Foundation Views

Message to the ARDS Community
July 2008

To all of those in the ARDS Community, whether you became a 'family member' a week ago, a decade ago, or longer, at ARDS Foundation we realize that if you are visiting our website or receiving our newsletter, you or a loved one has been touched by Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. And we hope that once you found our website, you also found information, support, prayers.

A Humble Beginning. . .

Back in 2000, ARDS Foundation was created by a 1995 ARDS survivor, Eileen Rubin Zacharias, and Paula Blonski, who lost her sister to ARDS in 1998. They joined together to accomplish one simple task: to raise enough funds so that they could persuade physicians to create a plain English brochure that could then be distributed to those in the ARDS Community. Their passion was motivated by a lack of information available to those who were not part of the medical community. This passion was ignited after they 'joined' the ARDS Community and learned first hand that there was no information or support available to families like their own. To them, that was unacceptable.

They began with one brochure and a website that had five webpages. If that had been all that they were able to do, they would have felt as though they succeeded because that one brochure and that tiny website was more information than they or their families had available back in the 1990's.

But something absolutely incredible happened afterwards. People from all over the United States contacted them. People from all over the world contacted them. And then they knew that one thing was certain: they were not alone. And there was too little information available to patients and families. And their passion grew.

In those years, Eileen and Paula have strived to constantly obtain accurate and valuable information for those in the ARDS Community. They have offered information, support and prayers to everyone who contacts the website. They have included stories and photos and video so that those in the ARDS Community know that they are not alone.

ARDS Foundation's First Website

ARDS Foundation Grows

And as the years have passed, and the website and foundation continued to grow, Eileen and Paula continue to devote as much time as possible to their passion, making a difference in the fight against ARDS. What many people may not know is that both Eileen and Paula have full jobs outside of the foundation; they have families with young children, and many demands on their time. But everyday, they devote hours to ARDS Foundation and those who are part of the ARDS Community. Of course, Eileen and Paula have a small group of core volunteers that help with offering support, who share their stories, their time, their prayers. Those volunteers are invaluable to ARDS Foundation. But at the end of the day,and often that is the first time of day Eileen and Paula have to devote to their passion, they respond to emails, add content to the website, publish online newsletters, solicit physicians to add content to the website and even have helped to arrange patient transfers from one hospital to another.

Some of ARDS Foundation's accomplishments include partnering with the American Thoracic Society (ATS) for medical grants, publishing several brochures, joining ATS's Public Advisory Roundtable (PAR) to advocate for lung issues that arecritical for the ARDS Community, offering a nursing scholarship, offering a forum for patients and families touched by ARDS, sharing stories, adding a "Who's Who" list of physicians with experience with ARDS patients, offering a list of LTAC facilities, adding a Children and ARDS section to the site and more.

ARDS Foundation does not charge a membership fee to the website or any portion of it; we do not charge for brochures or information sent through the mail. Many times, families with a loved one enduring the ups and downs of ARDS crisis tell ARDS Foundation that they would pay an infinite amount for such information, support, assistance. But Eileen and Paula wanted to ensure that anyone who was touched by ARDS could have access to whatever it is that we could offer, regardless of ability to pay. Often though, after the crisis has passed, ARDS Foundation is forgotten by many of those families. They are busy with their loved one's recovery, or sadly, mourning the loss of a loved one. Still, as we know, there are always more patients and families that contact ARDS Foundation because there are so many patients diagnosed with ARDS throughout the world. But ARDS Foundation exists because of the generosity of those who have been touched by ARDS.

See how we grew!

Now ARDS Foundation Needs Your Help!

And now ARDS Foundation needs your help. This September, ARDS Foundation is participating in the Hike for Lung Health, to raise funds for ARDS and for lung disease in general.

And watch a video of Last Year's Hike.

Standing Together We Accomplish More!

And Make A Difference!

Of course we hope that anyone who can participate will join us. Or we hope that if you cannot be in the Chicago area, that you would consider a virtual hike, seeking sponsors for your efforts. Standing together, we can accomplish so much more. But if you cannot, we hope you can support our efforts and sponsor ARDS Foundation or sponsor one of those signed up for the Hike for Lung Health. Was there someone special who supported your or your loved one during your crisis, going the extra mile with prayers, with information, with support? Thank that person by sponsoring him or her. Every dollar counts. All money raised for the Hike for Lung Health that goes to ARDS Foundation will be used for support, education and to enhance our medical research projects.

ARDS Foundation understands that many people feel their donation will not make a difference. But even a donation of $5.00 will make a difference. If everyone who was touched by ARDS contributed something, the impact would be tremendous.

You, the ARDS Community, really understand the difficulty and frustration of watching a loved one with ARDS. You understand the roller coaster that patients endure. You, as medical professionals, understand the frustration that occurs with treating patients so critically ill. And without the support of you, the ARDS Community, ARDS Foundation cannot continue to make the incredible strides that they have since those days when outsiders told Eileen and Paula that to try to create a foundation dedicated towards the ARDS Community was futile. Certainly those outsiders underestimated the drive and passion of these two women who want nothing more than to find a prevention and to find a cure for his syndrome that too little know about but takes too many lives each year.

To join ARDS Foundation's team, or to sponsor ARDS Foundation of one of its volunteers