Jeremy and Ann Marie are going to be on the News

[dwtegli]

Hi all, I just received this from Kimber (one of the founders of HER), from what I understand, that means it will be on NBC's Nightly News tomorrow night and on the Today show Saturday morning.

From Kimber:
Hi. Wanted to let you know that Jeremy and Ann Marie King did a segment for NBC's nightly news with Brian Williams on Friday evening. It was picked up by the Today show for this coming Saturday. Please pass the word that HG will be featured.

I also believe that there is going to be a blog feature on NBC Nightly News' site after the show, so let's get on there afterwards.

Edited to Add:
You can see the segment here on YouTube:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VJDJDHuX4Xo

[IslandDreamer]

YAY!!! aAnd Kimber is taped on Saturdy!!! Fabulous! Word is getting out for us! It WILL be different for the next generation.

[MichellevsHG]

This is wonderful news! I'm sending out a mass email right now!

[Cin]

WOOOOOO-HOOOOOOO!

[teddi]

oh awesome!!! thanks for letting us know.

And happy 3000 posts to you!

[mammaclare]

Here is a letter that you can take and use some or all of in letting people know ASAP to tune in to the shows this weekend.

I have to give 99.999999% of the credit to Kendra (krdoty) as I plagiarized most of it from the wonderful letter she sent to her family and friends. Hers was a bit more personal and I included a large number of professional contacts in my letter so I tried to make it more third person past the first paragraph. Other than that, the wording really does belong to her. So, if you are in a hurry, but want to get something out, I am sure she won't mind if you use some of this:

Dear family and friends,

You've all heard mention a time or two (or fifty) that my pregnancies were difficult. You may not have ever heard the name of the disease that made pregnancy a dangerous proposition for me and our boys. It is called Hyperemesis Gravidarum. HG is the reason that I had to stop working for months during my pregnancies, was on IVs and multiple anti-emetic medications through delivery, with both boys. HG is the reason that I was malnourished during and long after my pregnancies. HG is the reason that our family size will be limited to the two amazing boys we have now, and HG is the reason that I will always be sad when I remember my pregnancies rather than nostalgic as most mothers are.

While my HG was "mild to moderate" in that it was managed by medications and changes to my home environment, and occasional IV hydration, it is not always so. I have known women through the forums at www.hyperemesis.org who have had feeding tubes placed, second trimester miscarriages and nearly lost their own lives due to HG. We had a forum member who was pregnant with twins in 2005 who actually did lose her life, along with that of both of the babies, to complications from HG. Marie, her babies, and her dear husband George who shared her illness and then subsequent tragedy with us will forever be in our hearts. While most women will question even a Tylenol during pregnancy, those of us who are faced with HG must often question multiple medications taken to simply survive our pregnancies and meet their children. HG has touched me more deeply than I can ever hope to put into words.

Now for a request. Educating the public and healthcare professionals about HG is key, and is a primary mission of the Hyperemesis Education and Research Foudnation of which I am a part. Many womens’ course of illness, their medical care, and even decisions they feel forced to make could be different if they only had known about HG when they were pregnant. Dr. Goodwin, an OB/GYN from California who serves as our medical advisor for the Foundation, estimates that worldwide one woman dies DAILY from complications related to Hyperemesis Gravidarum. I would like to believe none of those women are in supposedly developed countries, but that is simply not true. And beyond the women in the most extreme cases, there are tens of thousands of women who simply just don’t know that what they are experiencing is NOT normal morning sickness. If they were to know, then they would not have had to suffer to the degree that they are. If only somebody would tell them that the illness that they are enduring is not normal, perhaps they can better explain to friends and family what was going on so that they could have the practical support that would make the pregnancy at least a bit easier to bear. If you can take a few hours out of this weekend, you can arm yourself with enough knowledge about HG to help the woman that you will one day encounter who has not yet been told that she has HG and that there are treatments available that are safe for both mother and baby.

You may recall earlier this year when I sent a request to many of you to tune in to Dr. Phil to watch a segment that had a tie to HG. Now, the HER Foundation is getting direct exposure about Hyperemesis Gravidarum, not just as a sidebar to another story, and from a major network’s mainstream news programs. The amount of work that has gone into reaching this level of media attention is immeasurable, as I am sure you can appreciate.

