Margaret was struck off the nursing register by the Nursing and Midwifery Council for taking part in a television programme which highlighted instances of poor patient care.

We believe that Margaret was justified in exposing the worrying conditions at her hospital and that the documentary shed light on matters that the public deserved to know about.

While Jordan regained his heartbeat, he was left in what his doctors perceived to
be a “permanent vegetative state.” He was unconscious, unresponsive and
unable to breathe on his own, appearing to have little or no brain activity. In
fact one doctor predicted that Jordan would most likely “progress towards
significant brain injury and possible BRAIN DEATH.” After two weeks in intensive
care with very little perceptible change, the doctors advised Jordan’s family to
pull the plug.

After much prayer and deliberation, Jordan’s family felt strongly that hope was
not lost on the toddler; he simply needed a little more time. Sure enough, just a
few days later, to the utter astonishment of the hospital staff, Jordan opened
his eyes and began breathing on his own. Finally, after thirty-one excruciating
days in the hospital, Jordan was able to go home to be with his family.

Being “home” is presenting a new set of challenges. Even before the accident,
the house was literally bursting at the seams. Jordan’s family, including his twin
brother, Brandon, older brother, Ashton, sister, Kayleigh, and single mom,
Jeannie, all lived with Jordan’s grandparents, Pam and Bobby, and their
daughter, Erin. It was hard enough to make room for eight people in a three
bedroom house, but now, with Jordan requiring around-the-clock care and
special equipment; it’s all the family can do to make it from one day to the next.

The home also serves as a daycare, which the family has depended on as a
source of income for several years. Due to Jordan’s condition, they have had to
reduce the number of children they are able to care for, which has drastically
affected the family financially. The house has it’s own share of physical problems
as well. Full of cracks, leaks and plagued with constant plumbing problems, it is
less than ideal for an in-home daycare, a large family and a child with special
needs.

With unwavering faith and resolve, the family stays optimistic. Even in Jordan’s
crowded surroundings, he continues to make remarkable improvements. He is
regaining his ability to swallow. He is beginning to speak again. He is able to hold
his head up on his own and follow voice commands- all things the doctors said
he would NEVER be able to do! Jordan’s family and his therapists are hopeful
that Jordan will soon be walking again. It has been a difficult, even excruciating
journey at times, but it is a path they continue faithfully walking daily.

YOU CAN READ JORDAN'S UPDATE BLOG AT
http://www.prayersforjordan.blogspot.com

(UPDATE 3/30/07) I just wanted you to know that Jordan's mom, Jeannie,
reads to Jordan everyday the comments of people who sign his petition. Jordan
has always been a very sensitive and perceptive child, but even now he really
seems to know and understand what Jeannie reads to him. As strange as it may
sound, Jordan has been making greater strides towards recovery since the very
day that petition was posted, almost like he knows and feels the love and
prayers of his new friends. Thank you all!!!

Love and Blessings,
Jordan's Granny, Pam

This picture was taken on the day before Jordan's accident.

Which is why Grazia has today joined forces with the stillbirth and neonatal death charity, Sands, to demand change.

We want the government to fund research to discover what is causing these babies to die, and to develop new ways of screening pregnancies to find out which babies are at risk of stillbirth… and save their lives before it is too late.

Whether this is a scan in the third trimester or even the introduction of hand held scanners to detect babies’ movements, what is key is funding for this vital research to be carried out.

Doctors can screen for other problems in pregnancy such as Down’s syndrome, because the research has been done to find out how to predict which babies are at risk. Research into cot death has reduced deaths by 70% in the last 20 years. Stillbirth is now 10 times more common than cot death.

Chief executive Neal Long says, ‘With 11 babies dying every day, it’s a national scandal which has persisted for far too long. Most stillborn babies have no abnormalities and no clear reason why they died. Early delivery could potentially save the lives of many of these babies. We know that the antenatal screening techniques used today just aren’t accurate enough to pick out these at-risk babies, so many otherwise perfect babies are missed, and tragically they die.’

