Month: February 2013

Hello friends and supporters of the fun and frolic that is autoimmune disease awareness raising. Here are a few updates on the goings on. Click here for Schedule of Events: https://findthecommonthread.com/pj-day-2013-march-1st/

We are getting some great media interest and it makes me so happy that the people with the power to transport our message of hope and determination are giving us the time to make that message heard. On Thursday Feb 21, I’m doing a live interview with Dr. Diane Dike PhD from Colorado, and maybe we can get some of our friends in the US to join us in their pajamas (you can listen here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dr-diane-dike/2013/02/21/eliminating-autoimmunity-together–one-pajama-at-a-time.) There are so many of us out there, remember one in five, and if we all decide to be brave (not like it hasn’t happened before) and just wear our PJ’s out in public, people will notice. If we alone wear them, people will notice. But if we wear them along with our families and friends, imagine the ripple we’ll cause. That ripple will be nothing compared to the game changing wave once we learn that a common thread to autoimmunity has been discovered and we’re moments away from a cure. Complete and total game changer.

On Feb 27th I’m going to do a little interview with CTV Morning News to get that group of people excited about the possibility of being involved in something fun that could also be the spark that leads to salvation for millions.

Then it’s The Day – March 1st. We have City TV’s Breakfast Television coming up for the morning fun times, and then the day will be filled with various PJ events and topped off with our evening show at the Activity Center.

We need as many people as our little town can muster out in their PJ’s for the filming of BT. It’s early folks. I know this is a tough one for Jasper, but it’s only because this town is so absolutely amazing at jumping in when it counts that we have the success we have in only one year. It is now confirmed that BT will be shooting from the driveway from the Firehall (the new one.) We will have a Pancake Breakfast going on site to raise money for the MS Society and make getting out of bed and stumbling to the fire hall that much easier. The show will be filled with locals doing all sorts of PJ things. It will revolve around a discussion about autoimmune disease… not this one or that one, but autoimmune disease as a whole. This is what makes this day special. We can drop our special disease titles and be one for a day since all of us are dealing with the same essential problem, an immune system gone haywire.

Breakfast TV will start at 5:30 am – yup AM – but the early birds can get there even a few minutes earlier, and it will go until 9:00 amThere will be Yoga, Dance, Singing, the Randal Scott Band, Chef Elizabeth Prinz, and other surprises.

Our evening show will take place at the Activity Center and start at 7:30pm. Admission is free but you can donate some money to help us pay for the incidentals. We are also starting some other projects that will raise money but we need money to start making money, so every bit helps. If you want to raise money and don’t want to give it to us, give it to your favourite charity that already supports autoimmune disease. We just want this whole insane ride to stop, so whoever can stop it first, give’er.

We will post again with more details on the day’s events, so stay tuned. Let the games begin, and giant thanks for all the people, groups, businesses and organizations who are supporting us. The list is long and I will be writing a separate page with the thank yous but you are making me personally feel very proud to be part of this community and this race, and showing me that all the ugly stuff we see on the news can be easily overshadowed with kindness and love.

IF YOU’RE NEW HERE AND WANT TO JOIN THE PJ REVOLUTION, PLEASE TAKE PICTURES OF YOUR PJ FROLIC AND SEND THEM TO US AFTER THE FACT. LET US KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND WHERE THE PHOTO IS TAKEN.  THE MORE WE HAVE THE STRONGER OUR VOICE IS NEXT TIME AROUND. LET’S SEE THAT TIPPING POINT TOGETHER, ALL DRESSED IN OUR PAJAMAS.

