Pam Edgar MC for the Mid Island MS Society Walk for MS

Brain and Pam singing MS fight song Listen to Pam singing her song,” I’m Fighting Now" about her fight with MS

• The mission of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada is: To be a leader in finding a cure for multiple sclerosis and enabling people affected by MS to enhance their quality of life. Their two major programs provide hope for the future through the support of MS research into the cause, treatment and cure of the disease and hope for today through their many services that assist people with MS and their families.
• The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) is a lay-led patient education program. Trained lay leaders meet with groups of 10-12 persons with chronic diseases for 2 1/2 hours once each week for six consecutive weeks. Course participants are persons who are experiencing any type of chronic health condition; they’re significant others also are encouraged to attend. Although different chronic health conditions may have different physical impacts on a person's body, they often cause similar problems related to activities of daily living, interactions with the health care system, communication with family and friends, and dealing with negative emotions such as fear, anxiety and depression.

Pam brings her personal experience in combating and managing chronic disease to the show.   The following  award winning article tells you a bit about  Pam  and  why she is such a good choice for co-hosting this show and  an idea of why she is such a stronge advocate for people  dealing  with a  chronic disease.

Stop Handicapping My Disability, Please
 by Pam Edgar Nov. ‘05


I’ve been dealing with disability issues in my home province of British Columbia in my hometown of Nanaimo since I was the victim of an automobile accident in 1975, I’ve been victimised by more than the automobile.

Programs and policies, legislature and acts all seem to be working against me. I benefited from a program that integrated disabled persons into the working community by recommendation that a home based business would be my best option without programs or guidance for disabled persons to support that recommendation. I did some research came up with a plan (that was approved by the mainstream supported business advisors) used the equity in my home and did just that. I lost more than my shirt; I lost my house. Good thing I had that opportunity before the current Ministerial Governance enlisted policies and programs to support entrepreneurship without understanding the basic premise of net and gross revenue and before I was a finally housed in a low income housing community because we are not permitted to have a home based business in non-profit housing.

Is your head hurting yet? It should be.

Let’s take that non-profit housing for low income disabled persons and look at that shall we? I am surviving well with a 30 year medical history including a multitude of chronic conditions living in a slab foundation dwelling, that was down sized at the building stage due to financial reasoning, in a traffic congested area, under large trees, in this west coast climate, at the higher tax bracket end of town; in spite of everything obviously wrong to the disabled person, this housing development was approved and supported by those who are supposed to be regarding my health and well being. Well being on the receiving end of programs and policies that are supposed to support persons with disabilities it’s not working folks.

I’ve benefited from funding to take courses to enhance my employ-ability. Received funding to take an extensive training course in computer technology at or near the cutting edge of this technology only to get to the hands on portion of this program and find no funding for the equipment to utilize my new abilities and skills.

Are you following my theme here? Having programs and policies that are designed without the functionality of understanding disability issues regarding housing, transportation, financial, academic and health issues of the disabled persons that the programs and policies are supposed to support this is handicapping my disabilities and challenging my abilities. I often feel I am being discriminated against for doing well. It seems that my abilities are less valuable than my disabilities, cost comparatively speaking of course.

I say the living where I dwell was designed around specifications of the equipment; the elemental flaw in the design of this formula is the omission of the disabled person that is supposed to be dwelling where I live.

Don’t let our policies and programs continue to handicap my disabilities any more, please.


Stop Handicapping My Disability, Please
                                                                        by Pam Edgar Nov. ‘05