8 Ways to Sunday

Though I was supposed to return to Kansas last Friday, I’m still in Tucson. I’m long overdue for an update on the whole reason we came here — my mother’s health — so let me start from the top. If you’re just now joining this saga-in-progress, you can read this post first for all the back-story.

Setbacks

A few days after we arrived, Angela had her first doctor’s appointment. The doctor is a toxicologist specializing in patients who’ve had toxic mold exposures. Since repeating one of the things he said might get him in trouble with another physician at the University Medical Center, I’ll call him “Dr. Erickson.” He was sympathetic and very knowledgeable, but he couldn’t do much for her directly. He told us what kinds of specialists she should be seeing. He also gave us three bits of information that, while crucial, have forced a massive re-organization and re-assessment of this trip.   (more…)

JibJab is hosting a parody / protest video sponsored by Consumers Union and featuring music by the Austin Lounge Lizards.

Called “The Drugs I Need,” the vid was part of a campaign to support passage of the FACT Act. According to CU, the bill “would require drug companies to improve safety monitoring of medicines on the market, and make results of their drug studies publicly available.” I can’t find any news on whether the bill passed or not, but the very funny video is still here for you to enjoy. It watches like a musical rendition of a prime-time prescription drug commercial, on acid.

You’ll need Apple’s QuickTime movie player to see the video at JibJab.com. You can also get RealVideo, Windows Media Video, and MP3 audio versions directly from Consumers Union. If you’d like the lyrics, I’ve got those right here.

Thanks to the several generous donors who have given so far, the fundraiser for my mom’s health care has gathered almost $860 to date. Unfortunately, this is just a drop in the bucket toward the ultimate goal of $15,000.

To try and publicize my cause, I’m starting a fundraising linkathon. It’s like a telethon for “Jerry’s Kids” or a phonathon for your alma mater, but instead of phones and TVs we’ll be using weblogs and journals. The goal: turn this fundraising campaign into a meme that’s posted on as many blogs as possible.

Here’s how you can join the linkathon:

1. Write a post for your blog or journal that tells the general purpose of the fundraiser and the linkathon. If you don’t already know what this is about, you can read the story here.
2. In your post, include a link to at least one for the following two web pages:
   • http://www.adammessinger.com/donate/ (the short version)
   • http://www.adammessinger.com/2005/08/02/call-for-donations (the whole story)
3. Encourage your readers to get involved and join the linkathon themselves, and include these same instructions in your own post.

That’s all there is to it. Let’s get this meme a rollin’!

Just after 11 PM Central Time last night, we surpassed the $600 Level 1 goal I’d set for my efforts to raise money for my mom’s health care. Further donations have since put us at $697.06 raised so far!

Thank you to all my friends and my fellow TextDrive members who’ve pitched in to help my family. I’m totally floored and very touched by the level of support that’s come in so far. Let’s keep the ball rolling and push on toward Level 2!

Tonight I’m doing something that I never thought I would do on this web site: asking my readers for money. This isn’t the usual blogger thing of seeking donations to pay for hosting or asking you to put money in the tip jar if you like my writing. There’s nothing wrong with either of those things, but I write here simply because I enjoy it and my hosting is free for life because I invested $200 in the startup of TextDrive. Instead, I’m raising funds to help my mother, who is sick and needs medical care out of state.   (more…)