Ambassador Spotlight: Kerry Wong, New York

From Kerry Wong

Nearly 10 years ago, I began feeling a variety of symptoms that didn’t seem to make much sense. I was exhausted and sore without doing anything strenuous, frequently weak, dizzy and nauseous. I couldn’t sleep.

I soon learned about a condition calledfibromyalgia但我花了4年时间，看了十几位医生，才有一个人相信我，诊断出了这种病。在那段时间里，我出现了新的症状，包括皮疹和关节肿痛。It took another 4 years and several misdiagnoses before my doctors realized that thisinflammatory arthritiswas part of a disease called sarcoidosis.

These illnesses have taken so much away from me. I’m no longer able to work, I have to walk with a cane for short distances and use a scooter for longer ones, and I have to cancel more plans than I can keep. But the Arthritis Foundation has given back so much.

It’s empowering – and invigorating – to see that, even when my body won’t work the way I want it to, my mouth (and my typing fingers, when my hands don’t hurt too much) can still get things done. Not just little things – important things!

TheArthritis Foundation’s Ambassadorsare a group of volunteers who have been personally affected by arthritis, like me, and who communicate with elected officials, helping them better understand the impact of arthritis and how they can help the arthritis community. I have been an Ambassador for nearly four years.

The Arthritis Foundation provides Ambassadors with training on how to communicate with elected officials, then oftentimes gives us a specific task or project to work on.

我们最近的任务之一是获得一个公告，承认五月是Arthritis Awareness Monthin our home state. Each state has its own procedure for how to get this done, so I had to investigate how to do it in New York. I was excited to learn that the process begins with a State Senator, because I’ve gotten to know mine over the past few years as an Ambassador; we follow each other on social media, we’ve emailed each other about relevant issues, and I’ve met with him a few times through our annual State Legislative Day visits. Best of all, this year’s State Legislative Day was coming up, so I was already scheduled to meet with him.

I sent Senator Latimer an email (he actually says to call him “George”) with a brief reminder of my story and how arthritis affects me. I gave him details about the proclamation and explained how it would be helpful for the arthritis community; most people still think of arthritis as simply “grandma’s bad hip,” so they don’t realize that it can affect people at any age, or that many forms of arthritis affect more than just our joints. Raising awareness can help people who think they might have arthritis recognize the need to get treatment sooner and can improve quality of life through better understanding from family, friends, employers and more.

我把纽约州特有的关节炎统计数据写进去，并告诉拉蒂默参议员我将于下周见他。他立即做出了回应，这一过程开始了。当我在接下来的一周与他会面时，他与他的员工核对了关节炎意识月的要求，并解释了接下来将会发生的时间表。He also agreed to support ourbiosimilar legislation, which later passed in the State Senate! The following week, I checked the status of the Arthritis Awareness Month request on theNYS Senate website, and was so excited to see that it had been adopted! Official copies of the resolution are now hanging in the Arthritis Foundation’s state and national offices.

Before I had arthritis, I never thought this type of advocacy was something I could or would want to do. Politics always seemed so distant and politicians so far removed from my reality. I found other ways to support those in need through work and volunteer activities. But when I became the one in need, the Arthritis Foundation showed me that I wasn’t as helpless as I felt. Advocating for the 3.8 million people in New York with some form of arthritis – and the 52 million across the country – is truly empowering and very rewarding.

Now more than ever, it’s so important for people with arthritis to share their stories. Our elected officials make decisions every day based on the information they have in front of them. And, as we all know, Washington lawmakers are currently discussing repeal and replace health care legislation that has critical implications for the arthritis community. As advocates, we tell them about the issues that matter to us. As Ambassadors, weshow them who we are, so those decisions are based onus– not nameless, faceless statistics, but real people with real lives and real needs.

The Arthritis Foundation’s Ambassador program is a great way to make a real difference for the arthritis community.If you’d like to participate in a rewarding program that makes a meaningful impact,join the Ambassador program today!

Image: Platinum Ambassador Kerry Wong (R) with husband Michael (L) and New York State Senator George Latimer (top)

Related Resources:

• Arthritis Foundation Ambassador Program
• Advocate 101: Join the Movement
• Arthritis Foundation Policy Priorities