNDING
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Ninth District Congressional Candidate Bill Glass (D-NC) appeared at the North Carolina Medical Board today to support Dr. Joe Jemsek, whose practice is in the Ninth Congressional District. Glass will also be supporting all Americans who suffer from Lyme disease by supporting a 2006 revival of HR-3427, the "Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act of 2005," also known as the Smith-Kelly Bill. Glass's opponent in November's election, Congresswoman Sue Myrick, did not cosponsor Smith-Kelly or act on the bill in any way, though it was referred to the Subcommittee on Health, on which she serves.
Glass spoke at approximately 1:00 pm at the Medical Board offices on Front Street in Raleigh. His prepared remarks are below:
"I made the drive up to Raleigh today to voice my support of both the work of Dr. Joseph Jemsek and of legislation that would benefit the Lyme disease community. However, this is not one of those "special interest" trips that politicians often make: Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in America and also one of the fastest growing infectious diseases. The disease imitates many other diseases, and is often misdiagnosed as MS, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and other illnesses. The symptoms can lead to death by heart failure or meningitis. With at least 20,000 new cases each year, Lyme disease is a threat that faces all Americans.
"While there is debate over how to treat chronic Lyme disease, or even if it exists at all, I am supporting Dr. Jemsek because of the great service his practice has provided to people across the country. When you look at all the people who have come out today, I think it's impossible to deny that Dr. Jemsek has helped people in dire need. I think that it's amazing that his cutting-edge research and treatment is being conducted within my district, the Ninth District. I just wish that Dr. Jemsek's visit to Raleigh today were more like his visit in 1998, when Governor Hunt gave him an award for his contributions to AIDS research and treatment.
"I know that Dr. Jemsek and his patients would not have to go through this ordeal if only more research had been conducted into Lyme disease. That's why I would support a new version of the Smith-Kelly bill if I am elected to the United States Congress. The U.S. government spends more money in Iraq in one day than Smith-Kelly would have spent over 5 years, and I believe that Smith-Kelly's 100 million dollar appropriation for Lyme disease research would have been a small price to pay to help all the Americans that are suffering from Lyme disease.
"As a person suffering from a chronic, mysterious, and often misdiagnosed illness - "Alpha-1" - I know how important it is for our medical professionals to understand chronic illnesses. The bacterium that causes Lyme disease is one of the most genetically complex and mysterious bacteria modern medicine has encountered, and the scientific community needs to be able to study it so that we can fight it better. By increasing our ability to fight chronic illnesses, and by nipping them in the bud before they become problems in patients, we can move from a system that takes care of the sick to a system that creates real health for all Americans.
"Dr. Jemsek and I both believe that we need to reform our health care system. In addition to causing discomfort and too often disability for the people it afflicts, Lyme disease costs taxpayers and health care providers money when it is under-diagnosed and misdiagnosed. The inability of our health care system to adequately treat Lyme disease is just one symptom of a system in need of serious reform, and that system is something I'd like to change in the United States Congress. Thank you for your time."
Posts: 1240 | From Centreville,VA | Registered: Mar 2005
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ConnieMc
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 191
posted
Do you have a link for this? I would love to know the source so I can thank them.
I met and talked with Mr. Glass at the hearing. What a wonderful person he is.
Posts: 2276 | From NC | Registered: Oct 2000
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valymemom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7076
posted
A friend sent it to me.
PO Box 38151 Charlotte NC 28278 (704) 231-5069 _http://www.billglass2006.com/_
valymemom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7076
posted
Oops....no I don't have the link but she included the means to get in touch with him.
Posts: 1240 | From Centreville,VA | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
I am hopeful that those of us who are reading this will copy the speech, as well as the information about the positions of Mr. Glass and his opponent, and send it to anyone they know in NC.
Those are the people who are going to be voting, and we can help to make them aware if they do not hear this from other sources.
We used to live in NC, and you can bet that everyone I know there will be getting a copy. Hope you will do the same.
Posts: 119 | From Southwest Florida | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
In addition, those family members and friends who you asked to sign the Jemsek petition on your behalf might like to have a thank you note from you with this attached.
This may be the most positive thing to come from the Jemsek hearing. I thought it interesting that Mr. Glass spoke about all of those who came to the hearing in support of Dr. Jemsek.
Thanks again to all of you who were able to attend and helped to make a difference for all of us.
Posts: 119 | From Southwest Florida | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
Thank you Mr. Glass, testifying LLMDs, and all the others who aided Dr. Jemsek in making his case.
-------------------- "Help Or Be Helpless" Please visit "Activism" board daily. See the threads regarding the IDSA Guidelines crisis and the threads about Dr. Charles Ray Jones and decide how best to help today! Posts: 1265 | From does not list | Registered: Jun 2004
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