Press
Releases
|
Woman Receives Award
for
Helping Others
with
Disabilities Around the World |
|
PRESS RELEASE:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
|
CONTACT: Wayne Connell, Founder and
President
The Invisible Disabilities Advocate
Website:
www.MyIDA.org
Email:
wayne@myida.org
|
PARKER, COLORADO
Woman Receives Award for
Helping Others
with Disabilities Around the World
Hal
O'Leary Awards Dinner Hosted by the Colorado Rockies on
Coors Field
|
|
 WHO: Sherri Connell,
42, of Parker was the
recipient of the 2005 Hal O'Leary
Inspiration Award for reaching out
to others living with "invisible disabilities" --
people who show no outward signs of illness, but struggle
daily with debilitating symptoms.
-Photo on right:
Sherri and Keli McGregor, President of the Rockies-
Born in Illinois and
growing up in Colorado, Sherri loved to sing and
dance in musicals, model, act in commercials, cheerlead,
ride her horse, lift weights
 and
enjoy her career in accounting. She obtained a Bachelor’s in
Human Resources, another in Leadership and a minor in
Liberal Arts. In 1991, Sherri was starting her
Master's in HR when she suddenly became disabled due to
Progressive Multiple Sclerosis and Late-Chronic Lyme
Disease. Once extremely active, she now she struggles just to take a shower or go to
her
doctors' appointments. Because to others she "looks" fine,
people cannot understand why Sherri can no longer do the
things she used to be able to do. To help friends and family
better understand what she goes through, Sherri began to
write in her journal and print copies of it for people to
read. One day her husband, Wayne, suggested posting them in
a website to make it easier for her to explain to others how
her life had changed. They called the website,
The Invisible Disabilities
Advocate (www.MyIDA.org).
As word spread beyond
friends and family, thousands of people began visiting the
website from around the world. Wayne and Sherri have
received countless emails telling them how Sherri's writings
"say exactly what I have been trying to say" to loved ones,
but had been unable to put into words. Sherri quickly
learned that she was not the only one wrestling with others
thinking she was just being lazy, because she did not "look"
like she had a disability. The tools on IDA often help those
living with a debilitating condition restore communication,
create understanding and develop support from their friend
or family member. Many have written letters of thanks and
stories of how their loved one gained a better understanding
of what they are going through, after reading IDA's
publications.
 Wayne
Connell is the Founder and President of The Invisible Disabilities
Advocate. IDA is a non-profit organization that provides articles,
links, a support group and more. IDA also offers Wayne and Sherri's
booklet titled,
But You LOOK Good! A Guide to Understanding and Encouraging
People Living with Chronic Illness and Pain. Copies have been
requested from readers across the globe.
WHAT/WHEN/WHERE:
On Thursday, September 15, 2005,
The Colorado Rockies Baseball Club
hosted the 2005 Hal O'Leary Awards.
Six
local athletes and
individuals were honored for
making a
significant difference in
the lives of those in the disabled community.
Hal O'Leary is the founder
of The National Sports Center for the Disabled. The
sold-out event included approximately
350 people on the
infield playing surface at Coors Field.
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Disabilities Advocate with Your Donation Today!
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© 2005 The Invisible Disabilities Advocate. All Rights Reserved.
IDA
is A Colorado Non-Profit Organization
|
Couple
is a Voice to Those Living with
Invisible Disabilities |
|
PRESS RELEASE:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
|
CONTACT: Wayne Connell, Founder and
President
The Invisible Disabilities Advocate
Website:
www.MyIDA.org
Email:
wayne@myida.org
|
PARKER, COLORADO
Couple is a Voice to Those Living with
Invisible Disabilities
Husband
Helps Disabled Wife Reach Out to Others
|
|
WHO/WHY: Sherri Connell used to sing and dance in
musicals, ride her horse, lift weights and enjoy her career.
She obtained three college degrees and was starting her Master's
when she suddenly became disabled due to
Progressive
Multiple Sclerosis and Late-Chronic Lyme Disease. Now she
struggles just to take a shower or go to a doctor's
appointment. Because to others she "looks" fine, people
cannot understand why Sherri can no longer do the things she
used to be able to do. To help friends and family better
understand what she goes through, Sherri began to write in
her journal and print copies of it for people to read. One
day her husband, Wayne, suggested posting them in a website
to make it easier for her to explain to others how her life
had changed. They called the website, The Invisible
Disabilities Advocate (www.MyIDA.org).
WHAT: Soon, the word spread
beyond friends and family, as thousands of people were
visiting Wayne's site from around the world. They have
received countless
emails telling them how Sherri's writings "say exactly what
I have been trying to say" to
loved ones, but had been unable to put into words. Sherri
quickly learned that she was not the only one wrestling with
others thinking she was just being lazy, because she did not
"look" like she had a disability. The tools on IDA often
help those living with a debilitating condition restore
communication, create understanding and develop support from
their friend or family member. Many have written letters of
thanks and stories of how their loved one gained a better
understanding of what they are going through, after reading
IDA's publications.
