There is no greater force than like-minds joining together for a common mission to change lives. The Foundation volunteers continue to play an active role in our community by raising awareness of GBS, CIDP, MMN, and the Foundation resources. Ray Lopez, Boca Raton Liaison, has made it his mission to visit local hospitals and share the valuable resources the Foundation has to nurses, doctors, and staff members.
Listen to what Ray Lopez, Foundation volunteer has to say:
“Hi, my name is Ray Lopez and I have been a volunteer for the Foundation for over 10 years. If not for the work of this Foundation, so many who are affected with GBS, CIDP or related conditions, would unnecessarily travel this journey alone, with little support and little hope of full recovery.
In 1988 I was diagnosed with GBS, and it took a full 10 months to regain control of my life. At that time, I did not know of the Foundation. I often think of how much better my recovery and experience might have been had I known of them sooner? Why didn’t my healthcare professionals know of the amazing resources available at the GBS|CIDP Foundation? The support meetings? The educational materials? Even in today’s digital world, many other patients and caregivers share that they too have these very same questions. So it has always been my personal objective to build bridges between the services and support offered by the GBS|CIDP Foundation and the GBS|CIDP patients and families.
I was delighted to learn that the mission of the Foundation including Support, Education, Advocacy and Research have been expanded in partnership with Medical Providers and Facilities through a new program: Be the Bridge. This program connects the amazing library of patient resources to healthcare professionals, plus there are valuable resources for healthcare professionals themselves, like physician-to-physician consults, research grants, and a center of excellence program.
My experiences have been overwhelmingly positive thus far when I approach a staff member at my local hospital, Boca Regional Hospital with the Be the Bridge packet of information. It doesn’t take much time to explain to the staff the importance of the connection with the Foundation.”
