Author Archives: Jennie Spotila

Long Term Disability Insurance/ERISA

Posted on January 16, 2016 by Jennie Spotila

If you are fortunate, then your employer provides you with disability insurance. When you become disabled, this insurance pays you a percentage of your salary, and you are not solely dependent on Social Security Disability. In real life, it is … Continue reading →

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Survey: Barriers to NIH Funding

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Jennie Spotila

Reprinted with permission of Lily Chu: Over the years, IACFS/ME Board members have heard anecdotally from researchers, clinicians, and others that obtaining government-sponsored funding for research related to ME/CFS can be quite challenging, in some cases more challenging than that … Continue reading →

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NIH RFA Ticker, 1/11/16

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Jennie Spotila

Total RFAs Issued by NIH: 103 (October 2015 to date) Total Dollars Committed to RFAs: $1,431,750,000 (October 2015 to date) Total RFAs for ME/CFS: ZERO (October 2015 to date) Week Beginning RFAs Issued Total Commitment RFAs for ME/CFS 1/4/16 0 … Continue reading →

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NIH RFA Ticker, 1/4/16

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Jennie Spotila

Total RFAs Issued by NIH: 103 (October 2015 to date) Total Dollars Committed to RFAs: $1,431,750,000 (October 2015 to date) Total RFAs for ME/CFS: ZERO (October 2015 to date) Week Beginning RFAs Issued Total Commitment RFAs for ME/CFS 12/28/15 0 … Continue reading →

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NIH RFA Ticker, 12/28/15

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Jennie Spotila

Total RFAs Issued by NIH: 103 (October 2015 to date) Total Dollars Committed to RFAs: $1,431,750,000 (October 2015 to date) Total RFAs for ME/CFS: ZERO (October 2015 to date) Week Ending RFAs Issued Total Commitment RFAs for ME/CFS 12/21/15 3 … Continue reading →

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Collaborative Effort Announced

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Jennie Spotila

I take the responsibility of advocacy very seriously, and collaborating with others is part of my philosophy. This effort is an organic evolution of work by many other advocates that have come before us. More than ever before, 2015 has … Continue reading →

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NIH RFA Ticker, 12/21/15

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Jennie Spotila

Total RFAs Issued by NIH: 99 (October 2015 to date) Total Dollars Committed to RFAs: $1,421,750,000 (October 2015 to date) Total RFAs for ME/CFS: ZERO (October 2015 to date) Week Ending RFAs Issued Total Commitment RFAs for ME/CFS 12/18/15 5 … Continue reading →

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The NIH RFA Ticker

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Jennie Spotila

Today, I’m debuting a new weekly feature that I call the NIH RFA Ticker. My goal is to give you the data you need to help assess whether NIH is doing all it can to promote and fund ME/CFS research. … Continue reading →

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Saying No

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Jennie Spotila

How To Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness is Toni Bernhard’s latest book. I’ve reviewed Toni’s previous books (here, here, and here), but over the course of years, Toni has become one of my most beloved friends. So while … Continue reading →

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A Year of Thanks

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Jennie Spotila

This year has been hard, y’all. HARD. Sometimes I think that my Mom’s death took a scoop of my soul along with her. And then just over six months later, my husband (my caregiver, my best friend, my everything) had … Continue reading →

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