Experts argue that a significant proportion of these deaths could be avoided if mothers received better care during pregnancy and labour. But current routine antenatal screening methods, measuring baby’s growth with a tape measure and scanning at 12 and 20 weeks, aren’t working when it comes to preventing many stillbirths.

Causes of stillbirth can be anything from an infection through to problems with the placenta. Grazia editor-in-chief Jane Bruton says, ‘It’s shocking how many women are going through the pain and devastation of stillbirth every day. We believe research needs to be urgently carried out to discover how improved screening for pregnant women could help reduce the UK’s rates... and save more women from the trauma of losing their child.’

Now you can join the campaign to help, by signing our petition. ‘The support of Grazia readers will really make a huge difference’ adds Long. `The Government listens to public opinion and we need them to know that people value the lives of these precious babies. We urge you to sign our petition and help get the research that is so desperately needed.’

According to the Guardian;

"While touring Basingstoke and North Hampshire hospital on Thursday, he revealed that the phone service – which this year cost £123m to run – is to be axed."

It's set to be replaced by a cheaper alternative with less medically-trained staff.

NHS Direct answers 9.5 million calls a year and provides a crucial and potentionally life-saving service to those in need, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said that any petition reaching 100,000 signatures would guarantee a Commons debate on the matter.

So we call on the Coalition to think again and Save NHS Direct for the good of the nation.

Congenital heart defects are the Number 1 cause of birth defect related deaths.

This year almost 40,000 babies will be born with a congenital heart defect in the US. 4,000 of them will not live to see their first birthday.

91,000 life years are lost each year in this country due to congenital heart defects.

The cost for inpatient surgery to repair congenital heart defects exceeds $2.2 billion a year.

Congenital heart defects occur frequently and are often life threatening, yet research into them is grossly under funded.

Only one penny of every dollar donated to the American Heart Association goes towards congenital heart defect research.

Of every dollar the government spends on medical funding only a fraction of a penny is directed toward congenital heart defect research.

More than 50% of all children born with a congenital heart defect will require at least one invasive surgery in their lifetime.

There are 35 different types of congenital heart defects. Little is known about the cause of most them. There is not yet a cure for any of them.

In the U.S., twice as many children die from congenital heart defects each year than from all forms of childhood cancer combined, yet funding for pediatric cancer research is five times higher than funding for CHD.

Statistics today show that due to misdiagnosis, lack of knowledge and awareness, & complications of surgery…about 51% of deaths caused by CHD are children under the age of 1 year.

Early diagnosis is the key to survival!

For nearly 40 years, newborn screening programs have provided an important public health service by identifying newborns with metabolic, hematologic and endocrine disorders as well as hearing loss. But did you know there is also tests that could identify a congenital heart defect immediately? The painless, non-invasive tests are called echocardiogram and pulse oximeter and they could dramatically increase the survival rate for children born with CHD.

Due to these alarming facts, we the undersigned urge the Media to start helping in raising Awareness whether it will be my magazine and newspaper articles, books, info shows and commercials.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this petition and care so much to sign it. It it truly being appreciated.

WE NEED TO MAKE CHILDRENS' HEALTH ISSUES OUR PRIORITY !

If you would like to learn more about CHD, please visit the following great pages :

http://www.chloeduyckmemorial.com

http://www.hope4tinyhearts.com

http://www.congenitalheartdefects.com/

http://www.chdinfo.com/

http://www.thechdquilt.homestead.com/

http://www.childrenheartinstitute.org/

http://www.Congenital-Heart-Defects.co.uk

http://www.mattersoftheheart-online.com

http://www.sandrakaystore.com

Please also note that this is an ongoing petition without time limitation. I am sending out emails to media sources every couple of weeks with the updated signature list.

