65_RedRoses Comes to Edmonton! An Interview with Campaign Volunteer Michelle
On May 27th, Edmonton will host a special screening of 65_RedRoses, the last Canadian screening of the film during May CF Month! Attendees will be able to purchase DVDs and other great campaign awareness materials, such as t-shirts, necklaces and art cards, so don’t miss it!
In preparation for the event, we thought we would interview one of our keen Edmonton volunteers, Michelle. Michelle has been a longtime supporter of the film and campaign in her local community as well as online, and has been instrumental in supporting our outreach efforts in Edmonton. We asked Michelle to share her story about Eva with our blog readers.
I first read about Eva’s journey in late 2009 when I was going through a particularly rough patch in my life. My grandfather had just passed away and I was having a lot of issues with my own health. I didn’t get the chance or opportunity to meet her personally, but I felt a connection to her struggle with her own health even though each of our battles was very much different. I could understand her frustration but was amazed by the positive energy that she gave off despite her struggles with an incurable condition. Her ability to accept her own circumstances and bring about positive change because of it helped me slowly learn to accept my own struggles and help change the way I dealt with them.
After reading her blog and following her for so long, I had to watch the film! To not be moved by that film is just not possible! As I have yet to watch the final cut (it is sitting on my counter and I am going to try and find a quite moment to view it this weekend), just seeing how incredibly strong and powerful she was as a person through the whole journey moved me to tears. To have that kind of strength and to face that kind of fear is amazing! I was thrilled when she got the call that she had lungs! Although her time was very short, she accomplished more than a lot of people accomplish in their entire long lives and for all of us who knew her and those who never got that chance, we are all incredibly blessed to have been a part of her journey.
What does being a 65_RedRoses volunteer look like? For Michelle it means engaging online and offline.
I have been tweeting my butt off! Reading a lot of CF related articles and getting accurate statistics that pertain to potential viewers, specifically those in the US who we tweeted at last week. I have plans to volunteer with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation chapter here, and I did Great Strides last year in support of Eva. I am going to see about doing it again this year if I can round up a team of people to do it with. In the past I had contacted various individuals about spreading the word about the film, as well as CF-related groups.
What does Michelle hope the film and campaign will accomplish?
I am hoping that 65_RedRoses will increase public awareness about this genetic disease and possibly push for more research into better treatments for longer lives. I am also hopeful that people will wake up and see that there are so many people dying, not only because of CF, but because they are waiting for a life saving organ transplant! By signing that organ donation card, you can make a difference in up to 50 lives! There are so many people suffering and we have such a low rate of organ donors here, it is really quite sad…. We don’t need our organs when we die so why shouldn’t we recycle them to someone who is so desperate to be able to leave a hospital bed or take a breath of air?
We are so grateful to Michelle and our other passionate volunteers, who help to share Eva’s story with their communities! If you’d like to join the 65_RedRoses #4Eva Campaign, please email us, or fill out our volunteer form.
