Fundraiser
Guest Blog
Guest Blogger: Lior Goldstein ~ You're invited!
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
It was back in my second year of college that I started noticing
that my sleep was not as peaceful as before. My sleep pattern was
completely off. I would wake up several times during the night having
trouble breathing and my roommates were saying I was making noises in my sleep.
I would wake up in the morning feeling groggy and miserable as if I hadn't
slept the night before. The first diagnosis was that of a deviated septum, and
I was looking forward to getting home from college and having the surgery done
so I could finally sleep again at nights.
However, after a successful
corrective surgery, my problem still wasn't solved. I started on a long,
difficult and frustrating journey of trying to find the root of the sleep
disruptions. Thus started the lengthy, time consuming, and costly process
of doctors' appointments, sleep studies, extensive blood works, neurologists,
cardiologists, scans and MRIs. I was put on medication, changed
medications, increased dosages, and was in constant communication with my
doctors. I was even working with a nutritionist, writing down everything I ate
every single day and how I slept that night trying to see if there was a
correlation between food and my bad nights. All the while my sleep was getting
worse and worse. I got out of bed every morning miserable and I even had to
stop studying for the financial analyst exam I started preparing for because I
could barely manage to concentrate in my college classes and keep up with the
work load that in the past was so simple.
Anybody who has ever not felt well for an extended period of
time knows that not knowing what is wrong with you is a painful process. You
are fighting against something, and you don't even know what it is. As you
can imagine, it was a relief when, after two years, I was finally diagnosed
with WED/RLS. It was only then that I could start doing
some research, understand what it is that I am going through and start working
toward feeling better. One of the things that amazed me the most when I
was researching WED/RLS was that 7-10 of the U.S. population suffers from this condition,
yet at the same time while doing research on WED/RLS, it seemed so unknown.
I have given a lot of thought to how
I can be more proactive about educating the public and raising awareness
of this condition. I know that if more people would have known about the
condition I would have found out my problem sooner. I would like to make a
difference in the lives of people who have it or will have it in the future.
For such a common disorder effecting such a large proportion of
the population, there hasn't yet been enough of an advancement in this
area. This disorder is genetic and I'd like to make sure that by the time I
have kids and they get older, there will be a lot more known about WED/RLS and
hopefully a cure.
Being involved with the WED Foundation is very important to me
because I know that they are engaged every day in working toward finding a cure.
Also, equally important, the Foundation is there to educate and offer support to those
who are impacted.
I am grateful for the Foundation's staff who have been
so supportive and helpful in helping me coordinate and publicize this upcoming
fundraising and awareness night at the Marlins game on Tuesday, August
19th. This is the first event that I have planned. It is my intention to
continue coordinating future events and fund-raisers, both in Florida and in
New York, that will bring awareness to the organization. I believe that it
is up to each and every one of us to take a proactive role!
For more information regarding the upcoming event please see the
attached flyer.
To purchase tickets please send an email to: FLMarlinsWED@gmail.com .
I hope to see you at the game!
Unable to attend and want to help? Make a donation in honor of Lior Goldstein at https://willis-ekbom.org/donate-today/.
Lior Goldstein
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