HELP LINE
Spring message from the Trustees
There are daffodils in the park, it’s sometimes light when I get home from work, the central heating isn’t on continuously and our marathon runners have been out training and successfully completed the London marathon. It’s spring and I’m smiling. I seem to spend winter worrying about being too cold and summer about being too hot so spring and autumn feel like the only times of the year when I can throw caution to the wind and just enjoy the weather. Whatever it’s doing. So I’m thanking my lucky stars I live in a country with a generally mild climate.
But it’s not just the weather that I’m feeling grateful for. February was the second World Congress on Systemic Sclerosis and I was lucky enough to attend. It was inspiring in lots and lots of ways but one thing it did make me think about is how lucky I am to have free access to good healthcare: it may not be perfect, it may be under threat and it may not always be consistent but we are fortunate to have a world-class system which many people can only dream about.
It was not only the NHS I was feeling grateful for. Lots of people living with scleroderma carry on their lives with very little support. While few would want the condition to take over completely, to have a strong patient organisation in the background which can provide information and support to those that want it when they want it I think is a great advantage. Since joining the Society I have been amazed by what Society volunteers have achieved over the last 30 years and the range of information and support that is available.
And now with the appointment of Mike, the Society’s first chief executive, comes the opportunity to expand the services that the organisation provides even more.
Preparations are also well underway for our first Wear Your Gloves to Work Day, a fundraising day to support World Scleroderma Day on 29 June. It should be fun and a good way to help raise both money and awareness about scleroderma – keep reading to find out more.
So the daffodils are out, I’ve got a spring in my step (well, as much of a spring as I’m going to get) and I’m contemplating banning my thicker gloves to the back of the wardrobe (just 'till 29th June of course).
Enjoy the spring!
Richard Dodds
Trustee