God bless you :)*

Sandra Kay,
- Founder of "Matters of the Heart", and "Angelina's -Warriors of CHD Awareness"

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST.
TERESA WOO

Notes from the first annual meeting of the International Society of Neurovascular Diseases
by Anne Kingston on Tuesday, March 22, 2011

‘This is what it must feel like to witness medical history in the making’

Notes from the first annual meeting of the International Society of Neurovascular Diseases
by Anne Kingston on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 1:38pm - 58 Comments

Sitting through two days of research presentations at the first annual meeting of the International Society of Neurovascular Disease (ISNVD), three things became manifest: One, that this is what it must feel like to witness medical history in the making. Two, that science is just beginning to twig onto the complexity of the venous system—and the vascular system’s role in neurodegenerative diseases. And three, that Canadian multiple sclerosis patients bear a double burden—living with a devastating, degenerative condition and residing in a country that’s increasingly exhibiting a singular lack of political or medical will to treat them for something as basic as insufficient blood flow.

The three-day conference held last week in Bologna, Italy, focused on venous abnormalities and the association of these abnormalities in people with MS—a condition identified as chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, or CCSVI, by Italian doctor Paolo Zamboni. Impaired blood flow in the jugular and or azygos veins, Zamboni posited, caused blood to reflux to the brain, where it creates iron deposits that could trigger MS symptoms. Administering an angioplasty—sending a tiny balloon up the vein to restore blood flow—caused MS symptoms to abate, sometimes dramatically, and even halt the disease’s progression, he found.

Since Zamboni’s research made headlines in November 2009, CCSVI has been hotly debated, embraced, rejected as scientifically unproven, and even ridiculed. The notion that MS might have a vascular component, a theory that’s lurked in the background for more than a century, represents a huge paradigm shift for the medical establishment which has long defined the disease as a neurological-autoimmune condition, even though the autoimmune theory too remains unproven. MS is a medical mystery—its cause unknown, no cure in sight. Symptoms and prognoses vary radically. Drug therapies, a $10 billion industry primed to grow to $15 billion by 2015, modify and reduce symptoms for some patients but come with exorbitant price tags and a host of side effects that can include death.

Dissatisfaction with the MS status quo can be measured by the number of patients estimated to have received CCSVI treatment internationally—more than 12,000. Among them are hundreds, maybe thousands, of the 75,000 Canadians with MS. Venous angioplasty is not available to MS patients here, so they’re flocking to clinics in the U.S., India, Mexico, Poland, Costa Rica and Bulgaria, willing to pay upwards of $10,000. Traveling offshore can be risky. Screening and treatment protocols are inconsistent. Some patients who’ve received treatment say they’ve been dropped by their doctor and denied aftercare. Use of stents to keep veins open, contrary to Zamboni’s protocol, adds another level of uncertainty. Ontario resident Mahir Mostic died in Costa Rica last year after being forced to return to that country with post-surgery complications.

Still, CCSVI has gained international traction. The International Union of Phebology, of which Canada is a member, recognized it as an official stand-alone medical condition last year. Last July, Zamboni founded the ISNVD with a multidisciplinary group of vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, physicists, even a few neurologists, including San Diego neurosurgeon David Hubbard, who broke ranks with colleagues after his 27-year-old son Devin was diagnosed with MS. Initially a CCSVI skeptic, Hubbard changed his mind after reviewing the science and observing improvements in his son after his treatment. He’s now conducting research through the Hubbard Foundation, which investigates the vascular component of neurological disorders. Some of his findings presented at the ISNVD conference, which have yet to receive peer review, confirm sluggish blood flow in MS patients and quantifiable post-treatment improvements.

The forum brought dozens of medical specialists from around the globe—the U.S., Poland, Jordan, the UK, New Zealand, Italy, India, Greece, Kuwait, Russia—to share research, and establish standardized protocols for diagnosis and imaging. There were sessions on the role of iron in the brain, oxygenation and tissue drainage, blood flow rates in MS patients, advanced diagnostic imaging, and the development of mice models of CCSVI. At a workshop, Zamboni demonstrated new technology designed to improve the ease and accuracy of CCSVI diagnosis.