The founders of The Hyperemesis Education and Research Foundation (www.hyperemesis.org) are being interviewed for two national news stories on HG this weekend. Jeremy and Ann Marie King will be on NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams Friday evening. The Today Show will have a follow up story on Saturday morning. Kimber MacGibbon will be interviewed at that time.

Please tune in to one or both segments so you can learn more about HG, and please also let your own friends and family know about these news stories so they can also tune in. Doing so may allow you to save a life.

Much Love to All,

Clare

[krdoty]

I do not mind one bit if you girls speak my words! I had a very tough time typing up my email last night. Once I was done and sending it to my family and friends outside of HER, I realized that some might want to send something similar. And I know all too well that some days are better than others when it comes to talking about our HG experiences. So plagiarize away! The more people we can get to tune in to these segments, the more we can help women who otherwise would not receive the treatment and support that they need to navigate their HG.

[justme]

Clare must have really, really, really liked your letter - it posted 3 times. LOL

Karen

[***]

yay!!!!
I have it on the Tivo and I'm MAKING sure it is on the TV at work tonight.

[jen1473]

I sent out a mass e-mail too. Getting great responses!!

I feel so good about being able to do something positive!

[JennyK]

Wow, I am in the midst of adapting the letter by Kendra and Clare to make it my own and I'm any teary. I'm obviously still not over the hurt of HG.

Thanks Kendra and Clare for drafting the letter.

ETA: Here's my version of the letter, in case it suits someone else. I tailored it a bit to my own experience and shortened it b/c my family and friends have short attention spans.

Dear family and friends,

You've all heard me mention a time or two (or fifty) that my pregnancies were difficult. You may not have heard the name of the disease that made pregnancy a dangerous proposition for me and our kids. It is called Hyperemesis Gravidarum. HG is the reason I had to stop working for months during my pregnancies, was on IVs, central lines, IV nutrition, feeding tubes in my nose and multiple medications through delivery. HG is the reason our family size will be limited to the two amazing kids we have now, and HG is the reason that I will always be sad when I remember my pregnancies, rather than nostalgic as most mothers are.

Although my pregnancies were difficult, they were well managed. Not all women with HG are so fortunate. I know women through a forum for those affected by HG who have had second trimester miscarriages and stillbirths because of HG, and nearly lost their own lives. In 2005 we had a forum member who was pregnant with twins and actually did lose her life, along with those of both babies. Maria, her babies and her dear husband George will forever be in our hearts. Dr. Goodwin, an OB/GYN in California who serves as the medical advisor for the Hyperemesis Education and Research Foundation, estimates that worldwide, one woman dies DAILY from complications related to Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Countless women terminate wanted pregnancies because inadequate medical care makes them unable to cope. While most women question the safety of even a Tylenol during pregnancy, those of us who are faced with HG often take multiple medications just to survive and meet our children. HG has touched me more deeply than I can ever hope to put into words.

Now for a request. The founders of The Hyperemesis Education and Research Foundation (www.hyperemesis.org) have been interviewed for two national news stories that will be broadcast this weekend. The first will be aired tonight, Friday, November 16, on NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams. The Today Show will have a follow-up story on Saturday morning.

Please tune in to one or both segments so you can learn more about HG, and please let your own friends and family know about these news stories so they can also tune in. Doing so may allow you to save a life.

[anji]

Oh darnit, I wish I had seen this before I sent out my mass mail! This is much better than what I wrote! Darnit!

[krdoty]

Just watched the Nightly News segment. It was very short, but good. I did not detect any inaccuracies, and the short clips and quotes that they chose were good ones. (in my Not So Humble Opinion!) Ann Marie and Jeremy did not get much time. Andrea did GREAT! I'm looking forward to seeing Kimber's interview tomorrow morning on the Today Show.

Don't forget that we can post our thoughts on the NBC Nightly News blog. I have started a topic at http://boards.msn.com/MSNBCboards/threa ... PDelay%3d1