Author Archives: Jennie Spotila

A New Strategic Plan

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Jennie Spotila

The National Institutes of Health is creating its first strategic plan, at the request of Congress. The public now has an opportunity to comment, and this is an important opportunity to reinforce the need for ME/CFS research funding. Liz Willow … Continue reading →

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The Return of CFSAC

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Jennie Spotila

Publicly, the CFS Advisory Committee has been MIA this year. There were some comings and goings, and general silence, but now there is finally movement to report. UPDATE July 28, 2015: The Federal Register notice for the meeting has been … Continue reading →

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Brian Vastag to Dr. Francis Collins

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Jennie Spotila

Yesterday, an open letter from science writer Brian Vastag to Dr. Francis Collins (Director, NIH) flashed around the ME/CFS social media-sphere like lightning. Then it spread among Brian’s high profile colleagues, like Martin Enserink and Carl Zimmer. Brian’s letter is … Continue reading →

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Talk Is Cheap

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Jennie Spotila

In today’s guest post, Denise Lopez-Majano makes the case that the time for talk is over and the time for action is now. For decades, stakeholders have advocated for funding commensurate with the severity of ME/CFS. The government’s response has … Continue reading →

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Wheelchair – HELP!

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Jennie Spotila

I need a new wheelchair, and I need your help! I have used a manual chair for many years, relying on friends and family to push me around. But the chair gets caught in pavement cracks, has trouble going over … Continue reading →

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P2P: Where Next?

Posted on June 29, 2015 by Jennie Spotila

There is one official final step in the P2P process: a federal partners meeting supposed to be held six to eight months after the workshop. But there are other marching orders, too. For us. Federals Only As described on the … Continue reading →

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Showing the Back of Their Heads

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Jennie Spotila

The final P2P report is published, and now it’s time to evaluate the quality of the recommendations and how well the process served ME/CFS patients. There are many good things in the P2P report, and I’ll be focusing on those … Continue reading →

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P2P Final Chapter

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Jennie Spotila

The final P2P ME/CFS documents are coming out today. I am severely crashed from family obligations, so in-depth analysis will take me a little longer than normal. But here are quick descriptions of the various articles to get you started: … Continue reading →

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Stuck? Four Months of Almost Nothing

Posted on June 13, 2015 by Jennie Spotila

In this guest post, Dr. Alan Gurwitt argues that it is time for ME/CFS advocacy to move on and move forward. The post first appeared on the website for the Massachusetts CFIDS/ME & FM Association, and is reprinted here with … Continue reading →

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Contradictions And Unanswered Questions

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Jennie Spotila

The P2P process is winding down, with the final report scheduled to be published on June 16th. The public comment saga has not been resolved, and the truth of what happened is buried in typical bureaucratic responses. As I have … Continue reading →

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