Thanks to new scanning technology, the complexity of the brain’s vascular network is revealing itself. Toronto-born physicist Mark Haacke, a world leader in diagnostic imaging affiliated with Detroit’s Wayne State University and Hamilton’s McMaster University, made two presentations in Bologna. His research has identified over 60 categories of vascular abnormalities in the chest, head, neck, and spine

Zamboni called the meeting “an overview of the possibilities.” In an interview with Maclean’s, he expressed delight with the quality—and quantity—of the research presented, which included positive results from the first double-blinded study on CCSVI treatment from the U.S. Zamboni was particularly buoyed by epistemological data from Greece, Jordan and northern Europe. “All of it shows a strong association between CCSVI and MS in more than 90 per cent across latitudes and genetic groups.”

Still, these are early days. Many questions remain unanswered. Why are not all MS patients candidates for CCSVI treatment? Why do a small percentage of non-MS patients have CCSVI? Why do people respond differently to treatment? And what is CCSVI’s role in unlocking the mysteries of blood-brain-barrier neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s?

Ongoing research and the growing number of CCSVI procedures conducted internationally should shed light. Numerous clinical treatment trials are underway in the U.S. In the UK, British GP Tom Gilhooly, who has set up a clinic in Scotland, plans to open one in London.

Then there’s Canada, which increasingly is odd-man-out in denying treatment—even in clinical trials. Yet venous angioplasty is a standard procedure in Canadian hospitals: if someone without MS exhibited compromised venous blood flow they’d be treated—and it would be covered by provincial health plans.

There’s also odd symmetry in the fact the people making the decisions about CCSVI know the least about it—or have proved the most resistant to Zamboni’s hypothesis. The “expert” panel convened by the Canadian Institute of Health Research and MS Society of Canada last August that recommended the federal government not fund clinical trials, for example, actively excluded anyone with experience diagnosing or treating CCSVI—i.e., actual “experts”—though it did include several doctors who’d expressed criticism of Zamboni’s hypothesis.

The MS Society of Canada has adopted a “wait and see” attitude. Last year it donated $700,000 to co-fund seven studies with its U.S. counterpart, none involving treatment, to investigate whether CCSVI warrants further investigation. Still, there’s indication the society sees promise in CCSVI: it secured the domain name ccsvi.ca in November 2009 after Zamboni’s research became public.

Liberal MP Kirsty Duncan, a Ph.D. scientist who led a House of Commons Sub-Committee on Neurological Disease that investigated CCSVI, has been a tireless advocate for clinical trials. “People are dying every day of this disease,” she says. “We have to examine the science.” The tragic example of Bill Peart of Pictou County, N.S., drives that point home. Peart appealed to the Nova Scotia government earlier this month to receive CCSVI treatment on compassionate grounds because his declining health prevented him from traveling to New York state for a scheduled appointment. His request was denied. He died on Saturday.

There are signs of snail-like movement—much stemming from patient pressure or elected officials who have relatives suffering from the disease. Saskatchewan, the province with the highest incidence of MS, is funding clinical trials, though they don’t include treatment. Newfoundland and Labrador have also committed to observational studies of post-treatment patients. Earlier this month, Ontario announced it would set up a medical panel to investigate after-care for CCSVI patients, though the group won’t be assessing the merits of CCSVI treatment.

The small Canadian contingent at the ISNVD included some of this country’s most vocal CCSVI advocates, including Dr. Bill Code, who saw his career as an anesthesiologist cut short after his MS diagnosis 16 years ago. Since then, the Vancouver Island resident has written several books on living with MS that focus on an anti-inflammatory diet, nutrition and adopting an integrative medical approach. After Code received CCSVI treatment in California last fall, many of his symptoms—headaches, balance and bladder problems, fatigue—disappeared, he reports. “I have no doubt CCSVI is the real deal,” he says.

