Happy New Years - New communities from Bens Friends

Your Team has been HARD at work and through the support of our generous donors we are able to bring some new communities on line. Our hope is through 2018 we will be able to bring on at least 2 new communities per month to support the Rare Disease Community. Please check out the New Communities. Some may even apply to you as several are co-conditions of the disease already represented on our Communities:

Living With Addisons - http://www.livingwithaddisons.org/

Caregivers Support Community - http://www.caregiversupportcommunity.org/

Life With Crohns & Colitis - http://www.lifewithcrohnscolitis.org/

Living With Fabry - http://www.livingwithfabry.org/

Living With Graves Disease - http://www.livingwithgravesdisease.org/

Living With Mast Cell - http://www.livingwithmastcell.org/

Living With Myasthenia Gravis - http://www.livingwithmyastheniagravis.org/

One we have put a lot of work into and will apply to many of our members is Life With Central Pain Syndrome This community includes a number of central pain and chronic pain conditions including:

Central Pain Syndrome
Allodynia
Complex Regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD)
Hyperalgesia
Find it at:

You will find several of these communities have a new Landing Page. This page is designed to bring MORE information to not only our members but to Internet surfers as well. The other reason is so that we can finally have an integrated Chat for all of our patient communities. As this is an expensive process to do as well as maintain, we will be adding this new feature to our “Chat Intensive” communities first and as funds become available the rest.

One other addition is we now have a FB page for each of our communities. This is solely to direct those searching for support in FB to our regular communities. I would ask a small favor if you could go to the FB page for your community(s) or as many as you have time for and “LIKE” it. You don’t need to follow it so it won’t clog up your feed. What this will accomplish is as soon as we get 25 likes we get a hash tag and entered into the “search Function” allowing folks in need to find us and provide more help not to mention more support for YOU as our communities Grow:

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Living With Von Willebrand Disease - VWD by Bens Friends
Living With Von Willebrand Disease - VWD by Bens Friends. 1 talking about this. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic…

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Traumatic Brain Injury Support by Bens Friends
Traumatic Brain Injury Support by Bens Friends. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition. Recognized as a…

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Synovial Sarcoma Survivors by Bens Friends
Synovial Sarcoma Survivors by Bens Friends. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition. Recognized as a 501©(3)…

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Sjogrens Syndrome Support by Bens Friends
Sjogrens Syndrome Support by Bens Friends. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition. Recognized as a 501©(3)…

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Addison’s Disease Support Community
Addison’s Disease Support Community. 1,362 likes · 4 talking about this. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic…

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Living With Ulcerative Colitis
Living With Ulcerative Colitis. 1,014 likes · 4 talking about this. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition…

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Nephrotic Syndrome Support
Nephrotic Syndrome Support. 1.3K likes. Welcome to Nephrotic Syndrome Support, one of many patient communities powered by http://www.BensFriends.org/.

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Myasthenia Gravis Support Community
Myasthenia Gravis Support Community. 169 likes · 3 talking about this. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic…

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Mast Cell Disorder Support
Mast Cell Disorder Support. 3K likes. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition. Recognized as a 501©(3)…

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Mast Cell Disorder Support
Mast Cell Disorder Support. 3K likes. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition. Recognized as a 501©(3)…

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Life with Fabry Online Support Group
Life with Fabry Online Support Group. 405 likes · 5 talking about this. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic…

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Crohn’s Disease Support Community
Crohn’s Disease Support Community. 7,690 likes · 27 talking about this. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic…

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Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis - PSC Support Group by Bens Friends
Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis - PSC Support Group by Bens Friends. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition…

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Living With Polyneuropathy by Bens Friends
Living With Polyneuropathy by Bens Friends. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition. Recognized as a 501©(3)…

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Living with OPMD by Bens Friends
Living with OPMD by Bens Friends. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition. Recognized as a 501©(3) non-profit,…

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Living With Narcolepsy by Bens Friends
Living With Narcolepsy by Bens Friends. 1 talking about this. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition…

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Myositis Support Group by Bens Friends
Myositis Support Group by Bens Friends. 1 talking about this. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition…

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Friends and Family Affected by Myeloma by Bens Friends
Friends and Family Affected by Myeloma by Bens Friends. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition. Recognized as…

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Mast Cell Disorder Support Network by Bens Friends
Mast Cell Disorder Support Network by Bens Friends. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition. Recognized as a…

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Lyme Disease Support Network by Bens Friends
Lyme Disease Support Network by Bens Friends. 1 talking about this. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition…

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Living With Graves Disease - A Bens friends Patient Community
Living With Graves Disease - A Bens friends Patient Community. 1 talking about this. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or…

