I don’t think about what I can’t do,
I think about what I can do.  – Cher441

Over the past month, we’ve heard several stories about how PatientsLikeMe Parkinson’s Disease community members came together online and made a quilt that has traveled all around the world providing warmth, comfort and a sense of unity for each of its recipients. So where is the quilt now and what is it being used for?

I recently sat down with member Cher441, who currently has the quilt. An advocate for raising awareness about Parkinson’s, Cher441 is involved with many support groups including, The Courageous Steps Group, The Parkinson’s Disease Bootcamp group, The Ohio Parkinson Foundation Northeast Region group, as well as several other local awareness groups near her.  Recently, The Courageous Steps and Parkinson’s Disease Bootcamp groups hosted events where Cher441 brought the quilt for everyone to see.

Being a member of so many groups didn’t come easy to Cher441 in the beginning and she credits the connections she has made through PatientsLikeMe as the kick-start for her involvement in everything else.  Listen in to my conversation with Cher441 about how she has been using the quilt to raise awareness about Parkinson’s Disease.

As this podcast series about the PatientsLikeMe Parkinson’s quilt comes to an end, there’s no doubt that the story goes on.  Thank you to all of my guests who have contributed to this first series, including PokieToo, Browncat, VigWig, Aunti J and Cher441.  You’ve warmed and inspired us all with your pieces of this quilt.

Stay tuned for more of The Patient Voice in the coming weeks.

“This represents my family, we share everything together.”
- PokieToo, PatientsLikeMe Parkinson’s Community

“The Patient Voice” is here!  Are you ready to listen in?  Today is the official premiere of our new PatientsLikeMeOnCall^TM podcast, “The Patient Voice.”  Our first guest is Parkinson’s community member, PokieToo. Pokie is the founder and creator of the PatientsLikeMe Parkinson’s quilt, a handmade and inspiring piece of patchwork pulled together by members all over the world.  A valuable member of the PatientsLikeMe community, Pokie is recognized in the greater Parkison’s community as a leader and advocate.  She has worked a lot with various nonprofits, including as a consultant for the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation Parkinson’s Quilt Project, and she’s the captain of our members’ Team PatientsLikeMe at the Parkinson’s Disease Unity Walk every year.

As you’ll learn from hearing from other members throughout this series, everyone knows her and loves her.  Pokie is truly an inspiration to everyone she meets. Listen in to learn about how the PatientsLikeMe PD quilt was created, how it’s being used to empower other patients, and why she calls PatientsLikeMe her family.

On Thursday October 7, 2010, the PatientsLikeMeOnCall ^TM podcast is proud to present a new series called “The Patient Voice.”  Through these podcasts, you’ll hear emotional and inspiring stories from our community members that demonstrate the type of sharing and positive connections being made by patients on our site and how these connections are affecting their lives.

For the first run in the series, we’ll be focusing on the PatientsLikeMe Parkinson’s community and hearing from members about a very special handmade quilt.  A few years ago, members of this community came together online and decided to create the quilt as a fun activity to get them through the winter season. Each patch of the quilt is designed by a different member of the community and demonstrates, in a very personal way, something about the individual and her/his experience living with Parkinson’s disease. Initially a fun passion project, the quilt has become an expression of the power of community. Little did the quilters know how much their project would end up impacting their lives, the lives of other members, and, even beyond that, the lives of people in the Parkinson’s disease community as a whole. This quilt has traveled all over the world; it’s been featured in countless news publications spotlighting our members and their work with Parkinson’s disease; it was spotlighted by the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in their Health Living & Learning conference brochure; and it was, in part, the inspiration for the Parkinson’s Quilt Project being pulled together by the National Parkinson’s Foundation.

In this five part series, we will be talking to some of the members who contributed patches to the quilt as well as other people who have been touched by the quilt. To get you geared up for this series, here is a quick clip from our interview with PD community member, BrownCat.

The premiere launches this Thursday (October 7^th) at 2pm EST with an interview with PokieToo, and the other interviews will run every Tuesday following.  To listen to the series, you can subscribe to our iTunes page or you can find our podcasts on our PodBean page. Get ready to be moved by “The Patient Voice”…