Other doctors also participated in the program. Mark Godley, the medical director of Vancouver’s False Creek Medical Centre, who has been stymied in his quest to offer the procedure at the private clinic, acted as a chairperson for the Congress committee and moderated several panels. Godley likens the flight offshore for CCSVI treatment to the black market created for alcohol during Prohibition—and a sign of a broken Canadian health-care model.

Vascular surgeon Sandy McDonald, the only Canadian doctor to conduct clinical treatment trials of CCSVI, sat on the faculty that established a standardized CCSVI screening protocol. Last year, the Barrie, Ont. resident conducted a pro bono trial on six MS patients—all of whom he claims experienced salutary results—before it was shut down by the College of Physicians and Surgeons. McDonald, whose Barrie clinic now sees people from around the world for CCSVI scanning, was impressed with the quality of the research—and the caliber of minds present. “The first reported North American trial indicates significant improvement in quality of life and reductions in MS symptoms, physical health decreased fatigue and improvement in balance, cognitive function, coordination, heat intolerance and memory loss,” he says, adding: “All in all, an amazing meeting. I can only hope that several Canadian ‘experts’ were in attendance.”

Indeed, a few people in a position to influence policy were there: Julian Spears, co-director of the neurovascular program at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital, who will sit on the Ontario after-care committee; the MS Society of Canada sent Karen Lee, assistant vice-president of research and programs. What they took away from the conference is unknown, at least publicly. Both declined to be interviewed by Maclean’s.

Zamboni expresses surprise that his procedure has become so politicized. It was never his intent that CCSVI cut neurologists out of the equation. “No. They want to take care of one aspect of this complex disease.”

Resistance to any new approach is predictable, particularly in medicine, he says: “It’s very difficult when you produce something so different. You need time—digestive time.” Of course, time is something MS patients don’t have—as witnessed by the once-unthinkable spectre of Canadians flocking to Bulgaria for medical treatment to restore blood flow. The ISNVD’s next annual meeting is scheduled for Miami this time next year. It’ll be fascinating to see where we are then.

CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Mon. Mar. 14 2011 12:29 AM ET

A controversial treatment for multiple sclerosis will come under international scrutiny at a conference in Italy this week. Among the research to be discussed is a paper by a doctor who was intrigued by the treatment and decided to test it on his son.

Neurologist Dr. David Hubbard was drawn into the controversial Zamboni treatment after his son Devin, 27, developed MS.

"I wasn't going to sit on my hands and watch him end up in a wheelchair," Hubbard says.

Hubbard, who lives and works in San Diego, Calif., attended a meeting in Hamilton, Ont., last year, where scientists discussed the theory of Dr. Paolo Zamboni: that patients with MS often had sluggish blood draining from their brains.

Zamboni believes that the culprit is blocked veins, and his treatment involves re-opening the blocked blood vessels.

Hubbard was skeptical, but launched a study to measure blood flow in MS patients. In his preliminary study, which has not yet been scrutinized by peer review, he reports that MS patients do indeed seem to have some sluggish blood drainage from their brains. The blood is lingering and taking longer to get out again, he says.

His patients include some Canadians who have travelled to California to participate in the study. The results: when they are treated for block veins, the blood flow looks normal.

The data still have to be reviewed by independent scientists.

With a report from CTV's medical specialist Avis Favaro

-November 25 2009
I am confident that this could be a revolution for the research and diagnosis of multiple sclerosis ”— Dr. Paolo Zamboni.

More radical still, the experimental surgery he performed on his wife offers hope that MS, which afflicts 2.5 million people worldwide, can be cured and even largely prevented.