Bags of PJ’s – check.T-shirt’s ordered – check.
City TV – Breakfast Television  – check.
Accommodation for crew – check. (Thanks Mountain Park Lodges)
Fiber Line cost for BT – check. (Thanks City TV, Marmot, Jasper Tourism and Travel Alberta)
Fitzhugh Interview – check.
Global Interview with Su-Ling Goh – check. (http://www.globaltvedmonton.com/video/pajama+day/video.html?v=2334980511)
Variety Show rough outline – check.
PJ suppliers for fashion show on board – check.
Location for BT Remote shoot – still in progress (but will be a check soon)
Donation Boxes around town – working on them (look for them soon – heart shaped boxes – and help out so we can pull this all of without going into our own pockets)
Getting more people on board – check and constant work in progress (thanks to all who are spreading the word)

The more of us that wear PJ’s the more likely the world will stop and pay attention to a disease group that has been generally ignored as a whole up until now.

Stay tuned to this page and we will start posting event start times and when and where we will need to see all your PJ clad bodies for the cameras. Thanks to you all for your continued support and making this dream a reality. Big props go out to you all.

This is where it all comes together in your mind – it did in mine.

I was saying to a friend that the more people that “played along” the better it is, and she asked me what ‘playing along’ entails. I thought this is a valid question because it’s not been articulated. I’m articulating it, and once it’s articulated, it makes a tonne of sense.

We are all in this together. Whether you have MS, RA, Lupus, Vasculitis, Liver Disease, Endometriosis, Eczema, Raynaud’s Syndrome, Restless legs syndrome, Wegener’s Granulomatosis, narcolepsy or over a hundred others, we all have autoimmune disease. So what this PJ Day mission entails is that whoever you’re cheering for, for whatever personal reason you have, put on your PJ’s this March 1st and go about your business. If you’re a group that puts on fundraisers, go ahead and do one in your PJ’s and send the money to your favourite autoimmune disease charity organization. If you like to party, get a PJ Party going. If you like to run, go out for a run in your PJ’s. In Jasper we have a pretty sweet ski area, so there will definitely be some PJ skiing ( a PJ Ski Race in fact.)

Right here, right now, the mission is to raise awareness of how many of us are truly out there. There are lots. Lots that are affected directly but then there are our families and friends, our bosses, and our neighbours… autoimmunity affects our society more than we can imagine. Why? Because up to now we’ve all been busy trying to solve the problems of our own diseases and missing the forest for the trees. We are part of something much bigger, much much bigger. And if we all rock our PJ’s on March 1st regardless of who we are rooting for ( in fact we’re glad you’re rooting for someone,) we can show them how very many of us are out there.

The more knowledge there is out there about autoimmunity and the insane numbers, the more likely people will get diagnosed sooner in their search for answers and eliminate life threatening situations. This will only happen as autoimmunity becomes regarded as a disease that affects 20% of the population and rising instead of a rarity.

So you don’t have to be in Jasper to make a difference. This is just where it got birthed and has a lot of relatives in town. Our big statements will be made when everyone affected, directly and indirectly, will wear their PJ’s in solidarity to show government and research and the medical profession that our invisible diseases are not invisible any more. Invisible no more.

They’re clad in their softest, comfiest jammies.

If you missed out on the fun last year, here’s your chance to play and change the world for the better this year.

Here is a link to the day’s events https://findthecommonthread.com/pj-day-2013-march-1st/ and if you’re coming here from Jasper Junior Olympics page, here’s what you can do: On your way to the hill you can swing by and show your team spirit – IN YOUR PJ’S (you can wear them over your warm up’s) at the New Fire Hall between 5:30am and 9:00am for the cameras and tell your friends to watch for you on TV. This is all live and they’d like to see as many PJ’s there as possible, and what a way to get on TV with your team mates and your families and show your support for this fun but important event while getting your mugs on TV. We also have a flash-mob which we will do about 8:12am-ish and you can find links to choreography on the schedule of events page link above.

City TV from Edmonton is coming up and filming Breakfast Television Live, in their PJ’s from Jasper. How awesome and fortuitous for spreading the word.

You’ll  have bragging rights for being part of this event which will soon take over North America and you can tell your friends you were part of it the first couple of years when it was still a baby, and the reason it’s as awesome as it is, is because you were there pushing it along when it was getting started. Thanks to all for your amazing support.