Wayne Connell is the
Founder and President of The Invisible Disabilities
Advocate. IDA is a non-profit organization that provides articles, links, a support group
and more. IDA also offers Wayne and Sherri's booklet titled,
But You LOOK Good! A Guide to Understanding and Encouraging
People Living with Chronic Illness and Pain. Copies have
been requested from readers across the globe.
Full Story |
|
Please Help The Invisible
Disabilities Advocate with Your Donation Today!
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/ Help Loved Ones Understand / But
You LOOK Good Booklet
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Be A Voice / Make a Donation
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Site To Friend / IDA's
Banners
Join
Our Mailing List / View
IDA's Guestbook / Sign
IDA's Guestbook
IDA's
Links / IDA's WebRings / Contact
Information
Join
IDA's Online Support Group
Copyright
© 2005 The Invisible Disabilities Advocate. All Rights Reserved.
IDA
is A Colorado Non-Profit Organization
|
Disabled Woman's Story
Featured in Doctor's Book |
|
PRESS RELEASE:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
|
CONTACT: Wayne Connell, Founder and
President
The Invisible Disabilities Advocate
Website:
www.MyIDA.org
Email:
wayne@myida.org
|
PARKER, COLORADO
Disabled Woman's Story
Featured
in Doctor's Book
Dr. Jeffrey
Boyd tells Sherri Connell's Story in Order to Help
Others
|
|
IDA would like to announce that the recently released
book, Being
Sick Well: Joyful
Living Despite Chronic Illness by Jeffrey H. Boyd
features Sherri Connell's story in
the Using Your Suffering to Help Others section! ...Boyd—whose
own late wife suffered from heart and kidney problems, paralysis and
strokes—extends an honest and compassionate resource for the chronically ill
and their caregivers. Boyd has two goals: to persuade readers that we are
facing an "epidemic" of chronic illness, and to help sick people have more
joyful lives. In good self-help form, he offers 20 "strategies" for joyful
living.
IDA has special autographed issues available through
their website (US Only). Click Here for More
Information!
Wayne Connell is the
Founder and President of The Invisible Disabilities
Advocate. IDA is a non-profit organization that provides articles, links, a support group
and more. IDA also offers Wayne and Sherri's booklet titled,
But You LOOK Good! A Guide to Understanding and Encouraging
People Living with Chronic Illness and Pain. Copies have
been
requested from readers across the globe.
|
|
Please Help The Invisible
Disabilities Advocate with Your Donation Today!
Return to Top
IDA's Home
/ Help Loved Ones Understand / But
You LOOK Good Booklet
All
About IDA / What People Are Saying / Help
Be A Voice / Make a Donation
IDA's
Favorite Books / IDA Featured / Refer
Site To Friend / IDA's
Banners
Join
Our Mailing List / View
IDA's Guestbook / Sign
IDA's Guestbook
IDA's
Links / IDA's WebRings / Contact
Information
Join
IDA's Online Support Group
Copyright
© 2005 The Invisible Disabilities Advocate. All Rights Reserved.
IDA
is A Colorado Non-Profit Organization
|
Disabled Woman's Advice to Loved Ones
Quoted in
Medical Book |
|
PRESS RELEASE:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
|
CONTACT: Wayne Connell, Founder and
President
The Invisible Disabilities Advocate
Website:
www.MyIDA.org
Email:
wayne@myida.org
|
PARKER, COLORADO
Disabled Woman's Advice to Loved Ones
Quoted in Medical Book
IDA's Words
Help Sufferers Living with Trigeminal Neuralgia
|
|
 IDA
is so excited to announce that the newly released 500+ page book, Striking
Back, has used our booklet, But You LOOK Good! as a
resource and has quoted from it in their Helping People chapter! It is
an informative guide for those living with Trigeminal Neuralgia, their
loved ones and their doctors.
Striking Back.
The Trigeminal Neuralgia and Face Pain Handbook.
is published
by TNA in 2004 and authored by George Weigel and Kenneth F. Casey, M.D. It
is written in layman's terms, describes all aspects of TN and facial pain,
and provides information and resources for patients, family, and medical
professionals. A must-have guide for every facial pain patient!
Click Here for
More Information About TN and This Book!
Wayne Connell is the
Founder and President of The Invisible Disabilities
Advocate. IDA is a non-profit organization that provides articles, links, a support group
and more. IDA also offers Wayne and Sherri's booklet titled,
But You LOOK Good! A Guide to Understanding and Encouraging
People Living with Chronic Illness and Pain. Copies have
been requested from readers across the globe.
|
|
Please Help The Invisible
Disabilities Advocate with Your Donation Today!