A layman's explanation of CCSVI
Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) is a condition found in twice the number people with multiple sclerosis than in the average population, where blood doesn’t properly drain from the brain because of a narrowing in the veins that bring deoxygenated blood from the brain to the heart. The main veins are the jugular veins and the azygous. Due to this partial blockage, deoxygenated blood either stays too long in the brain or can reflux back into the brain causing various adverse effects, including:

1) a lack of oxygen (hypoxia) in the brain;

2) inflammation caused by plasma and blood, which can also set off an autoimmune reaction; and

3) iron from blood deposited on brain tissue can damage myelin, and over time results in nerve damage (think of rust build up on a motor).

Source: MS LIBERATION
http://www.msliberation.ca/MS_Liberation_Group/Welcome.html

ovih dana smo bili svjedoci iznimne plemenitosti i dobrote, koju su iskazali mnogobrojni pojedinci, udruge i tvrtke u nasem drustvu, kako bi vratili nadu u zivot jednoj mladoj zeni.

„Zelim zivot!“ – napisala je Ana Rukavina i ganula hrvatsku javnost. Iskrenom molbom za pomoc u spasavanju vlastitog zivota, 29-godisnja novinarka Vjesnika, koja se lijeci od leukemije, nikoga nije ostavila ravnodusnim. Kako bi se Ani pomoglo u nabavki skupih lijekova te eventualnom lijecenju u SAD-u pokrenuta je akcija "Zelim zivot!" kojoj se svesvrdno odazvao velik broj dobrih ljudi. Hrvatska je jos jednom pokazala da moze kad to uistinu hoce a Ani se vratio osmijeh na lice...

Medutim, Anina tuzna prica potaknula nas je na razmisljanje i o drugim ljudima koji zive medu nama i koji se lijece od te (ne tako rijetke) bolesti a nemaju priliku ili ne mogu doci do znacajnije pomoci.
Naime, u Hrvatskoj ne postoji razvijen sustav dobrovoljnog darivanja kostane srzi. U postojecem hrvatskom registru mali je broj donora, a oni su uglavnom clanovi obitelji oboljelih. Ukoliko bolesniku kostanu srz ne moze dati netko od najblizih krvnih srodnika, donor se trazi izvan Hrvatske (bas kao i u slucaju nase Ane), a taj postupak traje i do 6 mjeseci...
S druge strane, postupak tipizacije, odnosno ulazak u registar donatora kostane srzi, iznimno je jednostavan ali i besplatan! Vadenjem krvi u Zavodu za tipizaciju tkiva postaje se potencijalni donor koji ce mozda imati priliku nekome spasiti zivot.
Potrebno je samo razviti postojeci Registar donora kostane srzi i stvoriti banku maticnih stanica...

Brojni gradani koji su ovih dana pomogli nasoj Ani potaknuli su nas da pomognemo i drugim ljudima koji se lijece ili ce se u buducnositi lijeciti od ove zlocudne bolesti.
Svjesni da se svatko od nas moze naci na toj listi potrebitih, pozivamo vas da se, u ovo predbozicno vrijeme darivanja, ukljucite u nasu humanitarnu akciju...

Proteklih smo dana nasu ideju predstavili mnogima te smo naisli na veliko razumijevanje i svesrednu potporu znacajnog broja tvrtki i institucija. Stoga s punim pravom ocekujemo i vasu dobru volju te se nadamo da cemo zajednicki suradivati u ostvarenju ovog sna.

Projektu smo svi pristupili kao donatori, odricuci se bilo kakvih naknada za sve sto cinimo ili cemo ciniti do trenutka zazivljavanja ovog projekta. Prema tome jedino sto nas povezuje jest zajednicka vizija i dobrota, koju ste i vi osobno vec toliko puta iskazali...

Kako bismo hrvatskoj javnosti predstavili cijeli projekt te ju «ukljucili» i potaknuli na potporu, akciju cemo obiljeziti velikim humanitarnim koncertom, koji ce se odrzati u prosincu na zagrebackom Trgu Bana Jelacica. Istodobno s time, otvorit cemo mnogobrojne kanale prikupljanja pomoci, kako bismo omogucili svakom dobrom covjeku u Hrvatskoj da daruje svoj prilog «za zivot».

