TMA California Meeting
Drs. Adam Kaplin, Douglas Kerr, Charles Levy, Frank  Pidcock
Saturday, February 23, 2008

A Rare Neuroimmunologic Disorders Education Program will be held on Saturday, February 23, 2008 in Southern California.  All TMA members from the west coast are invited to attend.  This one-day program was made possible by the efforts of Dr. Charles Levy, a physical and rehabilitative medicine doctor and the physician who established the TMA Medical Advisory Board.  Dr. Levy was able to set up a course on the rare neuroimmunologic disorders to be presented to a national meeting of physiatrists.  Dr. Adam Kaplin and Dr. Douglas Kerr from the Johns Hopkins TM Center will be teaching this course.  Dr. Frank Pidcock, a physiatrist and member of the TMA Medical Advisory Board, will be attending these meetings in Anaheim.  Dr. Levy had the wonderful idea that since these physicians would be in Southern California for this meeting, we should try to get a program together for TMA members on the west coast.  Drs. Levy, Kerr, Kaplin and Pidcock have graciously volunteered to spend an additional few days in California to make this session possible.  Chitra Krishnan will also be attending the meeting from the Johns Hopkins TM Center, Project RESTORE and the TMA Medical Advisory Board.

Debbie Capen and Cindy McLeroy, support group leaders in California, are organizing this event.  We owe them an enormous debt of gratitude, as they are doing all of this hard work on very short notice.  The Rare Neuroimmunologic Disorders Program will take place all day Saturday.  We will post a program agenda on our web site as soon as it is available.  A registration fee will be charged for the session for the purpose of covering the cost of lunch. 

If you live in Southern California, please mark the date on your calendar; you have to be there.  If you live close enough to drive into the area, you should make every effort to attend.  If you live within a short flight from Southern California, you should give this some very serious thought.  I have no idea what these physicians are going to present at this meeting, but I know that the information they provide you will be critically important to your understanding what has happened to you and will make you a much more informed and effective advocate for your medical care. 

Please do not miss the opportunity to spend a weekend with other members of our community.  The emotional power of being together with other people who most intimately understand your experience will energize you in ways that are difficult to describe. 

For details, please check our web site regularly or please get in touch with Debbie or Cindy.

Debbie Capen
(951)658-2689
dcapen@myelitis.org

Cindy McLeroy
(714)638-5493
cindymcleroy@socal.rr.com