I spoke

Today was my advocacy speech at Children's. I'm relieved it's done, and I think it went great. I was one of 3 parents on the parent panel. There was also a mom who had a preemie baby who continues to have lots of health problems; the mom has taken on insurance fights, testified in front of the Legislature, is very involved with community organizations, etc. The other parent was a dad who, along with his wife, adopted a meth baby who ended up having severe CP. He has done a TON of advocacy.

I think our stories all worked together to highlight the many ways parents can advocate for their children's health care needs, and speak up for larger issues. The room was packed, and the audience was quite engaged. After we each shared our story, there was a question-answer session, and there were actually lots of questions.

I felt very comfortable speaking, and made a point about how the best way to speak up is to know your own talents and abilities and put those to good use, that it takes all levels working together. That seemed to be a very well received comment.

I must have done an OK job, because afterwards, the chair of Children's Family Advisory Council said she'd love for me to be on the Council, would I be interested in joining? I said send me an e-mail and we'll see :) (According to the Children's website, "The Family Advisory Council is composed of family members of patients and hospital staff to provide feedback, guidance and creativity for the hospital staff, ensuring that the voice of families is heard in decisions that can impact them. Over the years, The Family Advisory Council has offered valuable insights and advice on the design and delivery of services, including the new Children’s Hospital. The Family Advisory Council meets regularly and provides input to help ensure that patients and families have as good an experience at The Children’s Hospital as possible."

How do I get roped into these things? If I actually receive an e-mail, I'll make a decision.

Anyways, it was a great event, and I'm happy to have been a part of it.