Well it has been ages since I've written... Life has been a bit busy, and then it's not and just when you think it's all calm you get tricked and you're on rough seas again. Not that the seas have been too rough lately, just a few swells and some tricky waves to avoid. Fortunately nothing to do with Kit. His seas have been calm.
The last time I wrote I had been to some advisory board meetings and from those I have been asked to work with Janssen Pharmaceuticals on a media campaign focusing on caregivers. It's not about their drug (although I guess ultimately they like me because we like these shots) but it's really about what it's like to be the care giver for a loved one with schizophrenia. It's been quite fun - I was interviewed on a London, ON radio station, then was on Rogers TV. Both were a stretch for me - I'm not a public speaker, but since I totally believe in making sure care givers get more support, I guess I felt I could speak to this. The radio one was easy - they edited the whole thing and brought it down to about a minute. But being on live TV was a bit nerve wracking. I was on with a Dr. Ruth Baruch who is a psychiatrist in Toronto. She talked about the medical side of the illness and the importance of family in recovery and I told some of my story. I really enjoyed doing it with Ruth. We were supposed to be on CP24 at noon yesterday but the Grey Cup Parade had us postponed to a later date. The great thing about all of it is that the caregiver survey was done by Janssen but we are not expected or even encouraged to speak at all about medication. I would feel a bit uncomfortable if I was promoting their medication - as I know that each person reacts differently to each medication, and that for some people medication isn't the only answer. There are just so many different ways of approaching mental illness - it's very personal.
The exciting this for me is I have been invited to Banff by Janssen to speak to their sales reps about caring for someone with SZ. They are flying me out on Monday and I speak on Tuesday. It's just to about 40 sales persons, and in small groups of eight or so at a time. It should be really interesting to see their perception of the illness and for them to hear from someone who is living with someone who has it. I'm assuming some of them will have some idea about what it's like, and others won't. Anyhow - I'm kind of excited to have a paid vacation!! This will be the first time I will have traveled by myself in many years. I have a good friend in Calgary who is going to come up to Banff to spend a day after with me. That will be so lovely. Then later in December they have asked me to come speak to their annual meeting of 400 people... YIKES!!
For those of you wondering how my boy is doing - he's good. Has been working for us at the shop a bit here and there helping with inventory. He's not doing much else but he seems to be okay. One year now of renting Adam's basement. Time just flies by.
Just pretend they are all Girl Guides :)
ReplyDeleteYou rock.
Lesley,
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear your son is doing well. We parents can breathe so much easier when our adult children are in a good place.
I would be doing a disservice to my own readers if I didn't take the opportunity to point out that with a pharmaceutical company, it IS about their drug. People like me who are critical of the excesses of pharma are unlikely to get a spot on a radio show or television. There is no company with deep pockets running media campaigns. So, while you may feel comfortable thinking you are not directly marketing the drugs, you are marketing the need for drugs, and particularly, the injections. This is stealth marketing by the pharmaceutical industry. The industry has been pursuing such strategy for a long time. It understood in the 1980s that NAMI would be a powerful marketing force, and the industry worked to co-opt that group from the beginning. Then, in the 1990s, the pharma industry often would set up other patient-support groups in order to launch a drug for a new condition, whatever it might be. (The industry did this with CHADD, to promote SSRIS for social anxiety disorder). And providing funding to mothers who author books or blogs, in the form of honorariums or support for conferences that invite such speakers. I think it is usually done in a subtle manner, such that the person can say they are being paid "for their time and talents," and not so the person is saying they are promoting an individual drug. But the pharma companies don't care about promoting an individual drug necessarily; they just want the usual drug story promoted.
Best regards,
Rossa
You're right ROssa, they want the drug story promoted. I guess for us - that's not a bad story. The only times Kit has been well is when he is on meds. The rest of the time he has become unwell, lived on the street, become psychotic and then ended up in the hospital. I know there is a lot more than drugs, but for now it's what is working for him. I do understand they do him some harm as well - but the benefits for now outweigh the risks. I'm also hoping that perhaps Janssen will also do something with this survey on caregivers and hopefully provide some extra needed funding for support for caregivers. Am I dreaming??
Delete