Day Fifty-nine: Long day but very rewarding

I got up with an alarm clock for the first time since, well, my layoff. I had to, particularly after I was up in the middle of the night to write my "short speech" that I was asked to deliver Saturday. On top of that I had a soy latte that had caffeine, a double shot of espresso worth of caffeine. Then I had breakfast. Except for a bathroom break and a break again from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM, I was staffing the Marilyn Westbrook Garment Fund booth from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Yes, that did not allow me to eat lunch or dinner.

The talking with all the people who came by, some for longer some for just long enough to give them a sticker to show that they stopped by the booth, was intriguing. My message had three parts: Lymphedema patients need to realize that there are treatments that can dramatically improve their quality of life so much so that "quality of life" fails to adequately describe the improvement. Lymphedema therapists and other providers need to use all the weapons available to get their patients this improvement, including helping them apply to the NLN for money from the Marilyn Westbrook Garment Fund to get the right garment. And, they should encourage their more well off lymphedema patients to donate to the Fund to make sure that more people in need can start living again.

The fact of the matter is that with half the states of the United States not recognizing these garments as medical devices and insurance companies following suit, there is more need than any single person of my means can meet. A lot of contributors with my means will help people with lymphedema live rather than just exist.

A couple of people had longer conversations with me that touched on subjects that were still rawer to me than I thought they would be. One person felt moved to give me a hug three different times throughout our conversation. One person asked whether I had thought of public speaking in about a year. I am now and feeling that this may ultimately be my calling in this my Life after Layoff.

While traffic at the booth was heavy at times and never completely dried up for any major block of time, I used what gaps there were to write several topics in my Memories of Marilyn. I made such progress that I am now thinking that I have enough momentum and prepared topics that I should be able to start my blog of the same name. The document and associated blog will serve two purposes: provide a written vehicle that let the grandchildren know of the grandmother they will now never meet; and be hopefully well enough written that it will attract Internet readers who will then be inspired to donate to the Marilyn Westbrook Garment Fund to sustain its funding and help by that fund keep her memory alive.