U pripremi i realizaciji projekta svaka potpora nam je dobro dosla i vase sudjelovanje nam uvelike moze olaksati uspjeh cijele akcije. Stoga vas pozivamo da nam u sklopu svojih mogucnosti odobrite donaciju i / ili koristenje Vasih usluga ili drugih resursa.

Anin mail, koji je prije nekoliko tjedana poceo kruziti nasim racunalima, pokazao je da medu nama itekako ima dobrote. Potaknimo je jos jace u ovo vrijeme darivanja i dajmo sansu zivotu!
Zajednickim naporima sigurno mozemo uspjeti u razvoju Registra i izgradnji banke, koji ce sigurno uslisiti molbe mnogih koji u tisini svojih bolnickih soba ne zele nista vise od obicnog zivota.

Anini prijatelji

http://zelimzivot.blog.hr, http://www.hull.hr/

The waitlist time periods can be anywhere from five to thirty years long (or more), depending upon the state and the type of service needed, such as job services, a community-based program, intensive medical needs, or a secure home in which to live.

Hundreds of thousands of individuals are on waitlists for Waiver services.  Few families can afford to pay out-of-pocket for these services (an average of $35,000 - $75,000) per year for host or group home placements because parents have had to leave careers to care for their children and pay for large medical bills. 

This petition is designed to get the attention and action by National Leaders and the President to resolve this problem.

Chronic widespread body pain is the primary symptom of fibromyalgia. Most people with fibromyalgia also experience moderate to extreme fatigue, sleep disturbances, sensitivity to touch, light, and sound, and cognitive difficulties. Many individuals also experience a number of other symptoms and overlapping conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, lupus and arthritis.

The pain of fibromyalgia is profound, chronic and widespread. It can migrate to all parts of the body and vary in intensity. FM pain has been described as stabbing and shooting pain and deep muscular aching, throbbing, and twitching. Neurological complaints such as numbness, tingling, and burning are often present and add to the discomfort of the patient. The severity of the pain and stiffness is often worse in the morning. Aggravating factors that affect pain include cold/humid weather, non-restorative sleep, physical and mental fatigue, excessive physical activity, physical inactivity, anxiety and stress.

In today's world many people complain of fatigue; however, the fatigue of FM is much more than being tired after a particularly busy day or after a sleepless night. The fatigue of FM is an all-encompassing exhaustion that can interfere with occupational, personal, social or educational activities. Symptoms include profound exhaustion and poor stamina.

Many fibromyalgia patients have an associated sleep disorder that prevents them from getting deep, restful, restorative sleep. Medical researchers have documented specific and distinctive abnormalities in the Stage 4 deep sleep of FM patients. During sleep, individuals with FM are constantly interrupted by bursts of awake-like brain activity, limiting the amount of time they spend in deep sleep.

Additional symptoms may include: irritable bowel and bladder, headaches and migraines, restless legs syndrome (periodic limb movement disorder), impaired memory and concentration, skin sensitivities and rashes, dry eyes and mouth, anxiety, depression, ringing in the ears, dizziness, vision problems, Raynaud's Syndrome, neurological symptoms, and impaired coordination.

This peition comes on the back of a media article regarding the case of Melanie Kennedy, a mother-of-two who is battling breast cancer and is being refused life altering drugs on the NHS in Northern Ireland. These drugs are available in England.

It is unfair and discriminatory that one part of the UK should be eligible for these medications and another isn't. The following links will provide all the relevant information. We believe this could be funded out of the DHSSPS budget, it is important that patients have the opportunity to wide range of medication.

https://www.facebook.com/NI-Cancer-Advocacy-Movement-195685207469651/?fref=ts

http://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/health/mum-two-melanie-kennedy-fighting-11104170

https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/cancer/cdf/

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancers-in-general/cancer-questions/cancer-drugs-fund