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Living With Facial Pain Online Support by Bens Friends
Living With Facial Pain Online Support by Bens Friends. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition. Recognized as…

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Living With Erythromelalgia - Online Support Group By Bens Friends
Living With Erythromelalgia - Online Support Group By Bens Friends. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition…

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Living With Eagle Syndrome by Bens Friends
Living With Eagle Syndrome by Bens Friends. 1 talking about this. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition…

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Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Online Support Group by Bens Friends
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Online Support Group by Bens Friends. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition…

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Chiari Online Support Group by Bens Friends
Chiari Online Support Group by Bens Friends. 1 like · 2 talking about this. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic…

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Brain Aneurysm Support Community by Bens Friends
Brain Aneurysm Support Community by Bens Friends. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition. Recognized as a…

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AVM Survivors Network by Bens Friends
AVM Survivors Network by Bens Friends. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition. Recognized as a 501©(3)…

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Atrial Septal Defect - ASD Support by Bens Friends
Atrial Septal Defect - ASD Support by Bens Friends. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition. Recognized as a…

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Living With Ataxia by Bens Friends
Living With Ataxia by Bens Friends. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition. Recognized as a 501©(3)…

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Amyloidosis Support Network by Bens Friends
Amyloidosis Support Network by Bens Friends. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition. Recognized as a 501©(3)…

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Adrenoleukodystrophy - ALD Support Group by Bens Friends
Adrenoleukodystrophy - ALD Support Group by Bens Friends. 2 likes. Ben’s Friends is a network of safe and supportive patient communities for anyone affected by a rare disease or chronic condition…

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Life With ADD &ADHD by Bens Friends
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Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis - ADEM Survivors Network
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Sorry for this Missive but figured it was easier on all of you to lump it all together as opposed to spreading it out over several posts

Thanks for all of you,
TJ

That’s great news as I have some friends with some of these diseases.

Happy New Year to all at Mod Support for your help
Julia

Julia, thank you for your kind words. We’ve been very busy at Ben’s, as you can see, and I particularly have been bad about keeping in touch. I’m well (which is part of the problem: when I’m poorly, I spend more time on the computer!).

How are things with you? Are you getting some of your issues sorted?

All the best to you in the New Year.

Seenie, Christina and TJ

Hi All

Things aren’t going well at all for me getting my stump sorted out. I have a friend here at the moment so can’t really spend much time telling you what the situation is. I can’t even remember what you all last new.

I will write again soon.

Julia

1 Like

Hi All again,

As promised I am telling you what is happening or more truthful what isn’t happening!

As I said I am not sure what you all know so I will start with in October I went to see a new vascular surgeon in the hopes of correcting my amputation. She was really nice, but said it would be better done by an orthopaedic surgeon

I got an appointment for one early December. The Friday before I got a call from the booking office cancelling it as he wasn’t the right man. That day I had to phone about my next infusions to rheumatology. I told her about the cancelled appointment, she kindly offered to look to see if another had been made. She found one on the 29th January to see a Mr. Norton.

I couldn’t believe it half an hour after that the booking office phoned to cancel that one again saying he was the wrong man. She said they had referred me back to my GP, but that wasn’t the case I found out it was back to the vascular surgeon.

I have since had two letters or copies of one of them. First from Mr. Norton, who said that I had a fixed hip joint and he could only do something if I developed arthritis of my hip and needed a replacement. It seems as if he thought arthritis in my hip was far more of a problem than I have, which it isn’t. I have arthritis and know what the pain is like and it’s nothing compared to what I have.

I haven’t a clue where he has got that I have a fixed hip joint. I haven’t seen him so how does he know. I have since found on the internet something called the Thomas test and got a friend to help to do the test. My hip joint definitely isn’t fixed.

Of course with the holiday period on us there isn’t much I can do, but I have emailed my GP to ask what he thinks we should do.

So, I am feeling very depressed about all this and wonder if it will ever be sorted out. In the meantime my solicitor still hasn’t had operation notes that she requested back in July, despite numerous attempts. They weren’t included in my medical records.

Julia

Oh my, Julia. It just goes on and on, doesn’t it?

I can just imagine that you’re feeling very depressed. Do you have any friends who could be your ally in all of this? Dealing with all this incompetence by yourself must be terribly frustrating. If I lived a bit closer to Newquay, I’d be happy to come along to appointments with you as your scribe and your strategist.

All the best for good progress in the New Year

Seenie as well as TJ and Christina

I do have people to come with me to appointments. One of them was a physiotherapist now retired, but she said she will come with me to any appointment I get she knows all about things like fixed hip joints etc., so they won’t fool her that I have one. She is the one that did the test with me it’s called The Thomas test.

If need be I will see someone private as it doesn’t seem like I am getting one on the NHS.

Julia