Return to Top
IDA's Home
/ Help Loved Ones Understand / But
You LOOK Good Booklet
All
About IDA / What People Are Saying / Help
Be A Voice / Make a Donation
IDA's
Favorite Books / IDA Featured / Refer
Site To Friend / IDA's
Banners
Join
Our Mailing List / View
IDA's Guestbook / Sign
IDA's Guestbook
IDA's
Links / IDA's WebRings / Contact
Information
Join
IDA's Online Support Group
Copyright
© 2005 The Invisible Disabilities Advocate. All Rights Reserved.
IDA
is A Colorado Non-Profit Organization
|
The
Disabilities are Invisible,
The
Outreach Isn't! |
|
PRESS RELEASE:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
|
CONTACT: Wayne Connell, Founder and
President
The Invisible Disabilities Advocate
Website:
www.MyIDA.org
Email:
wayne@myida.org
|
PARKER, COLORADO
The
Disabilities are Invisible, the Outreach Isn't
Couple
Reaching Out to People with Invisible Disabilities on
Magazine Cover
|
|
 In
the Fall of 2004, Wayne and Sherri Connell were featured on the cover of
HopeKeepers Magazine! This is an excerpt of the article
from the publication.
"Sherri
was an active young woman with two college degrees and an exciting career. But
in 1991, just as she was to preparing to purchase a new home for herself and
her beloved horse, she became ill and unable to work. . .
Overwhelmed with
emotions surrounding her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, Sherri began
keeping a journal, focusing on all of the confusing misunderstandings
people had about her illness. She transformed this into a pamphlet to pass
onto caring friends who wanted to know more. Six years later, after she
married Wayne, he suggested jumping onto the world wide web to share her
writings with others. "When he offered to put the three pamphlets I
had written onto a website on the internet, I said, 'What? Who would read
it?' I knew the internet was huge and thought this idea was kind of silly.
Yet once I thought about it I figured he might actually be onto something.
If he did this, when I met someone, all I would have to do is to hand them
a card with the website address and say, 'Here. This will explain
everything.' That would be such a relief! So we put up the web site."
When we
started our website, we grappled with a name that would properly describe
a condition that is debilitating, yet not obvious. We came up with the
term "invisible disabilities." This does not necessarily exclude
those with an evident impairment or those utilizing an assistive device.
For example, in my case, I used a wheelchair but was restricted by my
inner symptoms, not the challenge of the chair itself. One living with an
invisible disability has symptoms that are debilitating such as: extreme
fatigue, pain, weakness, dizziness, cognitive dysfunction and more.
 Wayne Connell is the
Founder and President of The Invisible Disabilities
Advocate. He put together some of Sherri's most popular
writings, had them bound into a booklet and titled it,
But You LOOK Good! A Guide to Understanding and Encouraging
People Living with Chronic Illness and Pain. Wayne has
shipped copies all over the globe, without profit.
Today, the web site,
The Invisible Disabilities Advocate, gets over 125,000 hits per month and Wayne and Sherri
feel blessed to reach out to others, even if it means through their
suffering. Wayne Connell is the
Founder and President of The Invisible Disabilities
Advocate. IDA offers Wayne and Sherri's booklet titled,
But You LOOK Good! A Guide to Understanding and Encouraging
People Living with Chronic Illness and Pain. Copies have
been requested from readers across the globe.
|
|
Please Help The Invisible
Disabilities Advocate with Your Donation Today!
Return to Top
IDA's Home
/ Help Loved Ones Understand / But
You LOOK Good Booklet
All
About IDA / What People Are Saying / Help
Be A Voice / Make a Donation
IDA's
Favorite Books / IDA Featured / Refer
Site To Friend / IDA's
Banners
Join
Our Mailing List / View
IDA's Guestbook / Sign
IDA's Guestbook
IDA's
Links / IDA's WebRings / Contact
Information
Join
IDA's Online Support Group
Copyright
© 2005 The Invisible Disabilities Advocate. All Rights Reserved.
IDA
is A Colorado Non-Profit Organization
|
But You LOOK Good!
A Guide to Understanding and Encouraging People Living With Chronic
Illness and Pain
Order
Online at: www.MyIDA.org
To Order by Mail: Please send
$5.25
(for printing, binding, shipping, etc.) for each
booklet (includes postage in the US). Make the check payable
to "IDA" and Send Order To:
IDA,
P.O. Box 4067,
Parker, CO 80134
*Note! IDA reserves the right to make changes, edits in content without
notice. The booklet may differ slightly from the website!
Proceeds go to IDA.
|
CIA is Sponsored by
IDA
Copyright © 2006
The Invisible Disabilities Advocate. All Rights Reserved.
IDA is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization.
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of Use.
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